Chapter Six:
Womanhunt
APRIL 17TH, 2022
1230 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB RESIDENCE
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
JAG had been the first job Mac had had for longer than two years. During her latter years of high school she'd been a waitress, until one day she showed up late (hungover) too many times and got fired. Once she'd made it to college and sobered up, she'd gone back to waitresses, bouncing around to various restaurants around Minneapolis during her four years of undergrad. Then came OCS, her eighteen month stint in Okinawa, her four years of law school (where she went back to waitressing), her hellish six months in Bosnia, and then a mundane year at Quantico where she did more paperwork than anything else.
But JAG was different. At JAG she'd been able to form close friendships, advance her career in ways she couldn't imagine, find the love of her life, become a mother ... .Yeah, she owed a lot to JAG.
And even though her days at JAG were long done, it never really left her. Part of that had to do with the fact that her husband was The JAG, the other part of that was thanks to Facebook. Thanks to social media, Mac was able to keep in touch with people she never thought she'd be able to….and some people she'd never wanted to.
Tiner, realizing halfway through that law school and JAG wasn't actually for him, decided to go to med school instead and was now working at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Jen Coates had stayed at JAG until a couple years before Harm became JAG. She now worked in civilian law and was married to Tiner. That had been a pleasant surprise for both Harm and Mac, though unfortunately they'd been unable to attend the wedding - the ceremony had coincided with the same weekend all five members of the Mackenzie-Rabb family came down with the stomach flu.
Mickey was still in the Navy and lived in Hawaii. Sturgis officially retired from JAG and now lived in North Carolina. Keeter was retired too, making Harm the odd man out, and was still living in Tennessee as he had always done. Someone who hadn't retired though was Bobbi Latham, who was now a Senator.
The one person Mac had lost touch with over the years that she wished she hadn't was Gunny. After coming back from overseas, he kind of drifted off into the unknown, and Mac always wondered what happened to him - sometimes she even still worried about him, even though she knew it was probably foolish to do so.
"So wait…..you don't know who this girl is?"
Mac looked down at her phone. Even though it was only 0930 in Oregon, Chloe was up, having recently come back from an early morning yoga class.
Despite all of the changes over the years, Mac and Chloe still talked as often as they could. Some things never change.
Mac shook her head. "We didn't even know he was seeing anyone. James just blurted it out at dinner last night."
"Oh God," Chloe's face briefly disappeared from the screen. She reappeared with a coffee mug in hand. "I bet that went over well."
"Be glad you weren't there," Mac said, picking up her own coffee mug. "Harriet lost it."
"I'm surprised she wasn't already losing it, I heard her new book wasn't that go-"
"Shhh…" Mac quickly looked over her shoulder, making sure Harriet hadn't suddenly developed supersonic hearing. "Don't talk about it."
"Oh…so she's not taking it well?"
Mac quickly shook her head. "Not at all."
"Has anyone had any luck finding out who the girl is?"
Shaking her head again, Mac sighed. "No, AJ isn't answering anyone's texts about it. I don't know, this just so isn't like him. He never keeps secrets like this, he was always good about that -"
"Maybe he keeps secrets now."
Mac turned around to see Clara coming out onto the patio, wearing pajama pants and an old academy sweatshirt she'd probably stolen from Harm sometime over the years. Clara had been one of the chief searches in trying to find out who AJ was dating, but even she had turned up nothing.
"That's true," Chloe agreed. "Maybe Australia's changed him."
Mac frowned as Clara walked over to the sofa and sat down next to her. "I hope not," she said. It wasn't that Mac hated the idea of her godson changing that much, it was just that any mention of Australia still made her think of one particular person she never hoped she'd see again.
Clara snuggled up close to Mac, resting her chin on her shoulder so she could see the phone screen. When the kids were younger, Mac used to hate how she never seemed to get any personal space, but now she felt like she got too much of it.
"Hey Clara, how are you doing?" Chloe asked.
"Pretty good," Clara answered. "When are you coming to visit again?"
Chloe laughed. "As soon as I can, kiddo. I promise."
While Chloe had been a part of all of the kids' lives, she had played a particularly impactful role in Clara's. Chloe had ended up making the trip with Harm, Mac, and Clara to San Diego in 2005, deciding that California made a much warmer and more desirable climate for college than Vermont. She stayed with them all four years she attended UC San Diego, moving out a couple of months before Lily was born in 2009.
Adam was very young when Chloe lived with them, and Lily wasn't even around, but Clara was at just the perfect age. She grew up thinking Chloe was the absolutely coolest person on the planet, wanting to be just like her when she grew up. And not much had changed over the years.
Chloe used to give Clara makeovers with her frosty eyeshadow and pink lipgloss and now they…talked about whatever it was they talked about when Mac wasn't around - she'd learned a long time ago to stop asking, that Chloe had become the confidante for Clara that Mac had been for Chloe all those years ago.
"Any luck in finding out who AJ's dating?"
Clara shook her head, and rolled her eyes. She turned to look at Mac. "Nikki's trying to get something out of James, but nothing's working. Probably something about bro code or whatever."
Mac gave her a sympathetic smile, draping her free arm over Clara's shoulders, hoping that wasn't a bold enough move to scare her off. "Maybe he just wants to keep things to himself. You know, the relationship's probably new -"
Clara and Chloe both gave Mac a look.
"Mom, it's like you said he never does that," Clara said. "He's the golden child. Doesn't keep secrets, doesn't do anything he's not supposed to do-"
Mac frowned. "That's not true," she said. "All of you kids are special in your own unique way-"
"I never said we weren't. I'm just saying that AJ's the golden child."
1535 EST
ROBERTS RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
For Harriet's own personal wellbeing, she had been advised by all of her loved ones to stay off of the Internet and her cellphone. That way she wouldn't look up any more reviews for her new book, and she wouldn't scour every corner of the internet and/or blow up AJ's phone to try and figure out who he was dating.
However, this did not mean Harriet was at peace. At all. She wasn't remotely at peace.
Bud was at the golf course with Harm, Noah was at a friend's house working on a school project, James was in the dog house (the pullout couch in the basement - he'd chosen to go there willingly to avoid Harriet's wrath), and AJ still was (lucky for him) across the world
That left one child in the house alone with Harriet. Her one and only daughter.
A warm, freshly baked plate of waffles in hand, Harriet made her way up the stairs from the kitchen. She took a left at the stairs, heading straight for the door that still had the remnants of some Disney princess stickers on it from when a certain someone was once an ambitious four-year-old with a passion for interior design.
Harriet knocked.
There was no answer.
Harriet knocked again, and after a few seconds she heard the sound of shuffling feet. The door opened just enough for Nikki to look out with one eye. This was the third time in the past two hours Harriet had knocked on her door.
"Here," Harriet said, trying her best to wedge the plate between the door and the door frame. "I made your favorite. Waffles."
Nikki opened the door wider - just to take the plate. "Thank you," she said. "I still don't know anything, if that's the reason why you knocked."
Harriet feigned surprise. "Of course that wasn't the reason why I knocked, silly."
Of course it actually was the reason why she knocked. Harriet was just being silly.
"But are you sure you haven't heard anything-"
"Mom, I told you this the last two times. I. Don't. Know. Anything."
Taking the semi-opened door as an invitation, Harriet walked into Nikki's room. She tried to ignore the pile of dirty clothes in the desk chair and the pile of school work on the desk.
Not that all of her children weren't special in their own unique way, but AJ had always been the neatest child.
Harriet sat on the edge of Nikki's bed. Nikki sat with her back pressed against the headboard, awkwardly balancing the plate of waffles in her lap. Her blonde bangs were hanging right in her eyes. If Harriet didn't have more pressing matters at hand she'd suggest that Nikki get them trimmed.
A moment of silence passed between the two of them. Then another…then another.
Harriet had always wondered why her and Nikki hadn't clicked the same way that Mac had with her daughters. Maybe it had something to do with the birth order, or the fact that Mac was working and Harriet wasn't, or maybe it just came down to astrological signs - Harriet could never quite put her finger on it. Things always just were the way they were between her and Nikki, there was really no other way to explain it.
At least Nikki never -
Harriet stopped herself mid-thought. There were more pressing matters at hand.
"Are you sure Clara hasn't found anything? Have you talked to her?"
Yes. What happened with Clara was in the past, practically a million years ago. Harriet had to focus on the dumpster fire that was currently happening in her own home.
Nikki sighed. "Yes, I've talked to her," she said as she chewed. "We've been texting back and forth all day. She hasn't found anything either."
Harriet sighed too, but what she really wanted to do was scream. AJ never did this. He never kept secrets from the family like this.
"I just don't understand it," she said, throwing her hands up, throwing in the metaphorical towel. She knew she was definitely breaking some rule in the parenting book by talking about one of her children with another one of her children, but these were desperate times she was living under. Bud almost had to disconnect the home Wifi -that's how ravenous she was for information.
Harriet turned to look at Nikki, who was cutting into another slice of waffle. "You would tell me if you were dating someone, right?"
Nikki froze, her fork paused in mid-air. "Uhhh…yeah," she said, her voice light. "I would totally tell you if I was dating someone, Mom."
"I mean obviously you wouldn't have to tell me everything but…you would at least tell me his name wouldn't you?"
"I don't know if I would tell you his name, but -"
"I mean even if you were a lesbian or something I wouldn't even care I'd still just want to know -"
"You know, it's so funny you bring that up -"
"I'm your mother! I'm supposed to know things about you - I'm suppose to know things about all of you-"
"Mom, I'm -"
"And the fact that your brother thinks he can just move across the world and suddenly start keeping all these secrets-"
"He's not the only one keeping a secret."
"It's quite frankly ridiculous-"
"It's ridiculous that you're not even listening to a word I'm saying right now."
"I just don't understand it," Harriet finally looked at Nikki. "Do you?"
Nikki looked down at her plate and shook her head. "No Mom," she replied. "I don't understand it, either."
"Good," the expression on Harriet's face suddenly brightened. She reached out to squeeze Nikki's knee. "I'm so glad we're on the same page, I knew you'd get it."
Nikki finally looked up at Harriet and gave her a smile. "Thanks, Mom. I knew you'd get it, too."
1945 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB RESIDENCE
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
There were many things that the Mackenzie-Rabb household took seriously, and one of those things was Sunday family movie night. The tradition had been a staple in the household for years now, with each family member having a turn at picking out a movie each Sunday. This week, it was Adam's turn, and he was having a rather difficult time deciding which movie he wanted to choose.
He sat on the sofa, socked feet resting on the coffee table. Netflix was pulled up on the TV, and he was scrolling through the movies.
Adam was much more paranoid about being out of the closet than Nikki, so he was rather paranoid that anything would push him out of it by accident.
I, Tonya? No…I can't pick a movie about figure skating.
Rent? No, that wouldn't work, either.
The Birdcage? No, I can't do that.
Adam continued to scroll through the movies, his frown deepening. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar? I can't put on a movie with Rupaul in it.
But I'm A Cheerleader? That's another one with Rupaul in it-
"Have you picked it yet?"
Adam jumped, dropping the remote into this lap. He looked up to see Clara standing above him, her phone in her hand and a confused expression on her face.
"I don't want to watch a movie with Rupaul in it!" Adam blurted out before he could stop himself.
Clara looked from Adam to the TV, then back to Adam. "Okay….?" She spoke slowly. "We don't have to…? I didn't know you felt that strongly about Rupaul-"
She sat down next to Adam on the sofa, and Adam found himself growing more panicked. He had to pick something soon or else it would be weird that he wasn't picking anything and then everyone would be wondering why he wasn't picking anything-
"Here!" Adam clicked on a movie. It had cowboys on the cover, and cowboys wouldn't be a thing that would hint at him being gay, right? "I picked one - I have my movie picked out."
Clara looked up from her phone, where she was in a knee deep search of AJ's instagram followers to see who the mystery girl could be. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw the movie Adam had picked.
"Brokeback Mountain?"
Adam looked at his older sister in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked, gesturing to the TV with the remote. "It's cowboys?"
"No, I get that it's just - do you know what that's about -"
Harm walked into the room at the moment, because of course he had to. "So what are we watching tonight -" he paused mid sentence when he saw the screen. "Oh…"
"What?" Adam asked, his eyes widening. "What's wrong with Brokeback Mountain?"
"Nothing it's just…a little bit of a downer for family movie night-"
It was at that moment when Adam's nerves had finally reached a breaking point. "Fine!" he exclaimed, tossing the remote to Clara. She looked up from her phone just in the nick of time to grab it before it hit her in the face. "Clara can pick the movie! I don't want to pick it anymore!"
Harm and Clara both stared at him. Clara eventually just shrugged, picking up the remote. "Alright," she said. "Guess we're watching the newest episode of Rupual's Drag Race-"
Adam looked at her in horror. He'd forgotten the loophole that choosing a TV show was also an option for family movie night.
Clara shrugged. "Unlike you, I happen to like Rupaul."
Harm decided to not even question what they had been talking about before he entered the room, and sat down in the recliner. At least they didn't appear to be arguing about anything.
Afterwards, Adam and Lily went to bed, where Lily would have a much easier time falling asleep than Adam would. Clara and Mac, meanwhile, reconvened their meeting at the kitchen counter. Deciding that her phone simply wasn't cutting it anymore, Clara brought her laptop down from her room, and Mac had the family iPad out.
They were going to find out who this girl was, even if it took them the whole night. Hunched over the counter on two of the kitchen stools, they were going to put their shared stubbornness and determination to the test.
But first, Clara had something else she wanted to bring up to her mother.
"You don't think Adam is homophobic, do you?"
Mac's head jerked up. "What makes you think that?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
Clara shrugged. "I don't know, he just seemed really weird about picking out a movie tonight, and he has something weird thing about Rupaul-"
"Don't be ridiculous," Mac said, rolling her eyes. "He's not homophobic, why on earth would he be like that?"
"I don't know, I was just wondering," Clara paused for a moment. She slowly glanced at Mac. "Well, you don't think he's-"
"No, he's not gay, either. We would know."
"Okay, you don't need to see it like that, though-"
"I didn't say it like anything," Mac replied. "I'm fine with gay people, I love gay people - I don't have anything against Rupaul. Plus, when you had that phase where you thought you were a lesbian a couple of years ago your father and I were completely supportive -"
"That wasn't a phase, Mom. A phase is when I had my nose ring-"
"Sorry, then what would you refer to it as?"
"I was exploring."
"Fine. Well when you were doing your exploring your father and I were completely supportive of it."
Clara sighed, tucking a long piece of hair behind her ear. "Okay, great. Glad we're on the same page. Now I looked at AJ's Instagram and I couldn't find anything-"
Now it was Mac's turn to glance over at Clara. "So, are you still in that phase - exploration or not?"
"I don't know, Mom," Clara threw up her hands - irritated that they had derailed so seriously from the task at hand, even though she was the one who had derailed it in the first place. "I'll kiss anyone, I don't really care!"
Mac frowned. "Well don't put it like that, people are going to think-"
"Mom, can we please just look for AJ's girlfriend?"
Harm walked into the kitchen, already dressed in his pajamas. He wasn't going to partake in the search - had no desire to, really. He had enough on his plate with a bad back, even worse knees, and an entire Navy to run.
"No luck yet, huh?" he asked, walking over to put an arm around each of them. He placed a quick kiss on Mac's cheek and another on the top of Clara's head.
Mac shook her head, stifling a yawn. "Nope," she said.
Clara looked up from her laptop. "We still haven't checked your Facebook," she said.
Mac sighed. "I doubt we'd be able to find anything from that, though-"
"You never know," Clara interjected. "We have to leave no stone unturned."
"You're really not letting up about this-" Harm started.
"Yes," Clara and Mac both stated in unison. That was Harm's sign to just leave them to it.
"Alright," Harm put his arms up in mock surrender. "Just don't lose too much sleep over this, okay? Tomorrow's Monday."
Mac and Clara both exchanged glances as Harm left the kitchen. They both knew without discussion that they would lose as much sleep as possible until they figured out who AJ was dating.
'"I have one more place I haven't checked," Clara said as she typed away on her laptop. Mac looked up from the iPad, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."
"What is it?"
"Facebook."
Mac sighed. She should've known. Facebook hadn't been cool for a long time, apparently - as her kids were so eager to always remind her.
"I doubt whoever he's dating would be on Facebook," Mac said. "Unless he suddenly became interested in older women-" God forbid.
"What's your log in?" Clara turned the laptop to Mac, the log-in screen for Facebook on the screen.
Mac sighed, typing in her log-in information and then sliding the laptop back over to Clara. She turned her sights to the iPad, where she really wasn't doing anything productive - she had given up the search a little while earlier, deciding to scroll through Pinterest instead.
A few moments of Clara silently typing went by, hunched over the laptop with an intense expression on her face. Her brow always furrowed the same way Harm's did when he was concentrating really hard.
Then, Clara said a name Mac genuinely never thought she would hear her say.
"Brumby."
Mac jerked her head up from the iPad, feeling her stomach drop instantly. "What?" she demanded, grabbing the laptop and turning it so she could see the screen.
On the screen was a profile picture of a girl with a wide, bright smile and a mane of long dark curly hair. She was at the beach and wearing a big pair of dark sunglasses, so Mac couldn't see her eyes, but she recognized her nose. She could recognize that nose anywhere.
That was Mic Brumby's nose.
Clara was watching her mother with wide eyes. "Mom, is everything okay? Why do you look so pale-"
"Nothing," Mac quickly shook her head. "Nothing - it's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Clara asked. Her gaze slowly went back to the laptop. "Because it says you two have a mutual friend…"
Yes, it was true that the closest thing Mic Brumby and Sarah Mackenzie ever came to a truce was becoming friends on Facebook. It had happened around 2011, so basically a million years ago, and surprisingly Mac had been the one to first extend the olive branch. It was partly because she genuinely wanted to make amends, but mostly because she was curious to see what he was up to, and even more curious to see what his current girlfriend looked like, the mystery woman he'd apparently had in his back pocket the entire time they were together, the one ex Mac conveniently never heard about.
Not to say she was jealous of Gillian by any means. She could have Mic all to herself.
She did remember that they had a daughter, though - information first relayed to her in the hospital room in the hazy few hours after giving birth to Clara, which then got reconfirmed by Mic's Facebook.
Mac stared at the girl's face for a few more moments before snapping the laptop shut. Clara's eyes widened. "Mom-"
"Whatever you do, do not tell your father about this," Mac said, tapping the top of the closed laptop emphatically with a manicured nail.
"But why-"
"I'll tell you later," Mac explained hastily. "Just don't tell your dad."
"But-"
"Please," Mac placed her hands on Clara's shoulders. "I promise I'll tell you everything, just don't tell your dad."
"Okay - God, okay," Clara shrugged off Mac's hands, still looking at her like she was kind of crazy. "I won't, Jesus."
Mac had just bought herself a little bit more time to try and decide how much of "everything" she wanted Clara to know.
Hope you enjoyed this family banter for the holiday weekend. I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving is having a relaxing holiday weekend, and that everyone else is having a relaxing weekend!
-Harper