Harm carried two bottles of water with him as he made his way to the large table set up at one end of the room. There were several chairs crowded around it as Admiral Chegwidden entertained the group with stories of his time at JAG with Harm, Mac and Sturgis all serving under his command.

Harm sat one of the bottles on the table in front of Mac, who was gently rocking one of A.J. and Kelsey Robert's twin girls. "What did I miss?" he asked as he settled into the chair next to her.

"A recap of all of the bad things you ever did before transferring to London," Mac replied.

"All of them?" Harm asked.

"Well, the ones the Admiral knows about anyway," Mac replied with a teasing smile. "But don't worry, he's shared just as many stories about Sturgis and Bud."

"What about you?" Harm asked.

"I'm still his favorite," Mac teased.

Harm leaned close and whispered, "You're still my favorite, too." He then brushed his lips across hers, being careful not to jostle Stacy from her nap.

"Do you two ever stop?" Colin Roberts asked from across the table.

"Not if we can help it," Harm replied with a smile.

Mac rolled her eyes at Harm and then looked over at Bud and Harriet's youngest son. "So Colin, how is the restaurant business treating you these days?"

Colin, who had gone to culinary school and now owned two gourmet restaurants in the D.C. area, merely shrugged his shoulders. "Business has been pretty good, Aunt Mac."

"Why don't I see your girlfriend here today?" Harm asked.

"Things didn't work out with her, Sir," Colin replied. "So I've opted to just keep my options open on that front."

"Which is baby brother speak for 'who has time for a personal life when you're overseeing two restaurants'," A.J. stated as he walked over and took a seat between Mac and Kelsey.

"No need to be in a rush," Colin replied. "Especially now that I've got these two gorgeous nieces to spoil rotten."

"They are beautiful little girls, A.J.," Harm commented as he looked down at the sleeping baby in Mac's arms.

A loud cough from Sturgis caused the table to grow uncharacteristically quiet. Realizing that everyone was watching him, Sturgis nodded at Harm. "If someone had told you back when we were midshipmen that this is where we'd be now, would you have believed them?"

Instead of a quick response, Harm let his gaze slowly round the table. There was Zade, a bit of a prodigy who was about to finish medical school and start her internship. Next to her was Ben, a fighter pilot on his way to becoming a SeAL. He sat next to Jimmy Roberts, who worked for one of the biggest video game distributors in the country, developing software for their games. On Jimmy's right was his girlfriend, Hanna McDaniels. Hanna was currently working as an independent contractor doing consulting work for several large companies. The two of them had met in grad school and had been inseparable since. Harm suspected that word of an engagement wouldn't be far away.

On the other side of Hanna was the youngest Roberts's twin, Colin. Colin had avoided both the military and computers, choosing instead to become a gourmet chef. In spite of his modesty earlier, Harm knew that his two restaurants were successful enough that Colin was considering opening a third one.

Seth Ray had the pleasure of sitting between Colin and his twin sister, Nikki. Seth was Jimmy's partner in the software development field and had fallen head over heels for Nikki when they had met at one of Colin's restaurant openings. Nikki was an interior designer and while it had taken her a little longer to fall for Seth, she had confided to him and Mac that they had already been ring shopping although they weren't officially engaged yet.

The end of the table was comprised of Harm's grandchildren: John Thomas, Chad, Grace and Rachel. In spite of the age differences, the four of them were the best of friends. Not only that, they were nice, well-mannered kids who worked hard in school and understood the value of family.

Harm's eyes lingered over them for a moment before moving on to Rob and Mattie. Rob was now a successful lawyer, working in the same law firm as Bud, dealing with cases specifically related to the disabled. Mattie was also a lawyer, specializing in family law. Harm was extremely happy that the two of them had found each other. Rob did a great job of keeping Mattie balanced -- especially when her caseload hit close to home and reminded her of her own background.

Jen sat between Mattie and Tom, directly to Harm's left. After their return to the states, Jen had opted not to re-enlist, choosing instead to settle down and help Tom as he worked on establishing his cafe in the U.S. It had been such a hit that it was now a chain of cafes that spread up and down the Eastern coast. Jen was extremely happy being a stay-at-home mom and taking care of her family.

Harm looked over at Mac, his gaze settling on hers long enough to communicate how much he loved her before moving on to A.J. Roberts. A.J. was the XO on the Patrick Henry, and a proud new father. His wife, Kelsey, was also in the Navy, although she was currently on maternity leave. She was holding tight to Stacy's twin, Michelle.

At the other end of the table sat Admiral Chegwidden. Although getting up there in years, the Admiral was still actively involved in his own grandchildren's lives, as well as re-kindling his romance with Marcella. When she followed Francesca to the States several years ago, the two had decided to give it another go. While they had decided that marriage was not feasible, the two were happily co-habitating, spending their twilight years doting on their four grandchildren.

Next to the Admiral was Bud and Harriet. Bud was a partner in the law firm that Rob worked at and the two of them were known for their tenacity in defending the rights of disabled clients. Harriet spent her free time helping with USO tours and pitching in to help her kids whenever possible. The two of them were as happily married now as they had been thirty years ago. Having two new grandchildren was just icing on the cake for them.

Harm let his eyes lock with Varese's for a brief moment, acknowledging her place in their lives before he met Sturgis's gaze head on. "If you had told me back then that I would be this content without being in the cockpit going Mach 5, I would have probably tried to have you committed," Harm finally said. "However, looking around at our family now, I have to say that I've never been happier, nor prouder, to be a part of something so wonderful."

Sturgis nodded his agreement and then gingerly tapped the metal container, which held the thickened water he was slowly sipping. "To family."

The others quickly picked up their glasses, cans and bottles and echoed, "To family."

Annapolis, Maryland
May 27th, 2034
1530 Local Time
Hilton Hotel Banquet Hall
Annapolis, Maryland

Harm slowly brought himself out of the memories of that night. It had been a wonderful day even as it ended in sorrow. He swallowed the lump in his throat trying to forget how that evening had completed itself, with Varese getting Sturgis settled in for the night with the help of Teresa, his nurse. Sturgis has asked Harm to stay in the room with him after Mac and Varese had gone to join Zade and Ben in the living room for a nightcap.

"Thank you, Harm," Sturgis whispered, the VRE once again doing its job to make it easier for him to be heard.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Sturgis." Harm sat on the edge of his hospital type bed and placed his hand over his still ones.

No more words passed between them, but Sturgis did squeeze his hand before closing his eyes. Only a few minutes passed before Harm felt his grasp loosen and watched in disbelief as Sturgis's left arm slipped limply to his side. Leaning forward, Harm placed his ear by his mouth even as he searched for a pulse, but there was nothing to be felt, as he knew there wouldn't be.

Choking on emotion, Harm raised his head and brushed a brotherly kiss on Sturgis's forehead. "Farewell, my brother, my friend until we meet again."

Even now, four years later, as he stood once more amongst a good number of their family and friends, he still grieved. He had kept his promise to Sturgis though, watching out, caring for, and loving Varese and Zade like the family they now truly were.

Hugging Mac to him, he whispered in her ear, "He's pleased Mac."

"Oh! What makes you so sure of that?"

Harm smiled down at her and not even trying to resist the urge, lowered his head and gave her a tender, but passionate kiss before responding, "I've lived with you for twenty-nine years, you shouldn't be surprised that I picked up at least a thing or two from you."

She smiled at his reply, but before she could say anything further, Bud and Harriet came rushing into the reception hall with a beaming Commander AJ Roberts following not much slower behind them. They headed straight for the DJ table and after the briefest of conversations, the lights dimmed and a holo-projection appeared on the wall behind the head table. Nikki and Seth could be seen holding a baby wrapped in a hospital issue white blanket between them. They grinned and then said in unison, "It's a boy."

Everyone in the hall burst into applause and only after retired Admiral AJ Chegwidden let rip one of his infamous cattle calls did the place once more fall to a dull roar. Bud took the microphone and let everyone know the particulars, eight pounds, one ounce; nineteen inches long; named William Patrick Ray, or Wil for short.

As Harm continued to hold Mac to his side, he let his thoughts slip back in time to a night nearly thirty years ago in a bar named McMurphy's. He thought of the small group of friends who gathered that night to celebrate his engagement to Mac and their respective promotions. But most of all, he thought of that coin Bud had flipped into the air. Of watching it turn over, and over, and over again before it at last came down and changed all of their lives, putting them on the road they had traveled to today. And he wondered, just for the briefest of moments, he wondered just what would have happened had that coin landed differently, taking them off on a passage to a different time and a different place.

He wondered, but he didn't dwell, instead he shook it off, raised a glass along with everyone else and thanked God.

~~Roll Jag End Credits and Theme Music~~

Fade to black

Thank you to all the readers who have made the years of the Jag virtual season a success and to all the writers who made it such a trip to be a part of. God bless!