0800 local
NLSO
London, UK
November 9, 2005

Lt. Vukovic tried to slip into his office without encountering his temporary CO. Captain Rabb had surprised him with his attention to detail, especially when it came to picayune things like grooming and punctuality. Somehow he'd figured that the guy would be a little more laid back, given the stories he'd heard about him at headquarters. But no, the guy was just as anal as Commander Turner. He tossed his cover onto the bookcase and put his briefcase down. He sat down and opened the case. He had a meeting with his client at nine and one with the prosecution at ten. Rabb still hadn't told him who was prosecuting the case, just that he'd better be prepared if he wanted to get an acquittal.

He jumped at the knock on his door.

"Lieutenant. I'm glad to see you made it to the office on time." Harm stood in the doorway, looking at him carefully. "Hm. You seemed to have missed a few places with your razor. Why don't you come to my office? I think I have some disposables there." Harm turned on his heel and returned to his desk.

Vic sighed and got to his feet. The man must have eyes like a hawk. He'd shaved the night before. So what if he had a bit of a shadow? The captain sure took all this military etiquette seriously. Damn ring knocker.

Harm was waiting for him. "Come in and close the hatch."

Vic planted his feet in front of the captain's desk and pulled his shoulders back while he waited for the man to speak.

Harm handed him a disposable razor. "Lieutenant, I believe I told you to be clean shaven when on duty."

Vic swallowed hard. "Yes, sir."

"Next time, it will be a letter in your file. Is that understood?"

"Aye, sir." Vic took the razor and fled to the men's room.

***********

1000 local
NLSO
Conference room
London, UK

"Colonel Mackenzie. I had no idea you were prosecuting. I thought you had resigned your commission and were doing the housewife thing." Vukovic had been startled to see her.

"You were mistaken, Lieutenant." Mac neglected to tell him to stand at ease. "Now, have you talked to your client?"

"I have."

"And?"

"He's unwilling to take a plea bargain. He believes he's innocent and with me as his lawyer, he stands a good chance of acquittal."

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do you have some more fake witnesses lined up? An alibi for the nights in question?"

Vic cleared his throat. "I explained to you that I would never have actually put that actor on the stand."

"You did." Mac bit her lip to keep from laughing at him. He was struggling to stay at attention. "Lieutenant, the evidence against your client is overwhelming on all charges. Nevertheless, I think the convening authority might be willing to listen to a reasonable deal."

"It's not going to happen, Ma'am."

"Then I'll see you in court. Dismissed."

Lt. Vukovic nodded and turned on his heel. He strode from the room, anger radiating from him in waves.

Mac rose to go in search of her husband. Some things were too good not to share. The lieutenant had listed Jennifer Coates as a defense witness. What would he think of next?

**********

"Got time for a cup of coffee?" Mac stuck her head into Harm's office.

"Depends. Are you buying?" Harm smiled at her expression. It was good to have her around the office, even if it was only for a week or two.

"In your dreams, Captain. In case you've forgotten, you're the one drawing a paycheck on a regular basis."

He rose from his chair. "All right. I'll buy." He accompanied her to the break room. Harm poured Mac a cup, then reached for a different carafe.

"When did you switch to decaf?"

"I didn't. That coffee is Marine strength. This one is for the rest of us mortals." He smiled at her laugh.

When they returned to Harm's office, they sank into a pair of leather-upholstered chairs in front of his desk. "So did you want to talk about anything in particular, or did you just want coffee?"

Mac swallowed some of the high-octane brew. "I wanted to compliment you on your leadership style."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Jen told me about Vic high-tailing it out of here with a Bic razor. That was inspired, Harm."

Harm rolled his eyes. "I swear, Mac, the guy is a disgrace to the uniform. General Cresswell might have put up with it, Sturgis might be putting up with it, but I'm not going to. He's a disgrace to the profession as well. I can't wait to see what tricks he tries to pull in this case."

"I figure he'll have at least one fake witness, maybe a fake alibi. Unfortunately for his client, the moron used his cell phone to make almost all the phone calls to the petty officer."

"Moron is right. Do you need the records? I can have Jen get them for you."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that." She swallowed some more coffee. "He's planning on calling Jen as a defense witness."

"Does she even know the guy?"

"I believe she has talked to him on the telephone, requisitioning more pencils and legal pads."

"That'll do the trick." He shook his head in disbelief.

"I know." Mac stared into her coffee for a few seconds. "What do you think the general really sees in him?"

"You got me. Perhaps the general watched 'A Few Good Men' one too many times. I suppose it's possible that he didn't know that the guy had less integrity than the worst shyster lawyer known to man."

Mac rose. "I should probably let you get back to work, and I have a case to prepare for two days from now."

Harm nodded. "All right. Come get me when you're ready for lunch. I have a meeting at 1500, but other than that I'm flexible."

"See you then." She started to leave, but turned back to face him. "Love you," she mouthed.

"Understood." Harm flashed her a smile and watched her leave his office. He felt a moment of sympathy for the accused. Mac was going to chew Vukovic up and spit him out. He could see the look in her eye.

***************
0930 local
NLSO courtroom
November 16, 2005

Harm slid into a seat just as Vukovic finished his opening statement. He smiled when he noticed Commander Helfman sitting behind the bench. Lt. Wilson should have taken the deal. He'd be lucky to escape hard labor. Harm settled back to enjoy the show as Mac called her first witness, the complainant, Mary Lynne Chalmers.

"Petty Officer, would you please tell the court why you filed the complaint with Commander Johnson?" Mac slid back into prosecutor mode as if she hadn't been out of the courtroom for the past five months.

"Yes, Ma'am. The very first day Lt. Wilson was stationed at CNAUK, he asked me out on a date. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and turned him down. I thought that would be the end of it. The next day, though, he asked me out again. I told him no. That's when the harassment started. Our jobs require us to work pretty closely with each other, so I couldn't really avoid him. It seemed like every other time he had to tell me something, he found a reason to get too close to me. He'd 'accidentally' brush up against me."

"Objection! Speculation." Vic leapt to his feet.

"Overruled. The only speculation I hear is 'accidentally.' That would be to your client's benefit."

"But, your honor."

"Sit down, lieutenant." Judge Helfman glared at him.

Vukovic sank back into his seat.

"Please continue," Mac told the witness.

"I asked him not to stand so close, but he always had an excuse. He started calling me after hours. Then one night..."

"Do you remember the date?" Mac prodded.

"It was in June. The seventeenth. He accosted me outside a pub in Soho. He asked me out again. I refused again. This time I told him that if he didn't stop hassling me, I'd report him to our CO. It was obvious that he wasn't going to stop unless I either went out with him or took it to Commander Johnson."

"Why didn't you inform your CO at the very beginning?"

The petty officer took a deep breath. "I didn't want to get him in trouble if he just didn't know the rules."

"So what made you change your mind?"

"He wouldn't quit calling me or touching me in the office. I was tired of fending him off." She inhaled sharply. "And it occurred to me that if he'd harass me, he might harass other women as well."

"What happened after you gave him the ultimatum?"

"He left, Ma'am. I joined the friends I was meeting, and had dinner."

"Then what?"

"He left me alone for a couple of days, but the next Wednesday, he came up to me in the office. I was filing some requisition forms, and he stood behind me and put his hands on my waist. I told him to take his hands off me and to back off."

"How did he respond?"

"He squeezed my waist and whispered, 'How about Friday night? You, me, a nice dinner? What do you say?'"

"And that's when you went to Commander Johnson?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I went to him as soon as Lt. Wilson got out of my way."

Mac picked up a stack of papers from the prosecution table. "Petty Officer, about how often did the lieutenant call you outside of duty hours?"

PO Chalmers chewed on her lip. "It must have been at least ten or fifteen times, Ma'am, over the course of several weeks."

Mac handed the papers to Judge Helfman. "People's exhibit A. The cell phone records of Lt. Wilson's calls from June 1 through July 30, 2005. The highlighted calls were all made to Petty Officer Chalmers's home phone. There are actually twenty-five calls."

Mac turned to face the bench. "I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor."

Lt. Vukovic rose from his seat for the cross examination. "Good-morning, Petty Officer." He smiled as he spoke.

"Good-morning, sir."

"You said that my client asked you out on a date, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"How did you feel about that?"

She looked taken aback. "I felt annoyed. It's against regulations for officers and enlisted personnel to date each other."

"You mean to say you weren't the least bit flattered? I mean, here you're a petty officer first class, a glorified clerk, and a handsome lieutenant asks you for a date. That had to be good for your ego."

Mac's knuckles tightened on the pencil she was holding.

"No, sir. I wasn't flattered. I was annoyed. I like to maintain a professional relationship with the people I encounter at work. Lt. Wilson was crossing the lines of acceptable behavior."

Vukovic changed his approach. "Let's talk about the telephone calls. How many of them were about official business?"

"None of them, sir. We're an administrative office. We process supply requisitions. We don't ever have anything that needs taking care of outside of normal duty hours."

Defeated, Vic said, "I have no more questions for this witness." He returned to his seat.

"You may step down," Judge Helfman told the witness.

*******

1600 local

Coates was waiting for Lt. Vukovic when court recessed for the day. "The captain would like to see you, sir."

He grimaced. "What now? Are my shoes not shiny enough for him?"

"I wouldn't know, sir. He was observing the trial for a while. It might be about that."

Vic followed her to Harm's office.

"Come in and close the hatch." Harm watched Vic pull the door closed, then told him to take a seat. Leaning against his desk, Harm faced the younger man. "Would you like to discuss the case?"

"Now why would I want to do that, Captain?"

"Because you're losing. And unless you've got a pretty good rabbit hidden up your sleeve, your client is going to be doing time at hard labor."

Vukovic shook his head in denial. "It'll be fine. I can win this. I haven't even begun to present my defense."

Harm stared at him, stunned. "Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Lieutenant, the evidence against your client is overwhelming. Perry Mason couldn't win this one." Harm sighed. "Sometimes, it's your job to convince your client to plead it out."

"I don't see why you say the evidence is overwhelming. It's basically a case of her word against his."

Harm pinched the bridge of his nose. "Were you paying attention in that courtroom? Col. Mackenzie presented phone records showing that your client called the complainant at home twenty-five times over the course of two months."

"He says they were business-related."

"At midnight?" Harm took a deep breath. "What about the bouncer at the pub who saw her turn him down and tell him she'd tell their CO if he didn't leave her alone?

"He might have misunderstood what she said."

"You're clutching at straws, Lieutenant. The bouncer was an off-duty policeman. He knows what he heard. The members will believe him. Let's also not ignore the other women in that office who came forward to report harassment." Harm shook his head. "Lieutenant, my advice is to convince your client to try to cut a deal."

A slightly feral expression crossed Vukovic's face. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"Do you know what I think? I think that you just don't want Col. Mackenzie to lose because she's your wife. You know I can win because I'm the better lawyer. She's just in that courtroom because of her relationship with you." He smirked. "Besides, it's not like the colonel doesn't know all about fraternization."

Harm was in Vukovic's face two seconds later, his face taut with barely suppressed anger. "Lieutenant, let's get something straight. You are talking about a superior officer. And when I say superior, I don't just mean in rank. You will never be half the officer, attorney, or person that Colonel Mackenzie is unless you make some major changes."

Harm stepped back and returned to his position leaning on his desk. "Understand this, Lieutenant. It's your client who's on trial. I was attempting to help you salvage a losing proposition. If I were you, I'd talk to Lt. Wilson again. Remember, he is looking at least two years in Leavenworth if convicted. Talk to him. It's your duty as his attorney."

"Is that an order?"

"No, it's a suggestion. Just remember, your first duty is to your client, not to your own pride. Dismissed."

Harm sighed in frustration as he watched the man leave his office. Surely neither he nor Mac had ever been that hard-headed.

*********
1330 local
November 20, 2005

Judge Helfman turned to the senior member of the panel. "Have the members reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honor."

The bailiff collected the verdict from him and delivered it to the judge. She read it, then returned it to the bailiff. He gave it back to the senior member.

"Will the accused and counsel please stand." After they rose, Judge Helfman continued, "You may announce the verdict."

"We find the accused guilty on all charges and specifications."

Harm smiled proudly from the back of the courtroom. Mac certainly hadn't lost her touch.

**************** *****

Epilogue - 18 months later

**********************
1920 local
St. Albert's Church
June 14, 2007

Harm leaned down to whisper in Mac's ear. "Are you sure you're all right?" He gave her swollen abdomen an anxious look.

"I'm fine, Harm. The baby isn't due for another day or two. I don't think the excitement of watching Mattie graduate from high school will bring on labor." She patted his arm. "Does it feel as weird to you as it does to me?"

"What?"

"Thinking about how Mattie's about to graduate from high school, and we're waiting for a baby to show up."

He chuckled. "Mac, it seems about right. Nothing about you and me has ever been normal. We're the poster children for weird. I'm just happy that both those things are happening."

Mac nodded. "Too true. A couple of years ago, I wasn't so sure either one would happen." She inclined her head. "Do you mind that Mattie isn't going to Annapolis?"

"Not at all. Why would I?"

"I don't know. I guess I thought it was a dream of yours."

"It was her dream, Mac." He shrugged. "She has a new dream now." He bit his lower lip.

"You're going to miss her next fall, aren't you?"

"Who me? Miss the tied-up phone lines and smoking internet connection? I'm thrilled she got into Richmond. I think it's a good fit for her. It's even close enough to Washington that I can see her if I have to go to headquarters for any reason. But yeah. I'm going to miss her a lot." He grinned at her. "But not as much as you will. You're losing your built-in babysitter."

"True. But I know this really handsome Navy captain that I think I might be able to convince to watch the baby from time to time."

"Maybe. But I have a feeling that Navy captain is going to want someone else to watch the baby so he can take the baby's beautiful mother out to dinner and a movie upon occasion."

"We'll figure something out."

A hush fell over the auditorium as the opening notes of "Pomp and Circumstance" rang out. The parents and friends turned to watch the graduating class march in, their royal blue caps and gowns billowing around them, the class valedictorian and salutatorian leading the way. Mac clutched Harm's hand as they watched Mattie walking proudly at the head of her class, her National Honor Society stole shining gold against the blue. It had been a tough couple of years for Mattie at times, regaining her strength and mobility, but she was walking independently, her head held high.

"She did it, Captain. She really did it. You must be so proud of her." Jennifer Coates spoke softly as Harm reached up to brush away a tear sliding down his cheek.

"I am, Jen. I am." Harm sat down between his wife and yeoman and listened as Mattie began her speech.

"Good evening, classmates, faculty, family and friends. It's been a difficult road for some of us to get here, but as they say in the gym, no pain no gain. I like to think that all of us have gained more than enough to make up for any pain...."

The End.

AN: London Central High School is the DOD high school for the children of American military personnel stationed there. It also has dormitories for the children of service men and women stationed in Europe or Asia in locations without high schools. According to the school's website, they hold graduation "in a local parish church." I made up the name since it wasn't listed.