Ch00 of "Life goes on – Year Ten."
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". See Ch00 of this story for the whole disclaimer A/N. 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 will be considered.
A/N: Publication date: 23-DEC-2023: AU: A one-off sequel to my Christmas 2023 exploration of "the roads not taken"...
Merry Christmas 2023 - IRL, we hope for a peaceful Christmas and a better 2024. This is my second "Christmas carol" to all my readers. I was amazed by the initial response to "Life goes on" published on 22-12-2023. So, here is the second instalment (again, on a one-off basis) covering the first ten years of Harmon and Harriet Rabb and their life together after the tragedies of 2001 and 2002 and 2003…
A/N: Canon episode: "Fair winds and Following Seas" S10Ep24 airdate 29APR2005
Characters from FFNET – H Rabb jr; Harriett Beaumont Rabb; their family: Mattie Rabb.
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Ch00 of "Life goes on – Year Ten."
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Thursday 14th March 2013:
Home of Harriet and Harm Rabb, Rosslyn, Washington DC
Harm was looking back through ten years of family photographs, as "Little AJ" ran them through the high-res scanner as part of his school project.
The 15-year-old was so proficient in his abilities and confidence on computers. Harm thought momentarily about his "best-ever" RIO - Lieutenant (now Commander) Elizabeth "Skates" Hawkes. She had been the electronics and computing wizz in the backseat, keeping her driver on-point, on-target and utterly safe as they collaborated in what was known (in private and in confidence onboard) as the "marriage of the aircrew". He was glad to have been allocated Skates as his GiBS for the F-14 missions all those years ago.
He could barely believe that his daughter (correction: "their daughter") was enjoying her ninth birthday. Nine years ago today, in the early hours of the Sunday morning, Harm and Harriet Rabb welcomed their new daughter, Sarah Beaumont Rabb, into the world just nine months and a week after their wedding day. Harriet had decided to forgo birth control pills before their marriage, so the conception of little Sarah had surprised no-one.
The new daughter had proven to be a perfect "little sister" for young AJ, arriving just two months before his fifth birthday in May 2004. Harm and Harriet had not wasted any time (following his acquittal in April of 2003 for the alleged murder of Loren Singer) before deciding to marry.
"Little" AJ's 15th birthday was approaching in May, just a month before their 10th wedding anniversary in June. Amazingly, in another two years, Teddy Lindsey would be eligible for his first shot at parole, as Loren's actual killer.
Looking at the lounge full of the children who made up the Rabb household, he counted back through the conceptions and adoptions and births.
He had formally adopted "little AJ" as part of the marriage process when he and Harriet had married, just a month after AJ's fifth birthday back in 2003.
This was to be a useful rehearsal for adopting Mattie Grace Rabb in January 2004.
Harm and Harriet had been able to take advantage of two sets of semi-retired grandparents. With planned visits by the "silver support teams", Harm and Harriett were able to get away for at least one weekend every month. They usually headed for Charlottesville-Albemarle airport, where Harm had hangared his restored Stearman PT-17 biplane.
Harriett had heard Bud talk about the enjoyment of flying in the old yellow Navy trainer, so as "Mrs Rabb" she was delighted when her new husband suggested a weekend away with flights thrown in.
The second of these weekends enabled Harm to tell Harriet - in more detail - the story of the Stearman. He was able to give her more details about his father's original plans to restore it, together with the "Quest for Senior" in Russia - and the tragic story of his slain love, Diane Schonke.
In return, Harriet was able to enlighten Harm as to her "wild-child" tomboy years - including the accidental pregnancy which had needed to be "taken care of"...
She looked up at him, proud and confident, as she closed that chapter of her life firmly:
"I've been a naughty girl"...
He merely rejoiced that she had learned some bedroom tricks, to which his previous girlfriends had seemed to be oblivious.
These weekends gave them a comprehensive insight into the problems and challenges which faced young Mathilda Grace Johnson (or "Mattie Grace" as she evidently preferred to be known).
Together, Harm and Harriet hatched a plan...
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2004:
Mattie joined the family (and started working hard to catch up in school) once Harm and Harriet had declared victory after a long and complicated three-way "initiative" involving the DCFS organisations in Virginia and DC, with the LSLO at JAG HQ handling the paperwork for Harm and Harriet.
With a steep learning curve to succeed in the role of mom to a teenage daughter, Harriet had joyfully realised that Mattie Grace was a bit of a tomboy.
Knowing how her own parents (Lydia and Roland Sims) had initially resisted her decision to join the US Navy, Harriet was well-placed to build a supportive relationship with Mattie. The resulting relationship was truly successful, as Harriet seamlessly integrated Mattie Rabb into the Rabb family and ensured that she was able to catch up and make up the gap in her education.
Whilst a love of flying is a great asset (Harriet knew this from her long and previous exposure to Harm's love of the air) she was able to eloquently make the case for Mattie to concentrate on school for the coming years. Once she was successfully selected for USNA Annapolis, Mattie Rabb would realise her "forever debt of gratitude" to her new Mom.
Harriet's decision to adopt "the Rhythm method" (aka "playing Vatican Roulette") had resulted in her falling pregnant again at the end of 2004. Harriet's next pregnancy (almost certainly a by-product of the Christmas 2004 celebrations across in La Jolla at the "Granny Burnett" homestead) gave everyone a better reason to celebrate September 11th of 2005.
She had reserved her commission for a while (Roland and Lydia Sims were VERY keen to start the disposal of their wealth ahead of their planned retirement, so the "Rosslyn Rabbs" wanted for nothing.
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2005:
Harriet brought two additions into the world on September 11th 2005 – a pair of dark-haired children to join AJ and Sarah.
Little Nichola Harriet (almost-instantly nicknamed "Nikki") and Young Budrick David (quickly abbreviated to "Buddy") joined the Rabb family and were fully-weaned when General Cresswell promoted Harm to the rank of Captain (and then appointed him to the position of Force Judge Advocate General for Europe).
The initial three-year posting starting in 2005 eventually stretched to almost five years, meaning that the Rabbs would finally be returned to the snow-strewn wastes of Rosslyn in January of 2010.
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2006:
The whole family had translocated across to London for the first year and then the onward relocation to Naples. Unlike many US-based children, the young Rabbs had experienced other cultures and all of them (with varying degrees of success and proficiency) adopted Italian as their second language.
Whilst in the UK, Mattie had joined Britain's Air Training Corps (known as "the ATC" and linked to the Royal Air Force) to assist her in developing a military approach before her (ultimately successful) application for USNA at Annapolis, which she entered in 2007. With two retired admirals (Chegwidden and Boone) endorsing and supporting her letter of application (plus a mother who was an absolute "whizz" at admin and a father who was en-route for the JAG chair in future years), she nevertheless worked hard to ensure that her application was bulletproof.
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2007:
Mattie headed back across the Atlantic in June at the end of her British school year, ready for the "joys" of Plebe Summer.
Mikey Roberts (who had unknowingly struck up a friendship with Cammie Cresswell before the "Err, I think I should tell you who my dad is" conversation!) was able to advise Mattie with more-recent USNA experience that the "old man" notes dating from the era of "Rabb, Keeter, Turner and Schonke"!
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2010:
The return Stateside in early 2010 was also, in part, driven by Harriet's desires to get Nikki and Buddy established in the US schools system.
It was now reasonably clear and expected that Harm would be seeing out his naval career in either JAG at Falls Church or in the Pentagon. Or so everyone thought!
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2010-2013:
The return Stateside saw Harm supporting the current SECNAV as Legal Advisor on International and Maritime Law. His confirmed, geographically-stable shore-based job enabled Harriet Rabb to start building a reputation within USO, setting up and delivering supporting events for US and Allied troops stationed overseas.
Her former admin skills – fondly remembered from Falls Church by all who had served in JAG HQ at that time) came to the fore and her contributions were much appreciated.
As a side-benefit, her various daughters (with their school-friends and usually one or two moms as chaperones) appreciated the opportunity to "score" front-row (or mosh-pit) seats for several concerts by the public-spirited performers who supported the US military family.
It was no surprise to anyone when Mattie Rabb elected (and was accepted) to pursue a career as a Naval Aviator.
Harm and Harriet looked forward to a steadily-decelerating career enabling them to retire at a date and time of their own choosing. Being just two years younger than Harm, Harriet regularly teased him (always with love) about "the old man retiring first" and they were comfortable with that plan…
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Well, that was the plan! Some years later, he would be "tapped on the shoulder" to take up the role as Superintendent of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis.
But that is a story for the third and final one-off in my series of Christmas 2023 short stories.
A/N: You will find a prequel to "Harm running USNA Annapolis" in my story "Red Mittens and a Rose Garden".
Watch this space and thank you for your interest at Christmas 2023.
A/N: Although this is my quick spin through "Part Two" of "the life and times of Harmon and Harriett Rabb", I would have no objection if someone else, with the time and interest, offered to choose to expand this storyline and take it further and deeper.
I *shall* address 2014-2023 shortly in the final one-off short-story of how Harmon and Harriett Rabb drew mutual comfort and rose from the ashes of the tragedies in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Thank you for reading.
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End of Ch00 of "Life goes on – Year Ten."
FIN.
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Mike: UK, 23-12-2023