27

Harm tried to put Jen's troubles on his mental back burner as he opened his piracy report and a new legal pad, trying to decipher the SecNav's abominable handwriting and compose answers to the points the politician had raised. Harm found it particularly exasperating to have to do this; if the SecNav had asked, in the first place, for a detailed report and recommendations then it would have been done, completed and submitted. Now, as he looked through the points the SecNav had raised at their meeting it was going to take at least a further two days to find the answers and re-draft the report.

It was nearly lunch time by the time Harm had made the last notation, filling four legal sheets in his angular handwriting, and stretching his back and rolling his head Harm gathered the report and locked it securely in his desk drawer. Collecting his cover he headed for the office door and walked straight into what could only be termed a situation.

Jennifer Coates stood rigid behind her desk her face clearly showing the contempt she felt for the man standing in front of it; a man who Harm instantly recognised as Major Frank McBurney, the prosecutor from Harm's court martial, his face fixed in a mask of anger. To one side Lydia Bellingham stood poised to intervene if she thought it necessary while Faith Coleman, one hand to her mouth, stood in her office doorway. Just entering the outer office from his own sanctuary, Harm's third attorney, Major Mike Sheddan stopped his hand on his office door handle.

Harm slightly raised an eyebrow, "Good morning, Major," he said in a cool, calm tone. McBurney turned his attention from Jen to Harm and drew himself up into the position of attention.

"Good morning, sir," he replied in an icy voice.

"What brings you here today, Major? Business or pleasure?"

"Definitely the latter, sir," McBurney replied his tone still cold and still stood at attention; Harm had deliberately not told him to stand easy. "I have a lunch engagement with Commander Coleman."

Harm turned an inquiring eye on Faith Coleman, who blushed and said, "That's correct, sir."

Harm nodded and turned back to McBurney, "Well, if that is the case, Major, may I suggest that you escort Commander Coleman to wherever it is you are lunching?"

"Sir, yessir!" The Marine responded.

"Very well, carry on."

McBurney relaxed and said in invitation, "Faith?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" Faith Coleman grabbed her purse and cover and almost scurried past Harm, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the floor until she was past Harm, but then shooting a venomous glare at Jen, whose expression as she continued to stare at McBurney was one of extreme disdain.

The tension in the office almost visibly dissipated as the door closed behind McBurney and Coleman. Harm looked around benignly, "Well, shall we all go about our business?" he suggested lightly. A suggestion from a superior officer is not, however, to be taken lightly, and within seconds Lydia Bellingham and Mike Shadden had disappeared into their own offices, and Harm was hard put to restrain a grin as the image of Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit diving into the rabbit hole came to mind. Jen too, losing her scornful expression had returned to her seat and was once more trying to concentrate on her work, but Harm could tell by the rigidity of her shoulders that she was still seething.

"It's lunchtime, Coates," he said calmly.

"Yes, sir," Jen acknowledged looking up from her PC's monitor.

Harm nodded, "Walk with me, Legalman."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Jen responded, salvaging her purse and cover from the bottom drawer of her desk, and adjusting the location board to show that Commander Rabb, Lieutenant Commander Coleman and Legalman One Coates were all out of the office.

Harm led Jen on a leisurely walk through the halls, heading for the Pentagon Mall where one of the eateries had an enclosed, but glazed seating area where he felt they could spend their lunchtime and talk without fear of intrusion or interruption, and on reaching his planned destination, he turned to Jen with a slight smile, Why don't you go and grab us a table – a window table if you can, while I get us coffees and a sandwich."

A by now nervous Jen – Harm hadn't said a word to her as they'd traversed the complex of hallways and stairs to arrive at the eatery – nodded and muttered, "Yes, sir," veering off in search of a table.

Harm joined the line at the cafeteria style counter selecting an egg salad baguette for himself and a ham salad baguette for Jen, he grinned at the thought of Jen's reaction if he'd brought her a meat-free lunch! Collecting two coffees and paying for the selection he looked around to see Jen standing at a window table, and nodding to show that he had seen her he wove his way across the room to her.

"I like this place," Harm said inconsequentially, as he paused between bites of his sandwich. It's one of the few places I've found that suit me. In most cafeterias here, one sandwich isn't enough for lunch, but two are too many…" he paused to take a sip of his coffee, "and the brew isn't bad either!"

He tilted his head slightly to one side to gauge the effect his flow of small talk was having on his companion, and after a few minutes of watching her picking at her food, he was relieved when the rigidity in her shoulders disappeared and she picked up her sandwich and took a healthy bite out of it.

"Of course," he continued expansively as he sat back and wiped lips on a paper napkin, "It's not as good here as at Cathy's Cookie Corner back in Falls Church, or Ed's Diner on the I-95."

Harm's last comment caused Jen to choke as an attempted swallow conflicted with an irresistible urge to laugh. Ed's Diner about halfway between DC and Norfolk, was, for the JAG community, a byword for bad food and worse service.

Once Jen had stopped coughing and had wiped the tears from her eyes, Harm leaned forward and asked gently, "OK, Jennifer, what was all that in the office all about?"

Jen's eyes flashed fire for an instant, "That… man!" she exclaimed, "Strolls in to my office, and just says, 'Good morning Jennifer,' as if he knew me and we were friends! He was way out of line! Let alone that he is an officer and his use of my name was totally inappropriate, the idea of he and I being on any sort of friendly terms after he tricked me on the witness stand like that is… is just… so wrong! And the when I told him to address me as was customary between an officer and enlisted, he threatened to charge me with using insubordinate language to a superior officer."

Harm shook his head gently in memory of the occasions when Jen had put him right, "And were you insubordinate to him Jennifer?"

"No sir, of course not!" Jen protested and then as an embarrassed flush crept up her cheeks, "well… maybe I was just a little bit cheeky!"

"Well, don't be Jennifer! Look I do appreciate your defence of me, not just over Loren Singer's case, but for every time you've defended me or covered for me, and I've a pretty good idea that there are more instances than I am aware of, although I did hear through scuttlebutt that you told the admiral off for being pig-headed, stubborn and unfair."

Jen gasped, blushing again, "Oh! Where did you hear… Of course! Lieutenant Sims!"

"You might think so," Harm said straight-faced as he fought down his grin, "but I couldn't possibly comment!" Then he lost the urge to grin as he said quite seriously, "Jennifer, do not be quite so quick to pick up the cudgels on my behalf. As I said yesterday, I value you as a dependable colleague and an even more dependable friend. You have done wonders turning your life around so completely in such a short time. Don't jeopardise all you've achieved in some sort of misguided attempt to save me from the consequences of my actions. OK?"

Greatly daring and hoping that she wasn't crossing a line, Jen grinned and replied, "Well, someone has to, sir!"

Harm laughed, causing heads at other tables to swivel curiously in his direction, "Well maybe so, Jennifer, but it's taken me too long to train you to my weird little ways, and I really can't be bothered with the prospect of training a new Legalman!"

The twinkle in his eyes betrayed that Harm wasn't being serious, and that realisation emboldened Jen to sigh, "Of course… I should have realised that all this concern for me was really just pure self-interest!"

Harm threw up a hand in the manner of a fencer acknowledging a hit, "Touché!" he exclaimed with a grin, and then after a glance at his watch added, "If you're ready, Jennifer?"

"Yes, sir," she replied gathering cups and plates onto their tray and then tucking her cover under her arm depositing the tray on the nearest rack.

xxvii-xxvii-xvii-xvii-xvii

Although Harm tried to keep an ear open for any further disturbances in the outer office, he was forced to focus on finding and drafting the answers to the SecNav's questions, which meant frequent recourse to the UN Convention on Piracy and the various law books concentrating on Maritime and International Laws. So absorbed did he become, that it wasn't until Jen called him on the intercom that he became aware of the passage of time.

"Yes, Coates?"

"Just to let you know that I'm just about to secure, unless you need me for anything else today, sir?"

"Damn! Is it that late already?"

" 'Fraid so, sir!"

"OK, Coates. Go ahead and secure. I shan't be many minutes behind you!"

Harm was close behind Jen that he actually caught up with her at CP as she was signing out for the day, and as she stepped aside to allow Harm access to the counter, she smiled and said, "You sure are in a hurry, sir! Can't wait to get home to Elizabeth?"

Harm turned to the door, Jen falling into step beside him, "You're right, Coates. These last two weeks have made a lot of changes in my life, but I wouldn't have it any other way! But this evening, it's my turn to visit Kresge before I go home.

Jen's face creased in quick alarm, "There's nothing wrong, is there sir?"

"Oh? Oh, no. No, nothing like that. It's Catherine's mom, one of us visits her every day, and today it's my turn while Catherine stays at home with Beth. Once Beth is a little older then we can both visit with Esther together again!"

"Oh, OK, sir… my car's across the lot, sir. See you tomorrow!" Jen held a brace for a second or two before saluting and turning away.

"Tomorrow, Coates," Harm agreed, returning her salute.

Once again, Harm was running late, 'So what's new about that?' he asked himself, and once again found himself caught up in the mass of drivers using the back streets as rat runs, consequently what should have been a twenty minute drive stretched out to double that length of time. As a result, Harm's temper was on the rise again as he rolled to a stop in the hospital's parking lot.

Torn between his wish to get to Esther's room as quickly as possible, and the need not to agitate her by letting her see how frazzled he was, Harm leant back against the headrest and grudgingly allowed himself five minutes to unwind, and it was only when he felt his eyelids begin to flutter closed that he made the effort of climbing out of the Lexus.

With a bright smile on his face Harm rapped on the frame of Esther's door, "Hey, Grandma, got a coupla minutes to spare for a handsome sailor?" he asked with a slightly toned version of his full-power smile.

"Of course I do!" Esther responded immediately, throwing to one side the magazine through which she had been disinterestedly browsing, "Come on in and bring me up to date!"

"Not a lot to tell, Esther," Harm admitted as he bent to kiss the old lady's cheek. Catherine's fine, a little tired, as I am, but Lady Elizabeth continues blithely to order the household to comply with her wishes!"

"I'm sure she does!" Esther exclaimed, patting the bed in a silent invitation for Harm to sit down, "just like her mother and uncle did when they were babies!"

"I'm sure you're right, Esther, but just don't go telling Catherine that anything Elizabeth does has been done before by previous generations if babies!"

Esther cocked her head on side, once more irresistibly reminding Harm of a sparrow, as she fixed him with her piercing eyes, "Having second thoughts about a cuckoo in the nest, Harmon?"

"No! Never!" Harm indignantly denied the accusation.

"No, I didn't think for a second that you were," Esther agreed, patting him on the hand, "but if you'll forgive an old lady, I had to ask."

"You may be an old lady, Esther," Harm smiled, "But that's only to look at! I don't think I've ever seen a sharper knife in any drawer!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Harmon Rabb!" Esther scolded him fondly.

"Oh, I don't know…" Harm smiled lazily, "it got me exactly what I wanted… Catherine and Elizabeth!"

"And Mattie?" the old lady asked shrewdly.

"No…" Harm sobered, "Not Mattie, not yet… but hopefully…" He pulled himself together with a jerk, "We've got a date for the court hearing, December twenty fourth, so if the fates are kind, then Catherine's fortune-telling could be right after all. You will have two granddaughters by Christmas!"

Esther laid her head back on the banked pillows behind her and smiled at the conceit, "Do you know, with all that's been happening, I'd almost forgotten about that!"

Harm's answering smile was full of honest amusement, "Esther, believe me, if you were sharing a house with Mattie Grace Johnson, you would have absolutely no trouble whatsoever of remembering it!"

Esther sighed, "I miss that girl! When is she coming in to see me again?"

"Well, Catherine will be coming to see you tomorrow, while I keep an eye on Beth, and I'll bet you a dime to a dollar that Mattie will be with her."

Esther nodded, "You're probably right, but it's not quite the same as seeing you all together," she said mournfully.

"Beth's a little too young to be dragged out to see you just yet, Esther. Just be a little patient and in a couple of weeks we'll be back en-masse to make you miserable!"

"M'mm… I'm waiting for the day…" Esther's voice trailed off, and her eyes slowly closed, but the smile remained on her lips.

Harm looked at her sharply, and was relieved to see the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest. He grinned and shook his head wonderingly; Esther Gale was proving to be tough as the whitleather to which he'd once compared her. The doctors had given up on her before he'd gone to Paraguay, but she was still hanging in there, and a goodly part of the reason for that was that she had been determined not go until she had seen her first grandchild. But now that Elizabeth was here, she needed to find something else to supply her will to survive.

He continued to sit silently by her bedside, holding one of her thin hands in his own, for a good twenty minutes until he decided that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, so bending over and lightly dropping a kiss on her forehead he quietly left the room.

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

Catherine and Harm sat back on the couch in their usual position, her head nestled in to the hollow oh his shoulder and his arm looped around her shoulder and his hand gently stroking her upper arm, watching Mattie as she sat in one of the armchairs, a jumper-clad Beth cradled in her arms, her hair pulled back in a pony-tail, allowing Harm and Catherine an unobstructed view of her face.

Neither of them had spoken of it, but both were surprised at how readily Mattie seemed to have bonded with the latest addition to her family, and despite her frequent grumbles about interrupted nights, she was more than happy to help Catherine with diaper changes and bath-time, or even just to sit quietly, as she was now, totally absorbed with the infant in her arms. She had even gotten over her squeamishness at seeing Catherine nurse her daughter, and no longer made an excuse to flee the room.

Catherine nudged Harm gently, "I guess we won't have to look very far for a baby-sitter when we finally get a social life again!"

Harm nodded, "I guess not… but that's one thing that concerns me…"

"Go on," Catherine urged him.

"Well, it's the court thinking exactly the same thing, but not looking on it in the same humorous light. If they think that we're taking on Mattie just as an extra pair of hands now that we've got a new baby, it won't look well in their eyes."

"Ummm… we'll just have to think upon a response strategy that will supply a satisfactory answer to the court if they should ask about that." Catherine decided.

"Yeah…" Harm felt slightly uneasy, "I know that generally going into any court that having a strategy is a good idea, but I'm wondering about this type of case. Miss Le Moyne made the point that we should be honest and open, and Watley pretty much said the same sort of thing."

"I just mean that perhaps we ought try and cover a worst case scenario and have our answers prepared in the event of any of the really bad questions come up."

Harm nodded the frown lines on his forehead smoothing out, "Yeah… and talking of awkward questions…" he paused waiting for a response.

"Ah! Catherine said triumphantly, there is something bothering you! I knew it!"

"Yeah, well… uh… have you managed a sub-let on your old apartment yet?" Harm asked rather diffidently.

"No… why?"

"Well, how much longer do you have to run on your lease?"

"Just over three years. Again, why?"

"Umm… I don't know how much you're asking, but…" Harms pulled his billfold out of his pocket and handed Catherine a slip of paper, "would you be prepared to accept that amount from a friend?"

Catherine's eyebrows rose, the sum on the paper was considerably less than the monthly rental that her Georgetown apartment could command on the open market. In fact the high rent was one of, if not the main, reasons why a sub-let had been difficult to arrange. "What friend?" she asked.

"Jennifer Coates. She and another Petty Officer have been looking for somewhere; I thought about offering them the old loft, but…"

"But?" Catherine prompted him.

"Yeah… but… it's too bad a neighbourhood. Letting them have my old place wouldn't be doing them any favours, and I wouldn't feel right…"

Catherine sat up straight, gently disengaging Harm's arm before she spoke, her eyes fixed on his, "Harm, what exactly is this girl to you? I mean, you were all twisted up yesterday because you'd yelled at her, and now this… apartment hunting for her…"

"Jealous, Catherine?" Harm asked in surprise.

"Do I have cause to be?"

"No, of course not! But as to what Jennifer is to me… as I said yesterday she's a colleague and a friend, of whom I think highly and to whom I – and all of us who were at JAG – owe a huge debt, and if I can help her out in any way, then I will!"

"OK," Catherine said placidly, as she snuggled back in the circle of Harm's arm.

"OK? That's it?" Harm asked in surprise.

"Sure, I asked if I needed to be jealous; you said no. So there's an end to it."

"You trust me that much?" Harm persisted.

"Of course I do; I love you," Catherine said simply.

"And I love you, too," Harm replied.

"I know!" Catherine said smugly.

"So… have you two finished fighting?" Mattie's suspicious voice betrayed that she hadn't after all been totally absorbed by Beth.

"We weren't fighting!" Harm and Catherine protested in chorus.

"Oh, good," Mattie's relief was plain to hear, "so I guess that means you won't be making up by putting on any disgusting PDAs?"

"PDAs?" Harm asked in a resigned voice as he waited to hear Mattie's punch-line, but to his further surprise it was Catherine that supplied the missing information.

"Public displays of affection," she smiled, "like this!" and she reached up to capture Harm's lips with her own.

Mattie shook her head in mock despair, "I don't suppose you two are ever going to stop grossing me out like that?" she asked, biting her tongue to stop her grin from exploding.

Harm pretended to give the question serious consideration, before he answered, "Nope… I don't think so. Catherine?"

"No, definitely not!"

Mattie sighed and looked down at the gurgling baby in her arms, "Beth, I'm not real sure how to tell you this, 'cos you're way too young to be disillusioned, but the sad reality is, your mommy and daddy are totally shameless!" she intoned in solemn accents.

Catherine laughed out loud and then still smiling said, "Mats, have you any idea of the length of the tab you're running up? And that you are most definitely going to pay when you introduce your boyfriends to us!"

"Oh, that won't be for years! After all, Harm said he wasn't going to allow me to date until I was thirty! And by then you'll have forgotten all about this!"

Mattie contented herself with a grin as both Harm and Catherine burst into laughter, startling Beth into wakefulness, a condition of which it seemed by the volume of her protest that she heartily disapproved.

Catherine stood and started across the room to comfort her daughter, but was beaten to the punch by Mattie, who rose to her feet, Beth still in her arms and said, "It's OK, I've got this!"

To Harm and Catherine's surprise the teenager took a only a few steps around the room, whispering soothingly into Beth's ear, before the infant stopped crying but then started rooting at Mattie's breast. Her face flaming, Mattie turned back to Catherine, "Uh… I think… maybe you had better take her now. I'll go fix us all a drink…" she held Beth out for Catherine to take and fled to the kitchen.

Harm exchanged a look with Catherine, and more slowly followed the teenager. In the kitchen, Mattie stood at the worktop ostensibly looking out of the window while she waited for the kettle to boil.

"Are you OK, Squirt?" Harm asked gently.

"Uh… yeah, I'm fine…" Mattie replied, thankful that the colour was receding in her cheeks, "I guess I'm fine being a big sister; I'm just not ready to be a mom yet!"

Harm crossed the room and stood behind her, folding his arms around her in a hug. "No," he said softly, "Not yet, Mats. Like you just told us, you've plenty of time left before you even start thinking of that." He dropped a soft kiss on the crown of her head. "Are you really OK with all this? I mean, with Beth and Gina running Grace Aviation and living in your Mom's house, and you coming to live with us, and now there's our little Beth… we don't want you to start thinking that all we're doing it for is so we can have a full-time baby-sitter…"

Mattie turned to face Harm, and leaning back against his hands at the small of her back, she looked up into his face and said seriously, "Harm, I heard what you and Catherine were saying about me, and baby-sitting and the court and all, but it's like this: when my mom was alive, there were chores that she had me do. And I know from the other kids in school, that they did chores too, and some of them even had to look after their younger brothers and sisters. That was being part of a family. If I'm going to be part of your family, then I want it to be all the way. Otherwise I'm just a house-guest, or worse, that long-lost cousin that's come to stay until everyone wishes he'd get lost again! And if the judge asks me how I feel about doing chores and stuff, well that's what I'll tell him! As for Beth and Gina… if you and Catherine hadn't stepped up to the plate for me, then I'd have lost the house and the business; as it is, I've just lent them to somebody until I'm old enough to look after them myself!"

Harm's face relaxed as he listened to Mattie, "I think I remember telling you once before that you were pretty damn… uh… darn smart. But I can't remember if I told you that you were pretty darn cool too!"

"Yeah, well, you're pretty… uh… darn cool your own self!" Mattie grinned mischievously, "but this tea isn't going to brew itself! Wanna give me a hand?"

"Sure thing, Squirt!"

Later Harm was lying in bed having just watched admiringly as Catherine went through a rigorous muscle stretch before heading to the shower, he asked her, "Did you think about the apartment and Jennifer?"

Catherine sat on the edge of the bed, casting a wary eye into Beth's crib as she did so. "Yeah, I've thought about it, and really what she, what they are offering is way below market value… but," she added hastily as she saw Harm about to interrupt, "we'd still be that much better-off each month. Especially if you're going to make a habit of crashing cars…" she grinned at Harm's wounded expression. "So… normally, I'd expect references before signing a sub-let, but I guess with you as a referee?" she paused and continued when Harm nodded his agreement, "that won't be necessary. But… I'd still like to speak with her before I make my final decision. Can that be done?"

"It can," Harm agreed, "but we need to move quickly on this. Would tomorrow evening be OK with you?"

"Wow! That is quick! What do you have in mind?"

"I'll get Jennifer to follow me home tomorrow, and you can talk with her, and I'll get a chance to have Beth all to myself for a while!"

"That's if Mattie will let you!" Catherine chuckled as she stood. "But, yeah, that would work for me!"

Catherine was in the bathroom no more than fifteen minutes, taking a shower and completing her pre-bed rituals before she returned to the bedroom to find Harm already asleep, a smile seeming to hover on his lips. She smiled gently and whispered, "Goodnight, darling," as she slid under the comforter and then shot a glance at the crib, "As for you… I'll see you later!"

Five seconds later there was a soft click as Catherine switched off the light and the bedroom was filled with the sound of soft breathing.

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

Jen nervously licked her lips as she slid out from behind the wheel of her ancient Ford Escort and walked towards Harm as he fumbled his keys from his pocket, "Are you sure about this, sir?"

"Jennifer, I'm not sure about anything in this world anymore. And really this has nothing to do with me. This is Catherine's business."

Jen's eyebrows rose at what she considered to be his disingenuous disclaimer, and gave a mental snort of derision, but contented herself with a slightly sardonic, "Like you had absolutely nothing to do with it, sir?"

Harm grinned at his Legalman's sceptical expression, "No… well… not much… I just happened to know of a pair of young ladies looking for an apartment to rent, and also of another young lady who has an apartment she wants to sub-let. So, no, really, I did nothing, except bring each party to the other's notice!" He unlocked the door, and opening it stepped back to allow Jen to enter ahead of him.

"I'll take those," Harm said, indicating Jen's cover and raincoat and hanging them on the rack just inside the door, "Now come and meet the tribe!"

Jen nervously followed Harm into the lounge, where she was met by the sight of Mattie just laying Beth down in her porta-crib. Jen immediately turned to Harm, "Oh… may I, sir?"

Like any new daddy Harm was only too happy to show off his baby, and with a smile, stood back to allow Jen to close in on Beth, who for once was happily awake and stared back up at Jen with her still unfocussed blue eyes.

Jen's breath caught in her throat, "Oh… she's so beautiful," she breathed, immediately winning over Mattie who at first sight had been inclined to be suspicious of this older, more poised and in her teenaged eyes much more sophisticated woman.

"Hi," she said shyly, "I'm Mattie Grace… I… uh live here with Harm and Catherine…"

Jen smiled, "Hi, Jennifer Coates; I work for the Commander."

Mattie grinned, casting a sly sidelong glance at Harm, "Yeah, I think we spoke on the phone once. Is he as much of a hard-ass at work as he is at home?"

Jen nearly choked, "You don't really expect me to answer that while he's standing right here, do you?"

Harm just stood thunderstruck, "In what way have I been a… a… well, what you said? And we are going to have another talk about your language, young lady!"

Jen charged to Mattie's rescue, "Uh… no… we haven't spoken… I think it was the girl I took over from, Lynne Barker, you spoke to!" And then Jen's curiosity got the better of her, "How's he being hard on you?"

Mattie grunted scornfully, "He wants me to go back to school. I keep telling him that as long as he teaches me to fly I've learned everything I need to know!"

Jen's smile was gently sympathetic, "I know what you mean, I hated school too!"

"Probably not for the same reasons I do, I'll bet!" Mattie challenged her as the two young women sat down, each in an armchair.

"No? Try me!" Jen said, amused by the teen's certainty.

"Well, look at you! You're the cheerleader type!"

Jen's quiet, brief chuckle was genuine, but Harm thought he detected the edge of bitterness in it, a thought that was confirmed as Jen answered, "I wasn't always! My dad was a minister and he made me dress like a real geek!"

Mattie could barely stifle a giggle as she tried, and failed, to imagine Jen dressed like a geek, but before either if the young women could make any further comment, Catherine who had been loading a basket of dirty baby clothes into the washer, hurried in from the utility room., and came straight to Harm, taking his hands in hers and raising her face for a brief kiss, "Hi, sweetheart!" she said.

Mattie leaned towards Jen, and whispered behind her hand, "Don't sweat it – they're like this all the time!"

Jen, who hadn't missed the very quick glance that Catherine had shot at her, stood to greet Catherine and smiled in seeming response to Mattie's comment, but her smile was occasioned by the knowledge that she had just seen Catherine mark her territory.

"Catherine," Harm said as they slipped their arms around each other's waists and turned to face their visitor, "This is Petty Officer Jennifer Coates, the young lady about who I've spoken with you. Jennifer, this is my partner, Catherine Gale."

Jennifer nodded, "I've heard your name, ma'am, and I was privileged enough to meet your daughter the night she was born." Jen took a quick look at Beth, "It's hard to believe that she's grown so much in just two weeks!"

Catherine couldn't help but be attracted by Jen's open expression and friendly smile, and of course, interest in and praise of her daughter was a sure-fire way to Catherine's heart. Her face blossomed into a smile of welcome and she advanced on Jen, a hand held out. "And I've heard a lot about you… Jennifer, isn't it?"

Jen went slightly pink, "Uh… Jen, ma'am. It's only the Commander that ever calls me Jennifer!"

Catherine released Jen's hand, "Yes, he does that doesn't he?" she asked rhetorically, "When I think about it, everybody else, except for my Mom of course, calls me 'Cat' or 'Cathy', it's only Harm – the Commander – that uses the full version of my name! It makes you feel kind of special, doesn't it?"

Jen blinked, "Yes, ma'am, I guess it does!"

Catherine nodded, "Come and sit down, I want to get to know you a little before we get down to business!"

Harm, recognising the signs of an impending long discussion, took himself off to the kitchen and phoned in an order for two pizzas, a roast vegetable pizza to be shared between Catherine and himself and a meat lover's feast for the two younger women.

By the time the pizzas had been delivered and eaten Catherine and Jen had arrived at a mutual respect and the beginnings of a liking, and in principle it was agreed that Jen and Lynne would rent the Georgetown apartment. The disclosure of its location had nearly caused Jen's eyes to pop out of her head.

"Georgetown?" she queried, "Oh… that neighbourhood is well above our pay-grade! I'm sorry; I've wasted your time! But it would have been nice…" she added wistfully.

"Well, no…" Catherine temporised, "You have to remember that there isn't a stick of furniture in the place, not even a fridge in the kitchen, although the stove is still there!"

"But there is plenty of closet space!" Harm interjected, and was rewarded by seeing some of the cloud leave Jen's face.

"Besides, I knew last night what you said you and your friend said you could offer for rent," Catherine finished on a note of triumph, "so there has been no waste of time, well, none of mine!"

Jen smiled her acknowledgement, "Look, we really need an apartment, but… I wouldn't feel right saying we'd take it, without both Lynne and I seeing it first! Can we arrange a time so we could see it?"

Catherine frowned, "The logistics are a bit complicated, I can't leave Beth alone for the time it would take to get into DC and back, let alone say, maybe half an hour in the apartment. And, no offence, Kiddo, but I don't want to leave Beth with just you, not yet, anyway."

Mattie pinkened, "No offence taken Catherine, I wouldn't want that much responsibility anyway, not while Beth's so young!" Mattie also remembered the unsettling feeling she'd got when Beth had started to root at her breast. Overcome with an emotion that she was too young to recognise, much less deal with, Mattie had been heartily relieved to be able to hand Beth off to her mother and seek refuge in the kitchen.

"But I do got an idea…"

The three adults all looked at her with interest. "I know where the apartment is, and I know the neighbourhood – probably better than you, Harm. I could show it to Jen and her friend…"

Harm and Catherine looked at each other, both with dubious expressions on their faces. "How would you work that, Squirt?" Harm asked.

"Well, it's too late now, I wouldn't be happy being out after dark. But I could get the bus to a metro station tomorrow afternoon and then the metro to the Pentagon, and then Jennifer could pick up her friend and then I'd take them to the apartment, and then once they've seen it, you could come and collect me?"

Jen saw the imminent refusal on Harm's face and quickly interrupted, "There'd be no need for that Mattie. I'd be glad to bring you home!"

The two younger women received an unexpected reinforcement from Catherine, who nodded and said decisively, "Yeah! That would work!"

Besieged by two pairs of blue eyes and one pair of brown, Harm threw up his hands in surrender, "OK, that's the way we'll play it, if you want. But I could just as easily take Jennifer myself after work tomorrow!"

"Yeah, you could," Catherine agreed, "but then, who'd get dinner ready?"

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

Jennifer, Lynne and Mattie stood, surrounded by boxes and full to bursting black trash bags, in the middle of what had been and would again be the lounge in Catherine's old apartment. The muffled sounds of swearing filtered through from Mattie's old room where Lynne's boyfriend and one of his buddies were putting Lynne's bed together. For the time being, Jen was using a futon, but with the near-future acquisition of a real bed in the front of her mind.

"Well, what now?" Mattie inquired.

"We wait until the guys have finished in my bedroom, then we give them a beer, get rid of them and start the real work!" Lynne said emphatically.

"Beer?" Mattie said hopefully.

"Forget it kid!" Jen laughed, "The Commander would kill me!"

"Yeah, I s'pose," Mattie agreed half-heartedly, and then as a thought struck her, "Hey, Jen, do you always call Harm 'the Commander'?"

Jen looked at her in surprise, "Of course I do, unless I'm speaking with him, and then I call him, 'sir'."

"But you're friends, right? So why don't you call him by his name?"

"Because we're also Navy, Mattie; he's an officer, I'm not. And that's just the way it is!"

"Dumb Navy, dumb rules!" Mattie grumbled much to Jen and Lynne's amusement.

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

The following Friday Harm arrived home from duty to find that Catherine had set only two places for dinner. "Am I in the dog-house?" he demanded.

"Huh?" Catherine replied eloquently, and then following the direction of his gaze, she chuckled, "No, nothing of the sort! Mattie's at the old apartment tonight, she's having that sleepover with Jen and Lynne, remember?"

"Oh… yeah… but remind me, how come I ever agreed to such a half-assed plan?"

"Well… because I pointed out that Mattie needed a larger social circle than just you and me. To which you agreed. And then you subjected Jen to a third degree and wrung a promise from her on pain of great pain, that there would be no boys, no beer, no wine, no smoking and that refreshments would be confined to a light supper, sodas and s'mores!"

"I did huh?" Harm sounded pleased with himself.

"Yeah, you did, so let's have no more complaining!"

"Of course… you realise what this means, don't you?" Harm asked.

"What?" asked Catherine suspiciously.

"It means apart from sharing you with Beth, I get you all to myself for the whole evening!"

"Oh… damn!" Catherine groaned, "Do you think we could farm Mattie out for the whole weekend, but next month, after I get the all clear?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Harm agreed with a grin that set Catherine's heart racing.

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

The days passed and the holidays grew nearer, and with the holidays so came the date for the hearing. The uncertainty of the outcome of the court case cast a slight pall over the preparations for the celebration, and although a tree had been procured, and gifts bought and wrapped, neither Harm nor Catherine felt like decorating the tree, almost as if they believed such an optimistic preparation would only jinx their case.

In an unspoken conspiracy all three had kept their worries from Esther, but that astute old lady had sensed that something was awry, but after an interminable inner debate had decided that when the three of them were ready they'd tell her what was bothering them.

The Monday night before the hearing it seemed that their worst fears were being realised. Harm had come straight from work and was expecting Catherine, Mattie and Beth home from Kresge at almost any minute. Catherine having consulted with Doctor Winslow they had decided that Beth would take no harm from a couple of outing a week to visit her grandmother, and that the change of environment would even be developmentally beneficial for her.

Whether Beth received any benefit was still a moot point, but it was certain that Esther did, and Harm was firmly resolved that no matter what the outcome of the court case, the whole family would visit Esther on Christmas Eve as well as on the holiday itself.

He had barely shrugged himself out of his overcoat and hung his cover on the rack when he was interrupted by the summons of the telephone, crossing into the lounge, he picked up the handset, "Rabb,"

"Sir, it's Bud Roberts, sir. It's bad news, sir. Not bad, bad news, sir," Bud continued as Harms' heart skipped a couple of beats. "But…"

Harm interrupted him, almost barking at his friend, "Don't do that Bud! I thought you were going to tell me that something had happened to Catherine!"

"Oh, no, sir! Nothing like that… well, as far as I know sir, but of course, I don't know everything, so…"

"Bud! You're not helping here! What is the problem?"

"Oh… uh… yeah. I've just been sent on a JAGMAN investigation sir, out to the Iron Ike, Harriett's furious, because it looks like I'm not going to make it back for the holiday… but it's worse than that, sir, I won't be able to make it to the court hearing as your character witness!"

"Dammit, Bud!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but really, it's not my fault!"

"Of course not…" A sudden thought seized his mind, "Did Mac send you on this assignment?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Did you tell her about the hearing, Bud?"

"Yes, sir. But she really has no-one else to send. We're still short-handed at JAG, Commander Manetti and Major McBurney are investigating a case at Twenty Nine Palms, Commander Austin is in court all week, and the new junior attorneys that have arrived have no investigative experience. The Colonel said she was sorry that I might have to miss the holidays, and she did notarise my written statement regarding your character, and I've sent it by messenger to your office. So you should get it on your desk, first thing in the morning!"

Harm felt his shoulders droop, neither he nor Bud could do anything about the orders he had received, and although Mac had notarised Bud's sworn statement, all three of them knew that an affidavit was nowhere near as compelling as live testimony, and given the state of Mac and Harm's relationship, and Bud's explanation of the manning problems at JAG notwithstanding, he couldn't help but wonder if Mac was deliberately trying to sabotage his bid for Mattie's guardianship. After all, their last conversation had been on the chilly side, and Mac had been known in the past to act hastily without fully considering the consequences.

"OK, Bud. Thanks for letting me know. It can't be helped; orders are orders. You take care of yourself on the Ike, and no shore trips, d'you hear, there?"

Harm could hear the grin in Bud's reply, "I read you loud and clear sir! And believe me, after the warning Harriett's given me about what she'll do to me if I hurt myself, if I even get a hangnail, I'm not coming home!"

"Yeah… well, Godspeed, Bud, and let's hope you get home for the holiday!"

"Amen to that sir!"

Harm busied himself about the kitchen but as he prepared the evening meal, he was mentally reviewing the possible impact on his petition that the non-appearance of a listed witness might have, and came to the conclusion that even with Bud's sworn and notarised statement his absence would be a point against the case.

He remained distracted throughout dinner, a fact not missed by either Catherine or Mattie, if their frequent exchange of concerned glances were any indication, and it was eventually Mattie who couldn't stand the suspense any longer, and as soon as the three had taken their tea into the lounge, she put her cup down on the occasional table and said challengingly, "OK, Harm… what bug has bitten your six!"

Harm attempted a weak joke, "Not bug, Squirt, but Bud." Then seeing her look of incomprehension he turned towards Catherine who had a puzzled frown on her face, sighed and said, "Bud called earlier. He was going to be a character witness at the hearing, right?" He paused to allow the two women to nod their heads in agreement, "Well… he's been sent on an investigation on board one of the carriers… in the Indian Ocean, and he very probably won't be back for the holidays and almost certainly will miss the hearing."

Catherine instantly understood Harm's worries and grimaced, but reached out and gripped his hand comfortingly.

"Is that bad for us?" Mattie asked worriedly.

"Well… it doesn't help us," Harm confirmed, "It's not necessarily a death knell, but although he's sent me a sworn and notarised statement, it's not the same as him standing up in court and the judge being able to ask for clarification."

"So… we're doomed?" Mattie asked, her eyes filling with tears.

"No, not doomed, it just makes it a little harder…" Catherine said gently

Mattie gulped, and gave an audible sniff, "It's getting a bit late, and there's some reading I want to get through before I go to sleep. So… if you don't mind, I'll say goodnight now."

"Yeah, OK, Squirt, good night!"

"Sleep well, Mattie," Catherine added as the teen headed for the stairs.

Later, as she sat on the edge of the bed and gave Beth a feed before putting her down for the night, Catherine asked, "This sending Bud out of town… it couldn't have come at a worse time, and it really sucks. Do you think Colonel MacKenzie did it on purpose, you know, like a Uriah the Hittite type situation?"

Harm managed a grin, "Well, apart from the fact that I don't think Mac lusts after Harriet, I'm fairly certain that Mac wouldn't stoop that low, even to punish me. Remember, Bud's likely to miss the holiday, and Mac is still little A J's Godmother and I wouldn't like to think that she would willingly hurt the little guy…"

"It's still a lousy card to draw!" Catherine stated forcefully as she brought Beth up to her shoulder to burp her.

"Yeah, but we've drawn it, and we can only play the cards we're dealt."

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

The hand that dealt the cards hadn't yet finished with Harm's little family. He had just returned to his office after another interminable meeting with the SecNav, this time over the manning plot. To Harm's surprise a handful of officers in Tranche One, those who had spent longest at sea or in hardship billets had replied to the invitations stating, quite forcefully in some cases, their decided preference to stay where they were.

Shaking his head in stupefaction and his mind still going over the points he had made to the SecNav, Harm was caught flat-footed when Jen stood as he entered the outer office and said, "Sir, while you were with the SecNav Lieutenant Sims called. Can you call her back on her home number? She said it was 'quite urgent'.

Harm blinked, "Thanks, Jen." But his heart sank, surely to God nothing had happened to Bud, but no, on reflection, if something had happened to Bud, Harriet would have insisted on speaking with him immediately, and he had a shrewd suspicion that under those circumstances Jen would have had no compunction in interrupting his meeting with Secretary Sheffield.

Still, the best way to get answers was to ask the questions. Once behind his desk, he reached for the 'phone and dialling the outside line prefix, he punched in the numbers for Bud and Harriet's home line, and was rewarding by the sound of the 'phone being picked up at the second ring.

"Roberts' residence."

"Good morning, Harriett. Harm here; you needed to speak with me?"

"Sir! Yes, thank God you called back so quickly…" there was a note of barely suppressed panic in the blonde officer's voice

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, what's the matter, Harriet?"

"Sir, I feel terrible. Bud's going on the investigation must have knocked a hole in your case, and now I've had to collect little A J from pre-school; he's running a temperature, and I don't think I'll be able to get to court tomorrow, either!"

Harm closed his eyes briefly, this was not the sort of news he wanted. Now both his character witnesses were unavailable, but if A J was sick, then obviously Harriet needed to consider him her highest priority.

"Don't worry about it Harriet. We'll be just fine; we've got too much running in our favour to let us worry. You go right ahead, and look after A J. He's got to be your number one concern!"

"Oh, thank you, sir!"

"Don't thank me, just get off the line and get on with looking after your son!"

Harem found it difficult to concentrate fully on his work for the rest of the day, and finally at about fifteen thirty hours he reluctantly acknowledged that he had achieved very little and reached a command decision, "Coates," he called into the intercom, "Unless you've got something urgent on your desk for me, I'm going to secure. I need to go home and go over my notes for tomorrow!"

"No, nothing new here sir!"

Harm quickly restored order to his desk and after a confirmatory glance through the window, he shrugged into his raincoat and with cover and briefcase in hand, quit his office, offering Jen a quick "Goodnight, Coates," as he passed her desk.

Jen returned his farewell, "Good night, sir," and then added, "And sir, good luck tomorrow!"

Harm paused briefly, Mattie and Coates had struck up an unlikely friendship, and Harm although surprised was more than happy that Mattie should take Jen, notwithstanding her prior record, as an example, so he mustered a half-smile, and said, "Thanks, Jen." before he nodded to her again and left the office.

xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii-xxvii

"Do I have to wear a dress?" Mattie demanded loudly, bringing a hissed 'Shh' from both Harm and Catherine, as they looked anxiously at the porta-crib on the couch.

"Sorry!" Mattie whispered red-faced with embarrassment at her slip, "But really, a dress?"

"It shows respect for the court," Harm said wearily, "like I've told you before."

"Lying to the court shows respect, just how does that work?" Mattie challenged him.

"Lying?"

"Yeah, pretending to be somebody I'm not. That's as good as lying, isn't Catherine?" Mattie turned to her for support.

"Not in this case, Mattie. To some extent all court cases are a bit like theatre. The judge for instance, wears a robe in court, and I'll bet you a dime to a dollar that he or she doesn't wear one at home! And people in our position, petitioners and defendants, all wear something that includes them as part of the cast."

"Yeah, when I had to appear as an attorney before an Australian court, I had to wear a robe and a wig!"

Distracted for the moment, Mattie giggled, "That I would liked to have seen!"

"Yeah? Well it ain't going to happen! I told Bud to destroy all the pictures and negatives if he ever wanted to live to draw his pension!"

"Bud has pictures?" Mattie asked and she and Catherine exchanged a look, a wicked smile growing on each of their faces.

"I told you, no! He destroyed them all. And anyway, stop trying to change the subject!"

"Oh well… it was worth a try!" Mattie shrugged her shoulders, filing away for future reference the snippet about Bud and his photographs. She was willing to bet a considerable some that the younger officer still had some… somewhere. "What are you wearing tomorrow, Catherine?"

"My mid-grey suit and white blouse."

"Is that a pants' suit?"

"No, it's a knee-length skirt. Harm… what if Mattie wore a skirt and jacket… it's not quite as girly as a dress, and might even work to her advantage; the judge might see it as a sign of maturity."

"H'mm… that's a thought… has she got anything like that in her closet?"

"Aw, can't I wear a jacket and dress pants… I got a grey pair that would go with that navy blue jacket…"

Before Harm could answer, or even frame a reply the conversation was disturbed by the 'phone. With recent 'phone calls in mind, and remembering that bad things always happen in threes, Harm had a sinking feeling in his stomach, even before he picked up the handset.

"Rabb."

"Harm, it's Beth O'Neill. Um… there's been a bit of a hiccup."

"What's wrong?" Harm had a flash of thought, a hangar fire, an airplane crash, a personal emergency for Beth or Gina?

"We've just had an unwelcome visitor… Mattie's dad just turned up on the doorstep and was hammering at the door…"

Harm drew in a deep breath, "Just a minute, Beth; I'm putting you on speaker 'phone. It's Beth at Charlottesville", he said hurriedly to Catherine and Mattie, "Mattie's dad has just shown up at the house!"

Mattie went white and instinctively sought Catherine's hand, her eyes growing huge and remaining fixed on Harm as he said, "Go ahead Beth, we can all hear you now."

"Well, it's like I said, Mattie's dad turned up demanding to be let in and spend the night. We said no of course, and he started blustering about how it was his house, and we had no right to be there. We tried to explain to him who we were what we were doing here and that we had a perfectly legal right to be here, but he wouldn't listen…"

"Was he drunk?" Mattie asked disgustedly.

"Well, he had been drinking," Beth hedged.

"What happened, Beth?" Harm asked.

"He demanded to see Mattie, so we had to explain that she wasn't here and that she was staying with you, and about the court case. Then… well, he started swearing, said he was going to fight you in court, and then ordered Gina and I to get out of his house. It looked like he was going to get violent… so I'm afraid I had to get my weapon, and I ordered him off the property…"

"Good for you!" Mattie said fiercely.

"Are you and Gina, OK?" Harm asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. It seems he had a spare key to that old pick-up, because he went and sat in it for a while and then just drove off."

"Have you called the Sherriff? Remember there's an outstanding warrant for his arrest on theft and fraud charges."

"Yes, we called the police immediately, and they said they'll keep an eye open for him. Apparently he's well known to them." Beth finished ironically.

"OK, well, keep safe, and thanks for the heads up!"

"De nada! We will! It won't be the first time I've sat CQ, but this time I've got my Glock and a shotgun to keep me company!"