EPILOGUE - "Don't get too comfortable - you'll be working together".
A/N: AU. This is a fictional story, in a fictional Alternative Universe, about fictional characters who entertained us in a fictional TV series between 1995 and 2005. Mike. Characters borrowed with love and appreciation for the great team who brought us "JAG"; may your following careers blossom.
A/N: AU: "they aren't mine: I'm just playing with them - apart from any fictional character created by myself". Feel free to PM me if you spot any typos - my goal is 100% error-free. Feedback and comments are also welcome. Your opinions, critiques (and requests as PMs) are always helpful - and welcomed.
A/N: Published 20-SEP-2023: The original first chapter was intended as a quick one-off, based upon the first months of Harm and Mac. I have been impressed by the number of requests for me to take this further. Unfortunately, RL (both workload and also helping several friends through cancer in 2023) is standing in the way. So, here is a quick epilogue. I dedicate this chapter to NWMariposa.
A/N: *IF* anyone else would like to take this forward (including maybe tracking down Sarah Mackenzie's daughter from 1994-95 when she turns 18 in 2013) then feel free to pick up this baton and run with it. This story was *NOT* intended to overlap with the later "One night in Red Rock Mesa" storyline, which I definitely SHALL be continuing. Mike 21-SEP-2023
A/N – link to Canon Episodes: "Smoked" (S01Ep14, airdate 20MAR1996): "Skeleton Crew pt1" (S01EP2x - originally un-broadcast original script, part #1 maybe 15JUL1996): "We the people" (S02Ep01, airdate 03JAN1997).
Characters from FFNET – Harmon Rabb jr; Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie; Jack Keeter.
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EPILOGUE - "Don't get too comfortable - you'll be working together".
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Monday 13th January 1997, 19:45hrs
Home of Harmon Rabb, North of Union Square, Washington DC, USA
Mac sprang to her feet and looked at him.
"Harm, I'll go - you stay", she said: "That meatloaf needs the vegetables serving."
He nodded, then watched her legs - below the hem of her USMC-issue skirt - as she walked to the door. This woman could make a burlap sack look sexy. She opened the door to find a larger-than-life man standing there displaying a clone of Harm's "Flyboy" smile, with a sea-bag over one shoulder and six-pack in his hand.
He took one look at her and smiled broadly.
"Hey little Miss Diane Schonke, looking good - is your hair lighter? So how was that crypto cruise?"
The questions flowed thick and fast. Not waiting for an answer, the new arrival strolled forward into the apartment, tweaked her left nipple and winked, then carried on talking: "Still not pierced, Diane?".
Stunned, she looked across and noticed that Harm was surveying the developing scene with an expression which seemed to be bordering on horror, as the visitor continued chatting without (apparently) drawing breath.
"Harm old son, glad you've made an honest woman of Diane here; that weekend in Maine must have worked better than you were hoping. Damned Company has had me flying up the boonies since that night before you said you were going to hook up with her when she came ashore. I only got your new address notification after New Year's, hence the surprise visit."
He turned once more towards Mac: "So Diane, the 1997 annual Reunion of the Annapolis Horsemen is hereby declared open; have you two heard from Sturgis lately?"
As Keeter (for it was he!) settled onto the sofa, Mac turned - still stunned and speechless, standing by the open apartment door - towards Harm.
She was only mildly irritated as she realised that the sweatshirt was once again rubbing gently against a pair of her naked and pert breasts, which were still standing stubbornly proud beneath the image of the F14. Keeter had undone her work on trying to get under control after Harm's embrace. She sighed - in fairness, her "girls" would be unable to resist an affectionate assault by two naval aviators - that was just asking too much!
Harm recovered the power of speech half a nanosecond before Mac's stunned surprise wore off and gave way to her annoyance, delaying her response as he spoke first.
"Jack, there is something you need to know..."
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Monday 13th January 1997, 21:05hrs
Home of Harmon Rabb, North of Union Square, Washington DC, USA
An hour, three beers and an apology later, Jack Keeter was still having problems processing the evidence before him.
His challenge lay in accepting that the young woman standing in front of him – barefoot in a USMC officer's skirt and evidently bra-less beneath the "Raptors" sweatshirt from Harm's wardrobe – was NOT the Diane Schonke with whom he (along with Harm and Sturgis) had endured, enjoyed and survived USNA at Annapolis.
"Jeez, Major – err, Mac, or Sarah – this is where the Universe springs the surprise of a lifetime."
He looked at Harm; "So buddy, have you two…?"
Almost in unison, Harm and Mac glared at him and announced; "NO!"
Mac looked at Harm and smiled: "Jack, I reckon that Harm is the one who is having the problem here. I didn't know about Diane until you came in and used the name, so I have a quick (or a very long!) history lesson to catch up on."
Jack looked at Harm. "Well Harm, it's time to dive into your little black book – or that photo album."
Harm nodded, then headed across to his bedroom.
He came back, carrying a small cigar box. It was time to look back into history and to cruise down Memory lane.
He and Keeter laughed over the group photograph of four young midshipmen, pictured almost a decade earlier.
The mood in the room lightened briefly, until Keeter raised the spectre of the Schonke-shaped elephant in the room.
"So Harm, where's Diane?"
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Monday 13th January 1997, 21:15hrs
Home of Harmon Rabb, North of Union Square, Washington DC, USA
The tears sprang, unbidden. Harm grabbed a beer and sat on the couch. Sensing that something immense was about to be revealed, Mac sat instinctively alongside him, draping a friendly arm over his shoulder.
"Well Jack, she had pulled the Late Watch when the carrier docked. She went ashore to pull her car from storage and was found, about a half-hour later, shot to death, sitting in her car on the dock-side."
Mac's intake of breath gave him the nudge to keep going. Keeter remained silent: he looked grim as Mac asked the follow-up question.
"So how did you hear, Harm? I presume that you were her next of kin?"
"Nope, Mac, that was her parents. I found out when I got the call as Duty JAG; drove down to Norfolk early that morning with Meg (that's Meg Austin, my JAG partner last year whom you've now replaced). We pulled up and I had just opened the body bag when the NCIS Agent in charge announced the name of the deceased."
He paused, taking a swallow of his beer, before continuing.
"Worst day of my life."
"And the killer?"
"So far, never caught; to add insult to injury, NCIS even arrested me and held me for a few hours until Meg knocked sense into NCIS; something about me working on a submission in Falls Church that night and being there when she got the call at 0600hrs for the drive to Norfolk. But I tell ya, that experience didn't help."
He took another swig of his beer; Mac leaned in closer and hugged him.
"So, Mac, that's the true reason why I froze when we first met."
"OK Harm, I can understand; look, if this is going to be too painful looking at my face every day, then I can talk to the Admiral and request a posting somewhere else..?"
Harm shook his head vehemently. "No Mac; this is my problem. Plus, JAG HQ is a plum posting this early in your career and I'm damned if the murder of a friend is going to bitch up that promising career up for you."
Harm was adamant, taking her hands in his to emphasise his commitment to his previous statement.
"OK, so may I ask the indelicate question about you and Diane?"
"Sure Mac; if it's the one I would expect you to ask, then the answer is no. We were not exclusive at that point but we had planned to spend the week after she docked. Up in her parents' cabin in Maine."
His head dropped; "Not that we ever managed that, obviously."
She sat back, leaving an arm gently resting on his shoulder; his hand came up, to gently squeeze her hand in a gesture of solidarity.
They both nodded. Jack gathered up his sea-bag, drained the coffee cup and bade them farewell. "OK folks, I'm heading for the hotel that the Company has booked for me; could we resume tomorrow night, Harm – and Mac, of course?"
As the door closed, Mac reached up and kissed Harm gently on the cheek. Surprised, he turned to look at her as she smiled.
"Mac, what was that for?"
"Maybe a statement of intent; look Harm, now I know you are footloose and available, plus it's two years since I gave up Catherine for adoption and I have lived like a nun."
She smiled as she continued, eyes focussed on his: "I can feel an itch forming; if you are willing, I would like to scratch it."
He nodded, staring at her in half-formed wonderment at where the conversation was going…
She sighed before continuing; "look Harm, I cannot do anything about my face – this is what I was born with – but we are clearly well-suited and I would like to explore this – whatever we have – in more details."
He nodded. "Well, you are clearly living up to the USMC credo of 'first into action', Mac."
Mac smiled. As she gently took his hand.
"Come on, Sailor, let's see where this ends up. You know, you just *might* get to see my face every morning!"
As they strolled, arm-in-arm towards the bedroom, a thought occurred to Sarah. Tonight, she was intent on becoming "Sarah" to his "Harm".
"So Harm, what was the jibe about pierced nipples?"
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FIN.
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Final A/N 20-SEP-2023: Epilogue to my one-off, which was sparked by a couple of early episodes in JAG canon chronology. This story was *NOT* intended to overlap with the later "One night in Red Rock Mesa" storyline, which I definitely SHALL be continuing. Mike 21-SEP-2023
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End of: "Don't get too comfortable - you'll be working together".
Mike: UK, 20-09-2023