Author: Nancy
Disclaimer: Don't own JAG or characters. This is for entertainment
only. Quotes are from "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
Classification: Drama Harm but other characters are present
Rating: PG
Summary: Harm finds himself the target of an old enemy. Once again
Harm is the pawn and placed in an uncontrollable situation. I hope
you will find compassion in the characters I use later on. This
occurs during season 6. Mic is still around.
A special thanks to Barb and Carolyn for beta reading!
PART 1
The Admiral had been pleased with how many of the administrative tasks he had been managing, and continued to funnel more into his office. Keeping busy would be good for the man, the Admiral had reasoned, ignoring Harm's frustrated looks with each boring assignment.
Truthfully, he was and had been in a sour mood for the past few weeks. He tried to convince himself that if anything he should be happy. Sergei's release as part of the prisoner of war exchange was scheduled for this Friday.
'Friday, Mac is marrying Mic...Friday. It was what she wants. I mean the guy gave up his career, his homeland, everything for her. Just because he's an arrogant SOB doesn't mean he doesn't love her,' he thought. 'That's right Rabb, suck it up. Sarah deserves to have a life, a family, more than just being a top notch Marine JAG lawyer.'
'Oh hell, it's time to call it a day. The Admiral just dumped more endless paper chasing on me. I don't even like my job that much anymore. I don't like anything much anymore. What is wrong with me? I need a life!' he struggled with himself. Commander Rabb reached for his cover and piled his briefcase with several thick files. Heading out, he ignored Gunny who tried to give him a message before he left.
Gunny commented, "Commander Rabb has been a real..."
"Pain in the six" Bud finished as he walked up behind smiling at Gunny.
"Yes Sir," Gunny returned with a smile of his own.
Bud was usually able to deal with the officer's moods, but he found himself struggling especially this week. In court, Harm had pulled out all of the stops and tore Bud's defense to pieces almost humiliating him. Bud never felt personally attacked by the senior officer before, but this time was getting personal.
It was hard being caught in the middle of something. Bud liked Mic Brumby. He was a good lawyer and was always kind to Harriet and him. If the Commander had an interest in the Colonel, he should have made some kind of move. Bud was aware of how much his son's godparents meant to each other. Harm was and would always be like a big brother to him. Harm had even surprised Bud by giving him the yellow model Stearman for little AJ.
Mac had tried several times to invite Harm to lunch or catch him on break, but each time he hurriedly left her standing with her mouth open, when he explained how busy he was. She really wanted to talk with him, because he had always helped her clear her head whenever she needed to bounce ideas off him. But she had Mic now, and since Harm was unpredictable and withdrawn, she did not know what to expect from him.
********
Harm sighed in relief as he opened the door to his apartment, his refuge.
Tossing his briefcase, laptop and cover on his desk, he turned on his CD player to some classical music that promised to calm his frustrations. He changed into some comfortable clothes and grabbed the last water bottle from his refrigerator making a mental note to purchase more.
It had been two weeks since his agreement with Renee to move to the west coast. Her big break had been realized; she was going to direct a series for major network for the coming season, and she was moving up into the big leagues by Hollywood standards. He was going to miss her. She kept him from obsessing over things for which he had no control. A funny and outspoken woman, she had been good for him, but he didn't expect her to give up her career for him, as she didn't expect him to change his for her. He had never expected much from anyone except himself. 'If you don't expect anything, then you won't be disappointed' he thought as he pulled out ingredients to prepare dinner.
Downing the water, he poured himself a glass of white wine as he chopped the vegetables for stir-fry. The oil began to heat to the right temperature as it coated the wok. Harm stretched, feeling more tired than usual. 'All that boring, tedious paper work, I need to find the time to run or go to the gym,' he thought as he found it more and more difficult to stay focused on the task at hand. Finishing off his glass of wine, he tossed the vegetables that took the longest to cook into the hot wok. 'Maybe I should have skipped the wine,' he mused.
Dinner was almost ready; he just needed to add the last ingredients. The room seemed to be moving around him as he reached to turn off the stovetop. His hand fumbled with the knobs not sure which one was the right one.
'I need to lie down,' was his last thought as he stumbled towards his bedroom and felt his body slowly surrender to a deep sleep.
The smoke alarm began to sound as the stir-fry smoked and burst into flames. Misjudging which knob to turn off, his dinner was now blazing on his cook top. He could hear the alarm in the distance, but could not wake himself up to react. He just needed to sleep...
Union Station Fire Department received the call and arrived to see flames from the windows of the converted warehouse.
"Is anyone in there?" One of the firemen yelled at the group that gathered outside, observing.
"We'd better check," suggested another fireman who placed his mask on and headed up the steps with two others who carried the hose.
"Break the door down!" ordered the fire captain noticing the smoke was thick and hot, making it difficult to see.
"It's empty...wait a minute! Someone's on the floor over there!" called one firefighter.
The fireman pulled the man over one the other's shoulder and hurried out the door and down the steps to fresh air. Immediately, another fireman who assessed the victim stated, "He not breathing!"
Expertly tilting his head back and thrusting his jaw forward to open the airway the firefighter EMT applied an ambu face mask and began instilling oxygen into the unconscious victim's lungs. "His pulse is 40 and weak, BP is 60 on palpation. There's something more than smoke inhalation going on here," he called out.
"Does the guy have identification?" asked the Captain.
"Here's his wallet. He's military. Commander Harmon Rabb."
"No medical alert bracelet?" asked a second firefighter.
"No, but I hear the ambulance," the EMT announced.
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