Title: Passages
By: Harley (harleyzgrl26@...) and Susan (sstroud@...)
Dedication: For TxJAG_b and Mary Jean. You know who you are and you know why I admire what you are doing and going through. May this story help to bring you a bit of closure or at the very least help to ease the pain for a little while. Harley
April 2005 - end of series, beginning of VS where life is good for Harm and Mac.
September 3, 2005 - Harm & Mac's wedding.
November 10, 2006 - Sturgis & Varese's wedding.
June 14, 2007 - Mattie's high school graduation.
June 20, 2007 - Benjanmin Mackenzie Rabb born.
August 17, 2007 - Zade Marcella Turner born.
August 16, 2010 - Harm takes over as JAG.
November 27, 2010 - Jen and Thomas Gardiner's wedding.
July 16, 2011 - Mike Roberts and Cammie Creswell's wedding.
February 9, 2013 - Mattie and Robert Brendan's wedding.
June 2015 - Harm retires from being JAG and the Navy.
July 8, 2015 - John Thomas Gardiner born (to Jen and Tom.)
September 2015 - Harm and Mac take a 10th anniversary trip to the Bahamas.
September 16, 2017 - Rachel Brendan born (to Mattie and Rob.)
October 26, 2018 - Grace Gardiner born (to Jen and Tom.)
February 10, 2020 - Chad Brendan born (to Mattie and Rob.)
August 2025 - Ben leaves for the Naval Academy.
May 22, 2027 - A.J. Roberts marries Kelsey White.
March 24, 2030 - Stacy and Michelle Roberts born (to A.J. and Kelsey Roberts.)
August 30, 2030 - Sturgis Turner dies.
October 25, 2031 - Nikki Roberts marries Seth Ray.
January 15, 2033 - Jimmy Roberts marries Hanna McDaniels.
May 27, 2034 - Ben Rabb marries Zade Turner.
May 27, 2034 - William Patrick Ray born (to Nikki and Seth.)
May 27th, 2034
1358 Local Time
United States Naval Academy Chapel
Annapolis, Maryland
The bride was resplendent in white gown and veil. Her intended stood tall and proud at the front of the chapel in full naval dress uniform along with his groomsmen as the last of the bridesmaids took their place. All in the chapel were turned to watch the bride making her way down the aisle on the arm of a well decorated, bald, and distinguished looking admiral. His gait was slower than those who had known him for decades remembered; however, it was still steady, still proud, still that of a man who spent years serving his nation.
As they neared the altar, they stopped, and the bride raised her veil just enough to place a loving kiss on Admiral Chegwidden's cheek. Once her veil was back in place, the Chaplain stepped forward.
"Who gives this woman to be wed to this man?"
The groom quickly left his place to lend an arm to a woman, as she stood from her seat in the front row. "I do," the woman's voice carried easily through the chapel. She then kissed the cheek of the groom and resumed her seat. As the groom returned to the altar, the admiral placed the bride's hand on his, executed a picture perfect about face and sat down beside the bride's mother.
"Ladies, gentleman, family, and friends, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, to join these two in holy matrimony. If anyone has just reason why these two should not be wed, please speak now or forever hold your peace."
Almost in tandem, two throats were cleared from two different locations in the chapel. Multiple heads spun, but it was the imposing forms of Admiral Chegwidden on the bride's side and Admiral Rabb on the groom's side of the room, standing and administering quelling stares that brought giggles from the congregation, and then red-faced apologies from two lieutenants in their twenties. Nodding, the admirals retook their seats and hid smiles of their own as they shook their heads.
The Chaplain resumed speaking, "Would you both please face one another and join hands." The bride handed off her bouquet to a heavily pregnant matron of honor, then took the hands of her husband to be. They shared a loving smile; bluish green gaze locked with brown.
"Do you, Benjamin Mackenzie Rabb, take Zade Marcella Turner to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do."
"And do you, Zade Harriet (Marcella) Turner, take Benjamin Mackenzie Rabb to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
The two were in the midst of the rest of their vows when there was a low moan followed in quick succession with a stage whispered, "Oh no!"
Ben and Zade realized at the same time what was wrong when Nikki, the matron of honor, stared at them in shocked silence as fluid spread on the floor around her.
"Chaplain Greene, are you able to finish our ceremony here?" Zade questioned.
The Chaplain nodded then quickly continued, "By the power invested in me by the state of Maryland, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ben, you may now kiss your bride."
"Ben, honey," Zade interrupted as he squeezed her hand instead, and then moved around her to assist her in helping Nikki to a dry area of the sanctuary behind the communion rail, "We'll have that kiss, I promise, but would you mind getting my bag out of the trunk of the limo? I suspected this might happen, and if everything that your parents, Uncle AJ, Uncle Bud and Auntie Harriet have said is true, this baby is coming now."
"Yes, ma'am," Ben replied, giving Zade a wink and a saucy smile before he took off down the aisle of the church alone. Family and friends scrambled to call an ambulance, get blankets, and reminisce about the day Lieutenant Commander AJ Roberts was born as his niece or nephew prepared to do the same.
~~Cue Jag theme and opening credits~~
May 27th, 2034
1505 Local Time
Hilton Hotel Banquet Hall
Annapolis, Maryland
Harm looked around the crowded banquet hall in search of his granddaughters. He chuckled to himself even as he spotted them in a far corner of the room. Mattie's daughter, Rachel, was just a few months shy of turning seventeen, and Jen's daughter, Grace, was almost sixteen.
The two of them were as inseparable now as Jen and Mattie had been since the time they'd met. And while Jen had never been "legally" adopted into their family, her family had become as much a part of theirs that nobody even questioned why her two kids called him "gramps" anymore.
"There they are, girls," Harm said as he looked down at the two little girls holding tightly to his hands. Since their mother was currently overseas on her last tour before her separation from the Navy, and their father, Commander A.J. Bud Roberts, had driven his parents to the hospital to be with Nikki, Harm and Mac had agreed to keep an eye on the four year old twin girls, Stacy and Michelle.
Giving them each a gentle squeeze, Harm led them across the room. "I need a favor, girls," Harm said as the trio approached the table.
"What do you need, Gramps?" Grace asked.
"Would you two keep an eye on Stacy and Michelle for a few minutes? A.J. had to drive Bud and Harriet to the hospital, and I need to find your grandmother and help get things under control here."
"Not a problem," Rachel answered for them both. "They can sit here with us."
"Thank you," Harm replied. Squatting down to be on eye level with the twins, he added, "Okay girls, I want you to be on your best behavior for Rachel and Grace. In just a little while, Aunt Mac and I will be back to get you and then we'll all have some cake. Okay?"
"Okay, Uncle Harm," the girls replied in unison.
Harm gave each of their hands another squeeze before turning them over to Rachel and then making his way back across the room to Mac.
"Did you get the twins settled?" Mac asked as she slipped her arm through his.
"They're with Rachel and Grace," he replied. "Have you seen J.T. and Chad?"
Mac quickly scanned the room for their grandsons, John Thomas, Jen and Tom's eighteen year old, and Chad, Mattie and Rob's fourteen year old. "They weren't with the girls?"
"No," Harm replied. "I thought they might be with Ben and Zade, but I don't see them there either."
"I'm sure they're around here somewhere, Harm," Mac replied as she turned to look at him. After studying him for a minute, she leaned up and brushed her lips across his. "Let it go, Harm."
He dropped his eyes to hers, not in the least bit surprised that after almost twenty-nine years of marriage she could read him so easily. "I'm trying, Mac. It's just hard to ignore today."
"I know it is," she agreed. "But for the sake of Zade and Ben, you need to stop dwelling on it."
Harm let out a sigh and pulled Mac into his embrace. "He should be here to see this," he whispered against her hair. "Sturgis should've gotten to walk his daughter down the aisle."
Mac merely wrapped her arms around him and held him close as both of their thoughts drifted back in time...
August 23rd, 2030
1822 Local Time
Rabb Residence
Washington, D.C.
Mac was in the kitchen making dinner as a news anchor delivered the day's news on a counter top television.
"In entertainment news, Varese Chestnut has been named as one of the honorees for this year's Kennedy Center Honors to take place on Sunday, December 29th. The announcement comes just days after Ms. Chestnut canceled the remainder of her North American farewell tour. Also in entertainment, Latoya Jackson has filed for divorce from her..."
Mac turned off the television then moved over to a pile of envelopes on the edge of the counter. Picking up the one on top, she walked out of the kitchen and straight to the den where Harm sat working at the computer. "Harm, you need to call Sturgis."
"Mac, I said I would, but really, if they don't want to come to our anniversary party, then they don't want to come."
"There's more to it, Harm. I suspected as much when they declined, but I just heard on the news that Varese canceled the rest of her tour last week, and she's going to be one of the honorees for the Kennedy Center Honors. Sturgis or Zade would have called to tell us about news that big, but nothing."
Harm stopped typing and said, "Call Sturgis." A box popped up in one corner of the monitor taking up about a quarter of the screen. Inside the box, it showed a phone off the hook and then another phone that looked like it was vibrating as it rang until suddenly the face of a young woman appeared. Her face was puffy and it was obvious something was wrong by the redness of her eyes and the way her hair was falling out of the hair clip at the top of her head.
["Hello."] She said, but appeared to be looking anywhere but directly into the screen of her phone communication unit.
"Zade? Is that you?"
["Uncle Harm?"] She questioned, focusing at last on the screen. Now it was clear the young woman was crying or recently had been, her eyes red.
"Yes, Zade, it's me. What's going on?"
["Dad didn't want you to know, but Mom said if you called to tell you to come as soon as you can."]
"What's wrong? Is it your mom or Sturgis? Your dad and I haven't managed to connect for a few months. I kept meaning to..."
["Uncle Harm,"] Zade said, interrupting him, ["How soon can you get here?"]
"I'll leave tonight if I can get a flight out. Can you at least tell me what it is, Zade? Which one of them is sick?"
["Dad."]
"How bad?"
["He's on a ventilator."]
"What?" The forcefulness of the way Harm said the word brought Mac to his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder while with the other she opened the browser page on his computer, quickly minimizing it so Harm could still see Zade and began searching for a flight.
["Mom figured dad hadn't told you. Dad's dying, Uncle Harm. He has ALS. He's had it for nearly four years."]
Harm closed his eyes and swore softly under his breath. "I should have called. I'll be there by morning. Zade, please tell your dad to hang on."
["I'll tell him. Mom'll be glad to know you're coming, too."]
"End call," Harm muttered and the little box closed. His hand shook as he reached up to put it over Mac's, which still rested on his shoulder. "I should have listened to you. I should have known he was hiding something. I've known that man most of my life and he's managed to hide something this important...this life altering from me for nearly four years. What the hell does that say about our friendship? Even now, he's on a ventilator for heaven's sake, and I only find out because they declined our invitation and you happen to hear about Varese canceling her tour on the news. This man was my best friend in the Academy. How'd we end up like this?" He was breathing heavy and tears were running down both his face and Mac's by the time Harm completed his string of questions. Mac didn't have any answers, but she knew what the best course of action was for them both. Changing her online request to two, she clicked on the buy icon and then printed the e-tickets.
"We're booked on a 6 AM flight out of BWI. Just a few more hours and you can ask Sturgis yourself."
Harm only nodded. Mac knew for certain she was making the right decision when he didn't even question her coming with him. She'd have Ben and Mattie contact their guests and cancel the arrangements for their anniversary party. Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood for a party and she doubted Harm was either.
~~Commercial Break~~