The Colour of My Love Sequel to IF WALLS COULD TALK By AmyToo (sentinelgyrl@yahoo.com) Rating: PG-13 Category: Harm/ Mac (Romance, Drama, and Angst) Spoilers: Through Season 7's "Capital Crimes" and a minor spoiler for "Code of Conduct" as well Summary: A former Chief Petty Officer threatens Harm and Mac's life together... Author's Note: Read "If Walls Could Talk" first Disclaimers: I don't own JAG but rather it belongs to Mr. Donald P. Bellisario and CBS. NO copyright infringement is intended by the writing or publication of this story. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME! ******************************* ******************************* I'll paint my mood in shades of Blue Paint my soul to be with you I'll sketch your lips in shaded Tones Draw your mouth to my own I'll draw your arms around my Waist Then all doubt I shall erase I'll paint the rain that softly Lands on your wind-blown hair I'll trace a hand to wipe out Your tears A look to calm your fears A silhouette of dark and light While we hold each other oh so Tight I'll paint a sun to warm your Heart Swearing that we'll never part That's the colour of my love I'll paint the truth Show how I feel Try to make you completely real I'll use a brush so light and fine To draw you close and make you Mine I'll paint the truth Show how I feel Try to make you completely real I'll use a brush so light and fine To draw you close and make you Mine I'll paint a sun to warm your Heart Swearing that we'll never part That's the colour of my love I'll draw the years all passing by So much to learn so much to try And with this ring our lives will Start Swearing that we'll never part I offer what you cannot buy Devoted love until we die The Colour of My Love By Celine Dion ******************************* ******************************* 1030 Zulu (5:30 AM EST) Rabb Residence June 15, 2004 The alarm clock shrilled its annoying song for what seemed to be the millionth time that moment. Harm sleepily swatted at the nightstand, trying to turn off the source of his annoyance, wanting only a few more minutes of sleep. Mac sat up rubbing her eyes. "Come on, sailor, time to get up. It's 1030 hours and I don't think either of us wants to be late for work." Nature called causing Mac to finally get up to head for the bathroom. Harm groaned but didn't move an inch, keeping his eyes closed, and pulling the blankets over his head. He was snoring lightly by the time Mac returned. Mac rolled her eyes and yanked the blankets back before turning on the lamp on the nightstand. "Come on, squid, rise and shine. You don't want it said that a Marine who is very much with child can out do, do you?" she said teasingly. Harm finally opened his eyes, grimacing at the light in the room. "So as long as that Marine is my wife, I don't care." He finally sat up. "Whose idea was it again to start getting up this early again?" "It was our idea, remember?" "It was?" "Yes, it was. Now that the morning sickness has FINALLY stopped, I want to get back to doing some sort of running in the morning. And since Dr. Anderson says that it's okay, as long as I don't get carried away, I want to get back to it as soon as possible," Mac replied. Harm yawned finally getting out of bed. "Oh remind me not to stay up so late next time working on current cases." He entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him as Mac began to get dressed for their early morning jog. "How late did you stay up?" Mac asked. "Too late." "How late is 'too late'?" Mac asked, deciding not to drop it just yet. The bathroom door opened, and Harm was getting ready to brush his teeth. "Well let's just say Harriet had to call on Bud's cell phone before we decided to finally call it a night." "Harm! You kept Bud here that late?" Mac said. She made a mental note to ask Harriet what time it was when she called. "You know how it is when you're working on a case. The time just slipped by us," he replied. "So you only got what? Two or three hours' worth of sleep?" "About." "I'm sorry I woke you up then. Do you want to go back to bed while I go jogging this morning?" Mac asked, leaning on the bathroom door. "I'm awake now and besides I'd rather you didn't go into that park by yourself," he replied. "I'd be all right by myself-" "Before you give me 'I'm a Jarhead who can take care of myself' speech because I know you can, I just don't want you to forget you have someone else to keep safe now," Harm said, emphasizing his point by touching her stomach. "WE have someone else to keep safe now." Just as Mac was about to reply, the baby decided to start kicking, and she gasped. "He or she seems to agree with you." "I'm glad." "Get a move on it, squid, or we're not going to have time to go to the park," Mac said, leaving him to finish getting ready. End Part 1a * ~ * ~ * ~ * 1315 Zulu JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA. Sturgis smiling disgustingly bright, walked into the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Harm." "Hmmmmm," Harm replied, sipping his own coffee. "Get up on the WRONG side of the bed this morning?" Sturgis asked, looking his friend over. "What is it with you and Roberts this morning?" "What do you mean?" Harm asked. "Well you two look like something the cat dragged in." "If you must know, we were both up to the wee hours of the morning working on the Burnette case," Harm answered. "And how 'wee' is wee?" "0735," Bud answered, entering to make a beeline for the coffeepot. "Sir." If Harm thought he looked worn out, Bud was even worse. His eyes were bloodshot and he had bags under his eyes. "Bud, did you any sleep at all last night?" Bud sipped his coffee before answering. "I got about an hour's worth, sir. When I got home, Harriet was practically dead on her feet. The baby was sick last night and Harriet had been walking her all night, trying to get her to sleep. So when I got home, I took over trying to get her asleep and told Harriet to go to bed. Orli finally fell asleep after I had both walked and rocked with her. To top it all off, I have a creak in my neck from falling asleep in the rocking chair." "Wow, I'm sorry I kept you so late last night," Harm said. "It's all right, sir," Bud said, rolling his neck. "It'll be worth it when we win this case." Sturgis smiled, heading out of the kitchen. "Roberts, if I were you, I'd try getting more sleep tonight because you're delusional if you think either of you have a chance to win this case." "We'll see about that, Sturgis. We have a strong case, while you-" "While I had a full night's sleep. See you two in court." "Was Commander Turner making fun of us, sir?" Bud asked. Harm smiled in reply, "You can bet he was. But that's okay, we're going to kick his six today in court, and you just wait until he has his own children. It'll teach him not to make FUN of expectant fathers or fathers with very young children." Bud grinned. "Yes, sir." * ~ * ~ * ~ * 1930 Zulu JAG Courtroom "Objection!" Sturgis said. "Relevance?" "I'm curious about that myself," Colonel Blakely said, eyeing Harm. "Commander Rabb, what is the relevance to this line of questioning for your client's defense?" Harm explained where he was going with this, asking for the judge to give him a little leeway. Finally Colonel Blakely shook his head no. "Not this time, Commander. Objection sustained. The witness may step down." As the witness exited the courtroom, Harm leaned over to talk to Bud. Harm turned by to face the judge. "Your honor, the defense would like call our next witness." "That will have to wait until the morning, Commander. This court is in recess until 1400 hours tomorrow morning," Colonel Blakely said, pounding his gavel before Harm could say a word. As soon as the colonel was gone, murmuring broke out in the courtroom. "Care to discuss a plea bargain now?" Sturgis asked. Harm glanced at his client who shook his head no. "Sorry, Sturgis, we're going to battle this one out." Sturgis shrugged. "I'm just trying to offer your client a lesser sentence than what he'll get if a guilty verdict comes back from the members." The petty officer stood up. "No thank you, sir. I trust the judgement of Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Roberts." "Very well, Petty Officer Burnette. My offer is on the table until the verdict is in. After that, your fate is in the members' hands," Sturgis said. Harm watched him leave the courtroom before turning to his client. "We're going to win this one, Petty Officer." He signaled the MPs waiting to take Burnette back to the brig. "Yes, sir," the young man said, going with the MPs. "Sir, do you really think we still have a chance of winning this case? I mean Commander Turner seemed to be punching holes through every shred of evidence we presented in the petty officer's defense," Bud said. Harm closed his briefcase. "I think we still can win this case. We still have our biggest witnesses coming up." "Yes, sir." They began to leave the empty courtroom together. "Sir, so you want me to come over tonight to plan our strategy for tomorrow's court session?" They entered the bullpen before Harm could answer. "No, stay home tonight." "But, sir-" "Bud, we both need to get some sleep tonight. Otherwise, we might as well suggest to Petty Officer Burnette that he take the plea bargain that Commander Turner is offering." Harm left Bud and entered his office, closing the door behind him. After dropping the briefcase in one of the chairs in front of his desk, he sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk, closing his eyes. He felt like a headache was coming on, something he didn't need. Oh he didn't have to be in court for the rest of the day but he did have a pile of paperwork stacked on his desk, waiting for his attention. And he still needed to go eat a late lunch, as Colonel Blakely had kept things going straight through. A sudden knock at the door startled Harm out of his thoughts. With a sigh he sat up straighter, hoping that it wasn't the Admiral or the Admiral's new yeoman Petty Officer Carter telling him that his CO wanted to see him right now. He opened a file on his desk. "Come in." Petty Officer Carter did indeed stand at the other side of the door. "Sir, I was just coming to place some phone messages for you on your desk. Colonel Rabb has called several times today wanting to speak to you and I told her you were in court." He laid several post-it notes on Harm's desk. "Is that all, Petty Officer?" Harm asked. "Yes, sir." "You're dismissed then." "Aye, sir." "And close the door behind you, Petty Officer." "Yes, sir." After he was gone, Harm picked up the post-it notes, finding several of the messages read simply: 'Call me'. "Call me. Call me. Call me," Harm muttered as he read them. The last note was different as it read: 'Call me at my office - Mac.' Smiling he picked up the phone, and dialed her office number at the Pentagon. A voice answered but it wasn't the voice of his beautiful wife. "Colonel Rabb's office. Staff Sergeant Jessup speaking," said a young female voice. "Staff Sergeant, this is Commander Rabb. Is the colonel in her office?" "No, sir, you just missed her," Jessup replied. Harm rolled his eyes. "Would you please tell her that I was trying to return her calls?" "Yes, sir." "Thank you, staff sergeant," Harm hung up. "Great, now I have to add a game of phone tag with my wife to end a not so PERFECT day!" End Part 1b * ~ * ~ * ~ * 2125 Zulu Somewhere on the Beltway As always, the traffic on the Beltway was murder, and Harm had been stuck sitting it for over ten minutes. He hoped that Mac had made it home already but he doubted it somehow with the way the traffic seemed perpetually stuck in one place on the freeway. Suppressing a yawn he blew the horn at the car in front of him, wanting the driver to move up as the car in front of them had moved again. Finally when the traffic began moving a little faster, his cell phone rang. "Rabb," he all but growled into it. "Well that's some way to greet your wife," Mac's voice said teasingly. "Oh, sorry, honey. I had quite the day at the office," he said. "But that can wait until I get home." "Are you on your way home now?" "Yeah." "Stuck in traffic on the Beltway?" "Oh yeah." She heard the frustration in his voice. "Well I've taken care of dinner, so when you get home we can eat and relax. Unless you have to prepare for court tomorrow?" "Dinner and relaxing-- now THAT sounds wonderful. I told Bud to stay home tonight, as we both need the rest if we're not going to let Sturgis finish swabbing the deck with us tomorrow. I'll see you in a few minutes." "I love you." "I love you too." * ~ * ~ * ~ * 2205 Zulu Rabb Residence "So do you think you'll somehow win this case?" Mac asked as Harm finished relaying his day. They had finished dinner of 15 minutes ago, having had Chinese take out as Mac said she had had a craving for it all day long. They were now on the couch with Harm sitting on one end and Mac laying with her head on his lap. "Yeah, I think so," Harm said. "So how was your day?" "Relatively uneventful when compared to yours. We just had meeting after boring meeting after boring meeting," Mac said, "Tomorrow will be a BIG day for us as tomorrow representatives from Davidson Technologies are coming to start contract negotiations." "Civilian contractors?" "Well I DID transfer to the Pentagon because they needed a legal weenie to advise them in negotiations with civilian contractors," Mac replied. "I know," Harm said. "Do you ever miss working at JAG?" "Well I won't lie and say that I don't miss it sometimes. I'll even go as far as to say that the work isn't the same kind of challenge I got used to at JAG. But it IS challenging nonetheless and it's fulfilling work." Mac paused. "But I think if there's anything I miss the most about JAG is the people I worked with there." "And I miss seeing you everyday," Harm said, leaning down to kiss her. "That too," Mac smiled. End Part 1c * ~ * ~ * ~ * 1352 Zulu JAG Courtroom Harm smiled as he got ready to leave his office to head on over to the courtroom. Last night was perfectly relaxing, him and Mac having spent the night just talking. At around 8:30, he had finally been forced to turn in as the previous night's lack of sleep was getting to him. So after saying goodnight to Mac, who had elected to stay up to get a little work done, Harm had went to bed, asleep from the moment his head hit the pillow. Now he ready refreshed and ready to battle it out with Sturgis today in court, ready to take back all the ground that bubblehead had gained yesterday when he faced off with the tired opposition. Bud caught up to Harm just outside of the courtroom. "Good morning, Bud." "Good morning, sir." "I trust you got some sleep last night, Lieutenant." "Yes, sir, I did," Bud replied. "Sir, did you hear that Commander Turner called in today sick?" Harm stopped just short of the courtroom's doors. "No, I didn't. What's he got?" "Stomach flu I believe it is, sir." Harm frowned. "That's ashame. I was looking forward to swabbing the deck with him today. Do you know who the Admiral has asked to replace him in court today?" He opened the door. "Uh no, sir." They entered the semi-full courtroom to find that someone was already sitting at the prosecution's table. "Just when you thought he was gone, the man returns like a boomerang," Harm muttered. "Sir?" Bud asked puzzled. At that moment, the opposition rose and turned to face them. "Commander Brumby!" "Hello, Leftenant," Mic said. "Good to see you again." Mic nodded at Harm. "Harm." "Mic." "How are you and Harriet, Bud?" "Oh we're fine, sir..." Harm busied himself with taking out his files, not wanting to really talk to the Australian until he had to. At that moment, the door to Colonel Blakely's chambers opened, cutting their conversation short. "All rise!" * ~ * ~ * ~ * 1535 Zulu JAG Courtroom "Petty Officer Second Class Eric Burnette, United States Navy: On the charge and specification of Article 118, premeditated murder this court martial finds you.... Not guilty." "The members are thanked for their service. This court is dismissed." As soon as Colonel Blakely was gone, PO Burnette reached out to shake hands with Harm and Bud. "Thank you, sirs." "You're welcome, Petty Officer." After the young man left, Harm gathered his files, still ignoring Mic as much as he could. However, Bud had picked up where they left off on their conversation earlier. "We had another baby, sir," Bud was enthusiastically filling him in on details. "Oh that wonderful, mate! A boy or girl?" Mic asked. Harm was leading the way out of the courtroom. "A girl. We named her Orli Hope," Bud answered. "That's an unusual name." "Yes, sir. It means 'my light'. Harriet and I went through hundreds of baby name books and websites to find it." Mic smiled. "Congratulations again, Bud! I would love to see pictures of the little lady if you have any." "Sure! Come by to my office and I'll show you the pictures, sir," Bud said. Turning to Harm, Mic noted the wedding band on Harm's finger. "So, who's the lucky woman?" Mic asked as they entered the bullpen. "Did you and Renee finally decide it was time to say 'I do'?" The Admiral's voice interrupted Harm's reply, "Commander Brumby, my office." As they watched him leave, Bud spoke. "Do you really think Commander Brumby doesn't know that you and the Colonel are married now, sir?" Mic came to attention in front of AJ's desk, waiting for him to speak. The former SEAL glared at Mic for moment before speaking. "At ease and sit down, Commander." Mic sat down as ordered. "Thank you, sir." "Now, Commander, when I agree to allow back under my command, albeit however temporary, I did it with what I thought was a FULL understanding that you would not come back into JAG to start causing trouble by butting heads with Commander Rabb. In the courtroom is one thing but in the office is an entirely DIFFERENT thing." "Sir, I wasn't trying to cause any trouble with Commander Rabb," Mic replied, clearly puzzled. "All I wanted to know was who the lucky lady was that he decided to marry, that's all. I'd also love to know, sir, where Colonel MacKenzie is. I haven't seen her since I got here this morning. Does she still ever work here, sir?" AJ noted the formal way he inquired about Mac, and he decided to sit down himself before answering Mic questions. "No, Commander, the Colonel doesn't work here at JAG any longer. She transferred to the Pentagon about a year ago." "Blimey, that's a shame, sir! She was one bewdy of an attorney." "Yes, she is," the Admiral agreed. "May I ask why she transferred, sir?" Mic asked. "Because, Commander, she married Commander Rabb," AJ replied, watching the Australian's face as he said this. Mic was silent for a moment. "It's about time. I was convinced Rabb had Kangaroos loose in the top paddock." "Will this cause any problems between you and Rabb?" the Admiral asked. Mic sighed. "No, sir. Since I left last time, I've moved on with my life. I'm seeing someone else now back home. I knew I never really had a chance with Sarah because Harm had her heart from day one. It's just a bloody shame it took them both so long to realize it and that so many of us had to be hurt to get everyone with the ones they belong with." AJ cleared his throat. "Well, Mr. Brumby, just keep in mind what you just said to me during the remainder of your time here at JAG and we should have no problems." "Aye, sir." "Dismissed." "Aye aye, sir." End Part 1d * ~ * ~ * ~ * 2200 Zulu Rabb Residence Mac's nose was bombarded with mouthwatering smells as she unlocked the front door of their house. She smiled garlic bread in the oven, and she heard Harm rummaging around in the kitchen. Smiling she laid her briefcase and cover on the end table before discarding her shoes from her aching feet. Quietly she made her way to the kitchen and peeked around the corner where Harm was busy cutting up veggies for a salad. "Hi, sailor," she said, causing Harm to jump. "I didn't hear you come in," he said, pausing long enough to kiss her. "Sorry, I should have yelled to let you know I was home." "It's okay. Why don't you go change into something comfortable while I finished dinner?" "Good idea," Mac said, turning to exit the kitchen. "By the way, what's for dinner? As long as it's not your 'famous' meatless meatloaf, I'm one starved Marine." "Ha ha ha! I actually fixed one of my other specialties, and this one I remember you said you liked," he yelled so she could hear him in the bedroom. "And that is?" "Vegetarian lasagna!" "Oh that sounds wonderful!" A few moments later, Mac reappeared dressed in shorts and a Marine Corps T-shirt. She grabbed a small carrot stick from the salad causing Harm to swat playfully with her with a dishtowel. "Out! It'll be ready in a few minutes," he said. "Hey, we're starving here," Mac replied, trying to look pitiful while patting her stomach. Harm laughed. "I'm hurrying. Why don't you go pick out some dinner music for us while I get this on the table?" Mac went over to the stereo/CD player, and after a minute she put on a Celine Dion album to play. She was about to return to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, Mac went to answer the front door. "Yes-" Before Mac could get in another word, the man on the other side of the door forced his way in, covering Mac's mouth with his hand even as he shoved her back inside. Mac tried to struggle free of the man's grasp by using her Marine training but all he did was counter it. "Relax, Colonel," he murmured, "I'm not going to hurt you -- yet." He reached over to turn up the music full blast. "First, you and I are going to have a little talk, and then I am going to kill you." He shoved her roughly towards the couch, and pinned her down before Mac to get up again. "HARM!" she screamed. The man reached out to cover her mouth again. "HARM!" In the next second, the man didn't know what hit him as Harm came running into the living room and pulled him off Mac with one swift movement. Without thinking he threw the guy into the wall, where the intruder turned, ready to fight. "Sarah, call the police!" Harm said above the music. Mac wanted to help Harm fight the intruder off, but the urge to protect her baby right now hurried her towards the kitchen. She dialed 911 as she heard someone slam into the bookcase in the living room, followed by a crash into the coffee table. "911-- what is your emergency?" "There's an intruder in my home!" Mac said, peeking around the corner when things got quiet suddenly. "Oh, God, no! Harm!" He was lying on the floor, blood pouring from a head wound. Mac all but hang up the phone when she saw him lying there, very still unmoving. The intruder was gone. "Ma'am? Ma'am? Hello?" "Send an ambulance!" Mac said before dropping the phone to rush to her husband's side. End Part 1e * ~ * ~ * ~ * 2327 Zulu JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA. "Chegwidden." He waited for a reply. "Hello, who is this?" "Admiral." AJ suddenly gave his full attention to the person on the other end. "Mac, what the-" "Sir, I don't have much time to explain it all but I'm on my way to the hospital." "Oh my lord, Mac, is it the baby? And where is Harm?" "No, sir, it's not the baby. Someone broke into our home tonight and attacked us," Mac replied. He could tell by her voice she was shaken up quite a bit. "Are you hurt? What about Harm?" "I'm fine for the most part, sir. Just shaken up. Harm was hurt badly though. I'm in the ambulance taking him to the hospital." "Which hospital?" he asked, taking down the information. "I'm coming down there and NO arguments from you, Mac." He looked at his watch. "I'll be there in about 30 minutes. Mac, have you called anyone else to come stay with you?" "Yes, sir. I called Sergei as soon as the police would let me." "Good. I'll be there as soon as I can." The Admiral hung the phone up, quickly gathering his things before he headed full speed out of his office, running right into Mic who had been hovering around the open office door. Immediately, papers from Mic's file went flying in all directions as well at the two men. "Brumby, what ARE you still doing here at this hour? And WHY are you hovering around my office doorway?" Mic picked up the papers on the floor. "Sorry, sir. I was just catching up on a few things and I'm sorry about the eavesdropping but I unintentionally overheard your conversation with Mac. Did I hear something about Harm and a hospital?" Mic asked, offering his hand to the Admiral to help him up from the floor. Ignoring the offer, AJ got to his feet on his own, still glaring at the Australian. "Yes, you heard correctly. Harm was injured tonight and Mac is going with him to the hospital. I'm on my way there now." "May I accompany you, Admiral?" Mic asked. "All right. But you give me your word that you WILL NOT cause any trouble down there," AJ said. Mic nodded. "You have my word, sir." * ~ * ~ * ~ * 1230 Zulu JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA. The Next Day... "May I have your attention please?" Immediately the bullpen came to a screeching halt, everyone turning in the direction of their CO to hear what he had to say. The Admiral took the time to note that all of his officers were present before he began to speak. "Last night, Commander and Colonel Rabb were intruded upon and attacked in their home. Colonel Rabb and the baby are fine. However, Commander Rabb was seriously injured and the doctors at Georgetown University Hospital list him as being in critical but stable condition. The injuries he sustained last night have caused him to slip into a coma." Everyone started to talk at once and AJ held up his hand for silence. "Yes, Lieutenant Roberts?" "Sir, I was just wondering, do they know who broke into the Commander and Colonel's home last night?" The Admiral nodded. "As a matter fact, Lieutenant, they do know who it was. It was a Mr. Mason Alcott, an employee with a civilian contractor that has been in negotiations with the Pentagon this past week." Bud's eyes widen. "Yes, lieutenant, Mason Alcott as in the former Chief Petty Officer you assisted in the defense of with Commander Brumby. Anyway as a result of the Colonel identifying the assailant so quickly, an APB has been put out for Mr. Alcott. However they have yet to catch him." "Also as a result of last night's incidents, and the illness already present in this office, we are VERY shorthanded. Everyone's workload will be heavier this week, possibly for the next two weeks until Commander Turner is able to return. Be prepared; people, for some VERY long hours. Any questions?" "Sir, what about sending the Commander some flowers?" "That's a very good idea, Petty Officer. The Commander is being transferred to Bethesda later today, so if any of you wish to send flowers to Commander Rabb, speak to Petty Officer Carter later this afternoon for the information. If there aren't any other questions," the Admiral waited a second, "Let's get back to work, people. Commander Brumby, Lieutenant Roberts, my office." Without a word, both of them followed the Admiral into his office. "At ease. The reason I called you both in here is because I need to know that I can count on you both for the next two weeks until Commander Turner is back at work. Mr. Roberts, as a result of what's happened, I am going to be laying a few more responsibilities than you are used to on you. Now I know you have a new baby at home and I hate to ask you to do take on even more right now, but I need to know that I can depend on you to get things done." The young officer's expression was serious as he answered. "You can depend on me, sir." "Good, Lieutenant. Return to my office in ten minutes for your assignments. Dismissed." "Commander Brumby, I may need you to stay here for more than the two weeks we originally agreed on." "I'll take to my superiors, sir. I am sure they'll be willing to extend my stay after I explain the situation." The Admiral nodded. "Thank you. Let me know what they say. Dismissed." End Part 1