Name: Family Affair Author name: Christie Blotnicky (cblotnicky@yahoo.ca… feedback is always welcomed and Appreciated. Good or bad, it’s all good J) Rating: PG 13 for violence. Spoilers: none. Disclaimer: All normal disclaimers apply Family Affair 1400 EST JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA “So, your claim is Seaman Phillips broke into your bunker on board the Jefferson, and stole your laptop and several contents from your dresser drawers,” Mac relayed to the small woman sitting in front of her. She sighed inwardly at the absurdity of the case she had been presented with. She was assigned this case two days ago, before Sturgis and Bud had gotten back from an assignment in Norfolk; otherwise Bud would be handling this, and she would be on to bigger and better things. Though she was happy to be working from the office for a little while, after Webb, Harm, Gunny, and her escapades in Paraguay, though she was a little ticked that Bud had gotten to go with Sturgis instead of herself or Harm. “That’s correct Ma’am,” Stated the eager Seaman seated in front of her. “But you also said that he returned the items a few days later, saying it was part of the initiation of a new crewmember into the group, is this correct, Seaman Leary?” Mac asked, her aggravation becoming apparent. “Yes Ma’am, that’s correct.” Mac rolled her eyes, and leaned forward. “Seaman Leary, how old are you?” Mac asked. “Nineteen on Wednesday Ma’am,” She said with a smile, shifting in her chair to sit up straighter. ‘Oh, god, I’m trying to reason with a kid,’ Mac thought to herself. “Why are you pressing charges after the Seaman returned your possessions and explained his reason?” “Well, I filed them before he gave them back to me, Ma’am,” She responded, a little defensively. “Why didn’t you drop them when he gave your possessions back?” Mac asked, looking at the woman incredulously. “Well, he still took them from me, him giving them back doesn’t change that, does it, Ma’am?” She asked. “Seaman, look at me, okay,” The young girl shifted again and literally stared into the eyes of Mac, making her a little uncomfortable. “You have to drop these charges, you wont win anything at all if this goes to court. Do you understand?” The girl seemed to ponder this, then answered. “Yes Ma’am. If you think it’s in my best interest, I’ll drop the charges.” “I really do, Seaman,” Mac answered. The girl nodded. “Alright, Ma’am, consider them dropped,” She said. “Good. Is that all?” Mac asked. “I think so, Ma’am,” Leary said. “Alright, Dismissed,” Mac, said. Leary stood at attention, saluted and turned to leave. “Seaman, don’t let me see you here again, stay out of trouble, okay?” She finished. “Yes Ma’am,” With that the young Seaman left the office. Mac shook her head and stood up to go to the break room. Suddenly at least fifteen men and women burst into the bullpen, guns in hand. “Everyone go stand on the bridge. Hurry up!” Said the woman in the front, the obvious leader of the group. Knowing there was no other option, everyone in the bullpen did as they were told. This group included Mac, Harriet, Bud, Tiner, Jennifer, Sturgis, Seaman Leary, and little A.J who was spending the day here with his parents. “You two, go through he offices, find everyone else here and bring them out with the group. NOW!” Said the woman again. A few moments later, the two men brought out Harm and A.J, and added them too the line. The woman in charge stepped forward with her machine gun supported with both arms, and addressed the group. “Ahh, the JAG group,” She began, menacingly. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Who is Commander Rabb?” She asked. The group hesitated, and Harm stepped forward. “I’m Commander Rabb,” He said. She donned a look of pure hatred and stepped forward to him, slapping him hard across the face. Mac began to step forward, and was rewarded by a swift blow to the gut by the butt of a rifle. She doubled over, but quickly recovered. Harm looked over at her with worry. “What the hell do you want?” The Admiral demanded. “You must be Admiral Chegwidden. Don’t worry; this isn’t about any of you except Commander Rabb. Unfortunately though, you are all going to help him pay for what he’s done,” She answered cryptically. “Who are you?” Harm asked. She turned back to the tall Commander. “I think you’ll recognize my name, Commander, or at least part of it. I’m Lara Palmer, I was sent here by my brother. You remember him, don’t you Commander? Poor little Diane? The whole you getting him stuck in Leavenworth thing,” She answered. “Why are you here, can’t he get his revenge himself without sending his sister in to do his dirty work for him?” Sturgis asked. She ignored his comment. “I want every ones first and last name, and rank, starting with you,” She pointed at Mac, who was at the far end of the line. Mac looked to Harm and the Admiral for what to do. They both nodded solemnly, telling her to answer. “Sarah Mackenzie, Lieutenant Colonel,” She answered, staring straight ahead. Lara moved on. “Harriet Simms, Lieutenant,” Harriet said, and obvious quaver in her voice. Next to Harriet was little A.J, who was smiling widely, thinking this was a game. Lara kneeled in front of him. “And you, what’s your name,” She asked in a sweet voice. “A.J Roberts,” He said in a small voice. She smiled ruefully at him and stood up again, turning to one of her henchmen she at him. “Take the kid over there with you,” She ordered. “Belay that,” Harriet yelled. Lara turned to her and glared. “Don’t ever speak when you aren’t spoken to, or you’ll find another hole in your sons head,” Lara threatened. Harriet keeled back and looked down at her son, who was now being lead away from the group. She continued her interrogation. “Let’s continue, you,” She Barked at Bud. “Bud Roberts, Lieutenant.” “Sturgis Turner, Commander.” “Jason Tiner, Petty Officer first class.” “Jennifer Coates, Petty Officer second class.” “Clara Leary, Seaman first class.” “A.J Chegwidden, Rear Admiral.” “Harmon Rabb Junior, Commander.” A few moments after they were all finished, Lara went back to Harm with a NAVY cover in her hand. Inside were several small pieces of paper. “Pick one,” She ordered. Harm looked to the Admiral, who simply nodded silently. Harm took a deep breath and picked out a piece of paper. “Read it,” She said. Harm opened it up. “A.J Roberts,” He said. She grabbed the paper from and walked in front of the group, and motioned for her henchman to bring forward the small boy. “A.J Roberts will be the first one to die today,” She said, bluntly. Harriet cried out from her spot, but was pushed back by a guard, and hit across the face with the butt of a gun. “Commander Rabb, would you like to do the honors?” She asked, smiling evilly. Harm offered her a leveled glare, but didn’t answer. “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” She said. With one swift move she brought her gun to little A.J’s head and fired quickly. Without a moments notice, the small form shrunk to the ground in a delicate heap. The group in front of them was shocked. Harriet covered her mouth and sobbed into her equally devastated husbands shoulder. Mac covered her mouth in shock, trying to muffle the sounds of sobs that threatened to escape. The rest of the group stood tall with looks of shock, disgust and devastation on their faces. Lara stepped forward to Harm once again. “I’ll give you a few moments before you draw the next name,” She turned to her henchmen. “Check that office for weapons first, make sure it’s empty, we’ll hold them in there until it’s time for the next one to die. Put the boys body in there with him too, make this as painful as possible,” She ordered. The group set to work, and a few moments later, loaded with Mac’s weapons from her office, they escorted the group, and body into the office. The group had been locked in Mac’s office, with several guards outside, loaded with guns, knives and ammo. Harriet and Bud sat in a corner of the room, staring up at the desk, holding the body of their son. Both were beyond devastated, and silent tears now ran down their faces, and those of most of the people in the room. Harm had huddled himself in a corner of the room, away from everyone. The group understood his need to be by himself, but Mac needed to talk to him, to tell him all of the things she never said. She scooted over beside the huddled up form and put her hand over his on his knee. “Harm,” She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, no one else in the room. He looked up at her with pure misery in her eyes. “Mac, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, equally low. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks. “Harm, this isn’t your fault. Don’t beat yourself up about it. There nothing you or anyone else could have done to predict or stop it,” She stated. “I sentenced him to his death by pulling his name, and when they decide we’ve had enough time, they’re going to do the same to you, and everyone else in this room.” “Harm, I don’t see any way out of this. If I’m going to die today, there are some things I need to say to you,” She said. Harm’s eyes bored intensely into hers. “I know, I need to talk to you too,” Harm agreed. “I love you, Harm,” She said softly. “I love you too. I just wish we had more time,” He said. “I know. But we have heaven, There’s always heaven,” She said. He frowned. “I would have liked to have you for a while on earth first, Sarah,” He whispered. “Likewise, flyboy.” At that moment the door opened and Lara stepped in. She turned to Harm and Mac. “Sarah Mackenzie, correct?” She asked. “Yeah,” Mac answered bluntly. “Come with me,” She ordered. Mac looked at Harm, he shook his head. She smiled encouragingly and got up to follow Lara out of the room. She led her into the Admiral’s office that had been thoroughly trashed by the searches for weapons. “So, are you going to tell me what you want, or are you going to make me guess?” Mac asked, with just the right amount of sass. Lara laughed. “Your certainly a self assured character, aren’t you Sarah?” She asked. “I do my best,” Mac spat out. “Well, that won’t do you any good here Colonel. I’d suggest you just shut up,” Lara said, all humor gone from her voice. “Well, your going to kill me, I might as well go with my sense of humor intact,” Mac said, hands on hips. “Yes I am going to kill you, but not right now. I think I’ll just play with you and your friends for a while.” “What do you want with me right now then?” Mac asked. “Well, I can’t leave you all happy and comfortable. Just a little cut here, slash there, you know, the norm in a Friday the 13th movie,” Lara said. Mac’s face paled as four guards came behind her and held her steady. She fought against them, but knew it would be useless. Lara stepped up in front of her and grabbed a knife from the Admiral’s desk. She stepped close to Mac. “Can you handle pain, Colonel?” She asked. With out waiting for an answer, she grazed the knife along Mac’s cheek, drawing blood. Mac winced in pain, but kept back her cries from the pain. “It would appear you can. Well then, maybe well just step it up a notch.” She brought the knife to Mac’s uniform and cut the buttons off of her over coat. Next she cut them off of her blouse and cut into her skin under her ribs, slowly. She dug in farther than she had on Mac’s face and trailed in down to her naval, leaving blood gushing from the open wound. Mac cried out in pain, the sound echoing through the room, and through the bullpen to the room where the rest of the JAG crew were held. Everyone in the room tensed as Mac’s cries got louder and more filled with agony. “Oh, the little Colonel doesn’t seem quite so strong anymore. Pity,” She said. She kneeled down in front of Mac and cut a gash in her left leg. Finally she cut deeply above her eyebrow, before setting down the knife. Mac forced herself not to be sick from the agony coursing through her body. She felt herself being dragged out of the room by the guards. A moment later the door opened to Mac’s office and they roughly through her in, leaving her in a heap on the floor, they slammed the door shut and locked it behind them. The entire group, minus Bud, Harriet, and Clara Leary ran to her side. Harm slowly turned her over to find her eyes open, and her breathing deeply. “Mac, are you okay?” Sturgis asked. She met his brown eyes with hers. “It stings,” She said softly. “We can’t keep her here like this, she’ll get infected,” A.J said. They saw Mac’s eyes glaze over a bit “Sarah, you have to concentrate, stay awake until we can get you out of here,” Harm instructed. Mac smiled tiredly. “Were all going to die here, Harm. You aren’t going to get me out of here unless some miracle happens,” Mac said. “Then we’ll get our miracle, Mac. Please just stay with me for a little longer,” He pleaded. She smiled. “I always wondered what it would be like to have you ask me to do that,” She joked. Suddenly her face donned a pained _expression. Harm’s wanted to take away all of her pain. “I’m going to say it to you a lot more, Sarah, I promise,” He said. “And you always keep your promises,” She smiled despite the pain. “Yeah, always,” At that moment, Lara came in again. “I hope it doesn’t hurt to much Colonel,” She lied. “You stupid bit-“ Clara’s words were cut off when Lara raised a gun to her head. “Sorry you wont get to draw the next name, Commander,” Lara said. Without warning she pulled the trigger, killing Clara instantly. She looked down at the faces of the people in the room. “It’s a pity you were all stupid enough to come into work today, really, it was only supposed to be a few of you. But you know, the more the merrier,” She said flippantly. With that she turned and left the room. Once they heard the click of the lock they hurried to Clara’s side. “Shit!” Sturgis yelled. He was beyond pissed off now. A moment later a guard came in, and set her body next to Little A.J’s on the desk. “Commander Rabb, come with me,” He said. Harm stood slowly, and followed the man out of the room. He was led into the Admiral’s office, like Mac was, and tied to a chair before Lara came in. She straddled his legs when she came in and looked at him. “You know, my brother really hates you,” She said, teasingly tracing his cheek with her finger. “Yeah, well you can pass along to him that he’s a coward, sending his baby sister here to do his dirty work. You know, while your at it, you can tell him I said that you were a bitch, and I’ll be glad when I’m dead and never have to look at the ugly faces of either of you again,” Harm spat. She looked at him angrily. “Your lucky I have specific orders to kill you last, or you would already be dead, Rabb,” She growled, and then a smile drew on her features. “But then again, he never said I couldn’t hurt you. Well, that changes everything, doesn’t it Rabb?” She rhetorically asked. She picked up the knife again from the desk. It was still wet with Mac’s blood. Before doing anything with the knife, she dug inside the NAVY cover again and pulled out a name. “Bud Roberts. Poor Harriet must be having a really bad day,” She snidely said. After discarding the name she cleaned the blood off the knife and brought it to Harm’s chest. Suddenly she put the knife back on the table and stood up. “You have way to many shirts on Commander,” She decided. She ripped the buttons when she spread the lapels of his Navy blue coat. After that she ripped apart the shirt underneath and discarded the tie in the corner of the room. She picked up the knife again and slit from his left shoulder to the bottom of his ribs in a long gash. He winced in pained and tried to keep in the cries from the intense pain. Lara through down the knife and backhanded him across the face. After letting that sting for a while she took her knife and shoved it deep into his gut, leaving it there. With that she told the men to bring him back to the room with the others. The picked him up by the arms and dragged him through the bullpen to Mac’s office with the others. The through him down on his stomach inside the room, embedding the blade of the knife even further in him. He cried out in pain. Once the door was locked, A.J brought him over to lie next to Mac, who was still bleeding uncontrollably. “Mac, we have our miracle,” Harm sputtered out. Mac turned her head lazily to look at the pained man. “What do you mean?” Mac asked. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Sturgis, come here,” He muttered. Sturgis made his way across the room to his friend. “What is it, buddy?” He asked. “Pull the knife out,” He fought to keep control over the pain in his midsection. Sturgis grabbed the handle and looked to Harm for permission to take in out. Harm just nodded and clenched his teeth together. Sturgis grabbed a good hold on the handle and quickly yanked it out of Harm. He screamed out in pain, but knew it was for the best. “Thanks buddy,” He said after the pain had numbed a little. “They’re coming after Bud next. Set yourself up next to the door, and stab the next person who comes through that door. Close and lock the door from the inside as soon as you have them inside. Kill them, then take their weapons,” Harm instructed, despite the pain that was coursing through him. Sturgis nodded and stood next to the door. It was none to long before the door opened again. Lara stepped in, her gun hoisted up to her shoulder. Without waiting, Sturgis slammed the door shut and stabbed her roughly in the chest. She sunk down to the floor. A.J quickly locked the door and turned to the heap on the floor. “Is she dead?” He asked Sturgis. He checked her pulse. “Yeah, she’s dead,” He answered. He turned her face up and grabbed all of the weapons from her. It totaled to five guns and three knives. He handed a gun to the Admiral, Bud, Coates, Mac, and one for himself, and handed the last one to Mac. He gave Harriet, Harm, and Tiner the knives. “Every one take cover behind the desk, or something else large. I’m going to open the door; I don’t want any of you in the immediate line of fire. Harm, Mac, stay where you are, you will be pretty much hidden from the gunfire, understood?” He asked. The group nodded and set themselves up. A moment later A.J unlocked the door and ran behind the desk with everyone else except Harm and Mac. The door burst open a moment later and guards filled the entryway, getting shot down one by one, by the JAG group. A few of the guards managed to get in, and get off several shots before being killed themselves. The entire fight lasted only ten minutes, before all of the guards were piled up on the floor, dead. The group slowly stood up from behind the desk and stepped out from their cover. Jennifer was the first to notice the motionless forms of Harm and Mac in the corner of the room. She ran to them and checked each of their pulses. “Are they alive?” Sturgis asked, he was afraid to know the answer. She looked up at him with worry in her eyes. “Barely. They’re going to die if we don’t get them some help soon,” She said. She looked back at the two of them. Along with the knife wounds, they both had fresh bullet wounds. Harm in his chest and arm, and Mac in her chest and stomach. “Tiner, go call an ambulance and the police, hurry,” A.J snapped. Tiner managed his way over the several bodies on the floor and ran to his phone to call 911. Fifteen minutes later, several sirens could be heard. The group had moved out into the bullpen and laid Harm and Mac side by side on the ground. Sturgis and Bud brought out the bodies of Clara and little A.J. Bud held his son close to him, wishing a simple hug could bring back his life. Tears again streamed down his face. A large group of paramedics and police raced into the bullpen and straight towards the group. The paramedics swiftly picked up the bodies of Clara and Little A.J, and took them to the hospital. A moment later several others took Harm and Mac out behind them. 2200 EST Bethesda Hospital “Colonel Mackenzie has received four-hundred and sixty stitches in total for the lacerations, and the bullets were successfully removed. One of the bullets grazed her left lung, and the other punctured her right kidney. I know this has to be one of the worst things you’ll ever hear, but she possibly will not survive the night. There was too much trauma to her body for a person to withstand,” Doctor Grace told the group from Jag. She gave them a moment to let it sink in. “If she does survive, will there be any long term side effects?” A.J asked. “It’s impossible to say, Admiral. She could very well spend the rest of her life with breathing difficulties from the damage to her lung. I can’t tell you much more about her condition right now though, it’s too early to tell.” “What about Commander Rabb?” Coates asked. She knew after checking his pulse, and the placement of the wounds, he would be worse off than Mac. The Doctors facial _expression confirmed her suspicions. “A bullet nicked Commander Rabb’s aorta, it’s the main artery in the heart. This alone could be fatal. That’s only the top of it though. Apart from the two hundred stitches, he also had a bullet lodges in his arm. It hit a vein, meaning he has a lot of internal bleeding, and blood loss. There’s also the stab wound in his midsection, it punctured his stomach, meaning just eating could prove fatal. I estimate he has less than twenty-four hours left, at best. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.” With that she walked away from the shattered group. Harriet and Bud had already lost their son that day, and now were facing the loss of his godparents. Harriet shrunk down to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. She had no more tears left in her to fall, she could only sit there and try to comprehend what was happening. Harm and Mac had been placed in a room together, so doctors could check on both of them at once. Bud and Harriet had gone home at the Admiral’s orders. They needed to be alone to mourn the death of their son. A.J and Sturgis entered the room first; the doctors had advised them to go in two at a time, in case they needed to get in and out quickly. Sturgis first stepped to the side of the bed, which Harm laid in. He had never seen his best friend look so pale and sickly. He inwardly shuddered at his haggard appearance. He took the seat next to him and looked at Harm’s closed eyes. “Hey, Buddy. You have to wake up, we need you back at JAG,” He said. The normally stoic Commander felt his eyes tearing up uncontrollably. He grasped at his friends hand, and found it cold. Instantly he knew what that meant. He checked for the pulse on his wrist, and found none. “Admiral,” He said, meekly. A.J came to stand next to him. “Is he?” A.J asked. “He’s gone,” Sturgis stated. Silent tears streamed down his face. A.J nodded in silent acknowledgement and sighed deeply. He too felt tears in his eyes. “I should go tell Tiner and Coates. They’ll want to see him before they take his body away,” A.J said. Silently he left the room, leaving Sturgis to Harm. “Harm, Buddy. We need you back. Please come back,” He whispered. He looked up at the heart monitor that was now flat lined. He glanced over at Mac’s to find an erratic, and weak beat. He knew any moment a doctor would come rushing in to try to revive Harm. “Sturgis,” Mac whispered weakly from her bed. He turned to find her staring up at him. “Hey,” He responded. She could tell by the look in his eyes something terrible had happened. “What is it?” She asked. Sturgis decided she had the right to know. “Harm’s…………… Harm’s dead, Sarah,” He told her. Instantly her breathing became more erratic and tears filled her eyes. “No, no, no, no, no, no,” She said over and over to herself. He could see nothing but pure devastation in her eyes, as tears spilled over. All he could think to do was take her in his arms. He stepped over to beside her bed and pulled her to him. She clung to him as though he was a lifeline, and cried. She stilled continued saying “no” over and over again to herself, as though it could take away the reality of the situation. She felt herself getting weak and took her arms back from around Sturgis’ neck. “Mac, I’m so sorry,” He said, through his own tears. She looked up at him, her breathing slowed. “So am I,” She said. With that she closed eyes and let the darkness consume her. A moment later she flat lined as well. A.J, Tiner, and Coates chose that moment to come in. The first thing they noticed was the Commander sitting in a chair with his face buried in his hands. He looked up at them with tears streaking down his face. “They’re gone. Both of them,” He whispered haggardly. A doctor rushed in the room and took in the situation. He walked to Harm’s bedside and covered up his face with the blanket, then did the same for Mac. He turned to the group. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing else for us to do for them,” She said. With that she turned and left the room, and the four miserable souls with the bodies of their friends. 1500 EST Virginia State Memorial Park. “We are here today to pay our respects to the honored dead; A.J Roberts, Commander Harmon Rabb Junior, and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. These are three of the four family members, and military personnel deceased in the attack at JAG Headquarters in Falls Church. Each of them were loved, respected, and will be missed by all of us. We have a few people who have decided to speak about the deceased. Admiral, if you will,” The Reverend stepped off of the make shift pulpit and was replaced by A.J. “I’ve been at JAG for eight years. All of those eight, Commander Rabb was under my command, and seven of those eight, both he and Colonel Mackenzie were. They had their share of bumps along the road, but both rose up and became exemplary officers in their time at JAG. They were not only officers though. They were our friends, our co-workers, Godparents to Little A.J; they were part of our family. I saw them each grow as people, and lawyers in my time with them; they each had what it took to become whatever they wanted. I felt like a father to them in many ways, they came to me with problems, they trusted me with their stories. I loved them like my children; I’ll miss them for as long as I live,” A.J Said. He stopped and gathered himself. “That brings me to A.J. He was like a grandchild to me; perfect in every way. It was his insatiable love for all of those around him that made him so perfect. Though he was only four years of age, he had more love to give, than most people do in a lifetime. I’m not sure where the people at JAG will go from here, but I can be sure that we will be led by the example, and the love given to us bye Harm, Mac, and A.J,” With that he stepped down from the pulpit. Three rounds of gunfire went off by a group of enlisted men. General Moore, and Admiral Clyde stepped forward, handing flags to Trish Burnett, Harm’s mother, and to Admiral Chegwidden to give to Mathew O’Hara upon his release from Leavenworth. The End