Chapter 69

Several things happened at once, Mac stayed put, as she had a desk between her and the apparently deranged Chelsey.

Harm put himself between the crazed woman and his wife. Courtney screamed, "Mom, you are embarrassing me." Her daughter knew very well that her father Darien was also Phillip's father; they were too similar in looks not to be. Courtney had seen pictures of Eddie in her parent's yearbook, and having just aced genetics in chemistry, she knew the chances were slim that Eddie was the biological father. Courtney figured, rightly, that Eddie and Chelsey met secretly because her father had prohibited the young man from his house and places of business. In desperation, Chelsey begged Darien to marry her and claim fatherhood, as he was sure he was the father, as he and Chelsey had been having sex regularly since her sixteenth birthday. Darien didn't know about his girlfriend's trysts with the town bad-boy, and the timing was right, in her deluded mind. Long before Phillip's death at age sixteen of leukemia, Darien had a paternity test run, and it confirmed what he knew all along. "Dad has proof. Phillip was his."

Hearing this family laundry aired in public, slowed Chelsey down just long enough for Bud to tackle the woman. Bud hadn't planned to tackle her, instead of grabbing her arm, as he intended he grabbed her waist. Momentum took over and they both went down. The guards, who'd been summoned by Mac's 'panic' button, had her in handcuffs in seconds.

Courtney was in tears, and Cara was comforting her. Courtney looked at Mac. "I'm so sorry. For years, Mom told me Eddie was Phillip's dad, when it was obvious, just looking at Phil, that he was Dad's."

When the guards had handcuffed Chelsey and pulled her to a standing position Mac took a deep breath before talking. "Chelsey, you know quite well that Eddie was driving that night, I was in the passenger seat, we were all headed to the quarry," If Mac had known about Chelsey's obsession over Eddie, she'd have done things differently, and may have turned down the request for the students visit.

Shannon profusely apologized for the actions of her fellow chaperone and friend. "Lt. Colonel McKenzie-Rabb, I apologize to the court for the behavior you were subjected to."

Mac accepted the apology, even though Shannon didn't have to make it. "Maybe she will get the help she obviously needs."

Shannon knew that she and the other chaperones could handle the students during the upcoming competition. It would be an interesting time to be in their hometown though, as the school board would not condone her actions in the courtroom. Darien could get his wife out of jail.

Steve Braun helped Bud up after he ended up on the floor, and noticed that the Lt. Commander had a prosthetic leg.

"Afghanistan" was all Bud said sensing the question.

"Thanks for serving your country, despite the cost." Steve honestly admitted. He'd knew he'd been a fool to listen to Chelsey but his actions, as he'd been just a second slow in stopping Chelsey from leaving the gallery, went a long way in redeeming himself.

"Your welcome and thanks". Bud said.

To make sure Mac was all right, Harm had a medical corpsman sent to make sure Mac was okay. She'd had closer calls with others, and not so patiently suffered through the brief examination. The corpsman didn't find anything wrong, as Mac fully expected, but suggested she check with her doctor.

Harm made her an appointment, against her wishes. The doctor reassured him. "If your wife wasn't considered to be high-risk, I wouldn't have even seen her today. However, if any problems, please come in immediately"

Mac declined to press charges against Chelsey, but General Creswell did. Chelsey was eventually extradited to Phoenix, which had the closest airport, a county sheriff's deputy there to meet her, along with her husband Darien. Per the agreement made with Creswell, she was placed on house arrest for six months.

Upon her return home, Chelsey was informed by the school superintendent herself, that she was banned from all school related activities and facilities, with the exception of her daughter's graduation ceremony when that time came

After the competition, where the high school team took fourth place in the national competition, Courtney took her mother's luggage home, and stayed long enough to get what she needed before moving in with her grandparents.

Chapter 70

After the competition and the return to Arizona, Cara called Mac upon her return home to inform her that Chelsey had been booted from all school related activities permanently. The actions Chelsey had taken at JAG had finally opened her father's eyes to what a grown-up brat she was. The town grapevine was that he'd informed both Chelsey and her husband Darien that he was cutting them off financially, they would now have to work for the allowance the trust distributed to them on a monthly basis. He informed them that everything would now go to Courtney, who had somehow managed to be a decent human being despite the family she'd been raised in.

What Chelsey would never know, what her father would not allow to become public knowledge: his wife had put her foot down and told him something had to be done about their daughter, he'd had things his way Chelsey's whole life and had made a mess of her life. If he didn't she would divorce him and let the Arizona authorities know what and where the proverbial skeletons in his closet were and where the proof was. He knew she would do as she promised to if he didn't. He changed his will, but before he could change his mind, he died of a heart attack weeks later. With his death, Courtney's grandmother was finally able to clean up the mess that her husband, and his crony, Darien's late father, had made of the town. Her actions made news even in the DC area.

Two weeks after her reunion with several classmates from high school, Mac realized that this pregnancy would be much different as she struggled to keep her lunch down for the third day in a row. She didn't want to worry Harm, but she knew she needed to see her obstetrician before her next appointment. "Colonel, I called the clinic for you, and scheduled an appointment for this afternoon at 1630." Jennifer Coates said after seeing Mac struggle for the third day. Mac might be upset with her for being so presumptuous but she wanted to see the happy family grow.

Mac knew there was a time a time to tough it out, after all she was a Marine, but there were times that it was not a good idea, and with a new life inside her, she realized she should have made the appointment herself this morning. "What symptoms did you tell them that you were having?" Mac asked the petty officer, knowing that Coates had said she was Sarah Mackenzie-Rabb, Lt. Colonel.

Jennifer had the grace to blush, "I told them that I'd been feeling more nauseous than normal, that people said I looked pale, and that I didn't have an appetite."

Jennifer had her pegged; the only thing she didn't know was the headache Mac had to deal with. She had the feeling her blood pressure was higher that it should be. "I'll let my C.O. know I need to leave early and Harm since he'll have to pick up Valerie from the sitter." She knew that Harm was at the Pentagon all morning, and he had prep work for a trial starting the next week so he'd be able to get the toddler.

Looking at her watch she knew she had enough time to walk over to Harm's office and give him the message in person, and if he weren't there, she could write him a note. He was in his office, having just arrived after having lunch with Admiral Chegwidden. "Harm, you'll need to pick Val up, I have an appointment this afternoon, just to make sure that everything is okay with the baby."

"I can call Mattie and have her pick Val up if you want me there." Harm said, mentally berating himself for not noticing how his wife was feeling physically.

"I'll call you, if she wants to talk with both of us" Mac compromised. As far as she knew, there was no need for Harm to be at this appointment. It wasn't as if they were going to find out the sex of the baby. That appointment she wanted him there for.

That afternoon, after the doctor examined her, he said that he wanted to talk with her. "Should I call my husband, and have him meet us here?" Mac had the feeling the doctor did not have good news for her.

"It's up to you" was all that the doctor said.

Knowing that Harm had wanted to come to the appointment made the decision very easy "I'll call him, he wanted to come with me, but he had court this afternoon." Mac used the phone in the exam room and found out that Harm was already on his way here.

"Even if it's nothing more serious than a headache, I want to be there" was his reply. He then told her where he was, as he'd already left JAG. When Creswell heard that Mac had left for an emergency appointment with the obstetrician, he had Okayed Harm's early departure.

"My husband will be here in about ten minutes," Mac told the doctor.

"I have another patient to see, meet me at my office in half an hour." With that the doctor left the room, and Mac was glad that this was not her normal physician as the woman needed to take a course in bedside manner 101." Her regular doctor was off, which was why she was trying to wait another day to see her.

Taking her time changing back into her uniform, Mac wondered what the doctor was going to say. All sorts of things were going through her head, from 'you've miscarried', to 'all you have is a headache.' She stayed in the waiting room for Harm, after informing the receptionist that the doctor wanted to see her in her office in 24 minutes.

"Wait here and I'll take you back when she's ready to see you," the sympathetic woman said. The receptionist had been in Mac's shoes, as she also suffered from endometriosis, so Mac knew the sympathy in her voice was genuine.

Eleven minutes went by and Mac just leafed through the magazines that were available. Nothing was catching her attention to read more than the first line of the paragraph. Finally, Harm came into the waiting room, which Mac felt, not for the first time was more than aptly named.

"I got stuck behind a fender bender; otherwise I would have been here five minutes ago" Harm said as he sat down next to her, and wishing that they weren't in uniform so that he could kiss his wife. Instead, he took her hand in his. "When Bud found I was leaving to come here, he offered to get Valerie. He'll take her home, and we'll pick her up when we are done here."

"He's a good friend," Mac said appreciating her husband's hand in hers, drawing strength from it. She was dreading what the doctor was going to say.

The thirty minutes the doctor said came and went, Mac was just about to see what was taking her so long, when the receptionist said "Lt. Colonel Rabb, I'll take you and your husband to the doctor's office now, please follow me."

tbc

when I return, out of town, and most likely not able to post for the duration I'm gone. Do not fret, I have chapters ready to go, and am nearing the end of this saga.

Karen