Chapter 4

Monday July 9, 2001

Harm was at the JAG HQ bright and early the day after he and Tracy had returned from their vacation down south. He requested an appointment with the Admiral and was finally allowed in to see him at 0800.

"Commander. Did you have a good vacation? What can I do for you today?"

Harm stood to attention and answered the question."Yes Sir. I had a great vacation, thank you Sir. I proposed to my girlfriend last weekend, and I would like to request more time off next month in order to get married and have a honeymoon. You did say that I have plenty of leave on the books."

"Your girlfriend? What girlfriend? I didn't know you had a girl friend, Commander." Admiral Chegwidden was shocked. He had assumed that Rabb was licking his wounds after Mac had married the Australian and moved down under.

"Yes, sir. My fiancee is Lieutenant Commander Tracy Manetti. You met her at the Surface Warfare Ball last year when Brumby called her by a racist name and you sent Brumby and Mac home."

"Oh yes. The Japanese girl. You're going to marry her? When and where is your wedding?" The questions came tumbling out. "I thought you were broken down and upset after Mac married Brumby. Why did Mac marry Brumby anyway?" Chegwidden's voice fell away as he stopped talking.

"Sir, Mac married Brumby because she did not know how to say NO. She was conditioned to be told what to do from a very early age - by her father, her uncle when she was drying out, the Marine Corp and finally Brumby. I always refused to tell her what to do. I would give her the pros and cons of any decision she had to make, but I always encouraged her to make the decision on her own. For Mac, not making a decision was essentially making a default decision.

"But once Mac accepted Brumby's ring, I had to stop being her friend. Mostly for my own safety. I did not want Brumby to misinterpret any contact that Mac and I had, outside of work related requirements. The last thing I needed was Brumby trying to assault me. That is also why I did not attend Mac's engagement party and her wedding.

"Tracy and I are planning to get married at my parents home in La Jolla next month. On August 11th. I would like to request the Friday off, that is August 10th, as well as August 13 through 24 if you could allow 2 weeks, or August 10 through 17 if you can only allow one week. Also I am not planning on telling anyone from this office. I don't know if I will be inviting anyone from this office, other than you , Sir. For once I would really like to keep my private life private.

"I do have one further request, Sir. That you not send me on any lengthy investigations away from DC over the next month. Especially not overseas if at all possible. I need to be here so that Tracy and I can plan our wedding and get our lives organised. We do plan on buying a new house and moving in, between now and then, sir."

"How long will this embargo on lengthy travel be in place" Chegwidden asked.

"Just until after I get back from my honeymoon, sir. The end of August."

Harm was still standing at attention. The Admiral opened his calendar over and had a quick look through. There didn't seem to be too much happening in August.

"Alright, Commander, I will try and keep you assigned to the East coast between now and the end of August. I will pencil you in for vacation for 2 weeks from August 10 to 24 inclusive. You do have a lot of leave that BUPERS requires to be used up or be lost. I will expect an invitation and in return I will stay silent about your upcoming nuptials. Staff call is at 0930 this morning. Please pass that along to the rest of the staff. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Since Harm was still standing at attention, he only needed to wait the required 2 seconds before turning smartly and leaving the Admirals office. He stopped to pass onto Tiner that the staff call had been pushed back to 0930 for this morning on the Admirals orders and to please pass that message on.

"Aye Aye, Sir" Tiner responded.

At staff call later that morning, the Admiral handed out assignments and introduced two new lawyers to the JAG staff. One was Commander Sturgis Turner, an old Academy friend of Harm's whom he hadn't seen for several years.

The second Lawyer who was also PCS'd to JAG HQ was Dennis Brockman from Okinawa.

After Staff call, Harm moved to Sturgis's side and heartily shook his hand.

"Sturgis. I thought you were in Pearl?"

"I was. I checked in here last week. You weren't here. I have just finished my tour as Force Judge Advocate at ComSubPac. And now I am assigned here to JAG Headquarters." Commander Turner explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Harm.

"Ah, when was the last time we talked?

"I sent you a Christmas card." Harm complained.

"Three years ago, to the wrong address."

"It was the only address I had- if you had bothered to stay in touch I wanted to get in touch with you ." Harm was still a tad upset that Turner's return had been sprung on him like this.

Neither of them heard or saw the Admiral standing behind them, until he interrupted.

"If you gentlemen are through catching up with old times..."

"Sorry, Sir." Harm and Turner both replied at the same time. They both moved off down to the bullpen.

Back at his office, Harm called Tracy at the Pentagon to ask if she had been able to get any time off.

"He only gave me one week. Harm, I asked for the whole two weeks, but he would only give me one week. He gave me Friday the 10th, but I have to be back at the office on Monday 20th." Tracy was not happy.

"That's OK sweetheart. I should be able to arrange a pretty good honeymoon for one week." Harm consoled his fiancee.

Later that morning the admiral called Rabb to his office.

"You will still be my Senior Attorney. I am however making Commander Brockman my Chief of Staff, for two reasons. First, so that I can continue to send you out on investigations, although I will of course keep you to the East Coast for the next two months as per your request, and second, because I know you detest doing all the paperwork. Dismissed."

After getting home from work that evening, Harm called Frank in California to discuss finances.

"Frank. Did you get the photo we emailed you last week?"

"Yes, we did, thanks. Tracy is a very lovely lady. Your mother and I are very happy that you have found her. But it must be a dichotomy for her to look Japanese and yet have an Italian surname and a Virginian accent?"

Harm laughed. "Yes it was a dichotomy when we first met, but now I don't have any problem. That doesn't mean that others don't have a problem. Tracy and her mother have been subjected to a fair amount of racism almost her entire life. Which is partly why our wedding will be small and for close friends and family only.

"Anyway Frank, I called for a different reason. Are you still managing those college fund accounts for me? The ones I have never used? Because Tracy and I need to buy a home, and I would like to use that money to buy our first home. I would prefer to be able to buy the place outright if I can, to avoid any mortgage, if that is possible. How much is there in those accounts, anyway?"

"You have over $2,000,000 as principal in those accounts. I just kept adding the interest to those accounts and they have increased quite rapidly."

"Wow, Frank. Thank you. Then I would like to limit myself to $1.2 million for my first home purchase, and the rest can continue to be saved. How soon can you move $1.2 million to my bank account?"

"I'll get started on that tomorrow for you Harm, but the bank process itself may take a few days. If you are lucky you'll have the money by Friday, so you can go out looking for a house on the weekend."

"Thanks Frank. I really appreciate everything you have done for me, and are doing for me."

"You're my son, Harm. The only son I will ever have, and like your mother, I am kind of looking forward to grandchildren as well."

Harm blushed.

"Yes, well. Tracy is not getting any younger. I'm not sure what her plans are about kids, but I would certainly like to have kids. At any rate, we will do our best to keep you and mom both happy.

"Oh yes, before I forget. Tracy's wedding dress is being couriered to your home address direct from Virginia. Tracy and her mother went shopping in Greensboro and the dress wouldn't fit into Sarah's luggage compartment so I suggested that it couriered directly to your home. Please keep an eye out and sign for it. Don't open it either. I have been given strict instructions that I am not allowed to see this dress until the beach. It has Pizzazz!"

"Will do Harm. That's not a problem. We are both really looking forward to meeting Tracy. When are you coming out?"

"August 10th. I will let you know which airline and the ETA once we get the tickets. We have both been able to get that day off. Tracy got one weeks holiday, and I got two weeks, but I do have a lot of leave that I have to use up, or I will lose it.

"Look Frank I need to go. I got files to read and work to do, so I need to get off the phone. Thank you so much for all your help."

"You're most welcome, son. See you next month."

After hanging up from Frank, Harm called Tracy to update her on the conversation. Mostly that they would have access to $1.2 million to buy a house with and thus avoid a mortgage.

"So you can start looking for a house anywhere in the DC or Fairfax County area. What about Maryland? Do we want to live in Maryland?"

"I'd prefer to stay in Virginia if that's OK with you Harm." replied Tracy. "It is my home state, and it will makes things a lot easier communication-wise between our home and my parents."

"OK, Virginia it is. Try and stay in Fairfax County if at all possible. Write down all the features you must have, those you want and those you don't want, and I'll do the same. We can compare lists tomorrow evening over dinner?"

"Not a problem, Harm. I gotta go, things to do before I can get to bed. I love you Harm." Tracy was still getting used to saying those three little words to her fiance.

Harm grinned. "I love you too Tracy, very much. I will see you for dinner at your place tomorrow at 1900 hours. Capische?" Harm's tone of voice was a joking one.

Tracy mentally saluted. "Yes Kemosabe. Gonna hang up now. Love you. Bye."

Tracy hung up the phone. She knew that if she didn't make the effort, they could both be on the phone to each other, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears all night.

The following evening, after cooking and eating dinner and helping Tracy to clean up afterwards, Harm and Tracy sat down to discuss what kind of home they were looking for.

Harm was pleased that that he and Tracy both had similar tastes in houses. A swimming pool was optional, but at least 5 bedrooms and a minimum of 4 bathrooms were all a "must have". A basement would be nice as well. Basically they both wanted something relatively plain and simple, but with a minimum of five bedrooms to allow for children and guests. Good schools close by for the kids as well.

"Speaking of kids, what are your plans?" Harm asked.

"Well, I've never needed to use birth control, so I'm not on it, which is one major reason why I asked you to wait. I'm already 35 years old, and now in the "older mom's" category, so I don't want to wait. I'd like to become pregnant ASAP, and have at least two kids - hopefully one born in 2002 when I am 36 and the second born in 2004 when I am 38. Then I will get my tubes tied." Tracy was quite matter of fact about what she wanted. Harm was still stunned by the words she had just spoken.

"You've never needed to use birth control. So does that mean you have never had... I mean you are a..." Harm stammered as he blushed.

"Never had sex and am I a virgin? The answer is Yes to both questions, Harm."

Tracy grinned, and watched as Harm heard her response, thought about it, understood what it meant and then the full wattage flyboy grin lit up his face.

He grabbed Tracy in a hug and twirled her around. Then he stopped. "You waited for me? I'm sorry, that I didn't wait for you." he said.

"Harm. You're a very attractive man. You have probably had girls hitting on you since puberty. I'm glad you have the experience. Because I only know what I have read in books and tried out for myself."

Harm's face went bright red again, as he interpreted Tracy's comments. He told himself that he would do everything he could to make her first time very memorable.

Harm found it hard to drag himself away from Tracy's apartment that evening, but he managed it.

Saturday July 14, 2001

Harm remembered to check his bank account several days later on Saturday morning, to find that the money from his college fund had been deposited the previous day. So Harm and Tracy decided to spend the weekend looking for a home. Reading through the weekend papers, Harm and Tracy found several homes in Fairfax county that sounded good. By lunch time they had made appointments with various different realtors, to see these houses on Saturday and Sunday.

In the end, they chose a home in Dunn Loring, Vienna, just outside of the Beltway, at the end of the Orange Metro line. This location was good for several reasons. There was a metro station half a mile from the house, and the local elementary school was even closer.

The two story home was originally built in 1999, and was priced at $950,000. Harm and Tracy would be the second owners. The house had a master bedroom with a private sitting room and balcony plus an ensuite. There were also four other bedrooms, each bedroom having its own ensuite as well. There was even a basement for entertainment or recreation. And to make things even better, the house was located on a small private driveway, on a cul-de-sac, with an open grassy area between the cul-de-sac and the main road, giving the street a slightly rural feel.

On the following Monday, Harm told the real estate agent, that he would offer the appraised value of $800,000 and that he could pay immediately without needing any bank approval. The realtor promised to get back to them the next day, after she had spoken with the seller.

Later that day, the agent called back and said the seller would settle for $900,000. Harm counter-offered with $850,000. He was hoping to get this house for less than nine hundred grand. That would leave him with $300,000 to pay for a honeymoon, as well as to reconnect the utilities and purchase whatever improvements or extra furniture the new house needed. The agent called back the following day again, and said the seller would accept $875,000 but would go no lower. Harm agreed to purchase the house for $875,000. The entire negotiation process took just forty eight hours.

He also stated that he would fill in and drop the Buyer Forms and a certified check off at the agents office by Friday and that he hoped to be able to take possession of the house on or before August 1st. The agent agreed to pass that request along to the seller.

Now that the matter of a house was settled, Harm and Tracy slowly began packing up their respective apartments.

Harm felt badly that it was up to his parents to manage most of the details of their wedding, but Frank reassured him, that Trisha was very excited to be doing this.

"She's waited for this for thirty seven years, Harm. She wants to do this. She is very happy that you are allowing her to do this. Please don't spoil her fun. You and Tracy just give the directions and she will make sure that they are carried out."

Harm acquiesced and agreed to allow Trisha and Frank to make all the arrangements, making sure to follow his and Tracy's personal preferences.

Trisha and Frank had already sent out exactly twenty invitations to their son's wedding - mostly to people whom they thought should be able to get to California. Of those twenty invitations, six were sent to Tracy's immediate family - her parents as well as one each to her five brothers and their wives.

One invitation was secretly hand delivered by Harm to Admiral Chegwidden at his office. After requesting an early appointment, Rabb was standing at attention in front of the Admiral's desk."

"Yes, Rabb? What is it?" Chegwidden put his glasses down on the desk and frowned at his senior attorney. He was regretting being quite so indulgent with Harm's requests, as there were several investigations on the west coast that could have done with Harm's expert handling.

"Sir. Your invitation." Harm held out an envelope. He could see that the Admiral was not in a good mood, so he said as little as possible to rouse that temper.

The admiral smiled. This was a good thing. Hopefully with Harm being settled and maybe raising a family, he would stop going off and pulling some of the wild stunts that decorated his resume up until now.

"Thank you, Commander. Dismissed."

In order to have a sunset beach wedding, the reception would have to be held first, because Harm and Tracy really did not want to be staying up all night partying on their wedding night. And because this was a beach wedding, each invitation had an extra notation - Shoes Optional at the Beach, but Required for the Reception.

Other plans for the wedding continued. A red carpet laid down on the beach, mostly so that Tracy's wedding dress would not get too much sand on it. A whole lot of candles to help light the path and the ceremony area. Sixty plastic folding chairs had to be hired, as did the celebrant, the photographer and the videographer. Red Tulips were pre-purchased for the brides bouquet and the groomsmen's corsages. Tulips were Tracy's favourite flowers.

Harm had to make some phone calls to track down his old Academy friend Jack Keeter. The last time they had crossed paths was in Iran three years earlier. Keeter had indicated he was based at Pax River doing test flights. But not any more. All Pax River could tell Harm, was that Keeter was no longer flying for the Navy. The last they knew was that Keeter had been seconded to the State Department.

So Harm reluctantly called Agent Clayton Webb to pass a message on to Keeter to be at Harm's parents home in La Jolla on August 11th at 12 noon Pacific time. And to bring a tuxedo with him.

"A tuxedo? Is someone getting married? Who's getting married, Rabb?" Webb was very curious. He hated not knowing what was going on.

"That's on a need to know basis, Webb, and you don't need to know. Just make sure that Keeter gets that message and gets the time off to be there." Rabb hung up. It always annoyed him to have to speak to that officious pompous weasel who could never seem to do his job very well.

Harm and Tracy had to wrestle with, and write their wedding vows as well. Neither of them were particularly religious although Tracy had been raised a catholic, due to her Italian father.

Harm had also promised to take his bride on a honeymoon for one week. Fortunately he now had sufficient cash on hand to pay for a one week holiday at a location that Tracy had expressed an interest in visiting. One quick phone call allowed him to book the honeymoon suite in a fairly plush hotel for that week, arriving the day after the wedding. They would use the hotel as a base to visit the area, as well as having their evenings to do what newly married couples usually do.

Wednesday August 1, 2001

With all the papers signed and the check cleared, Harm and Tracy were now the new owners of their first home, paid for, in full, with no mortgage. The real estate agent dropped the keys off at Harm's apartment after work on the evening of August first, along with the details of who to contact in order to reconnect the electricity, gas, telephone and water at their new home.

This was real and their wedding was now just ten days away.

The first thing they both did was to give one months notice to their respective landlords, that they were vacating their apartments by the end of August.

The plan was to have all their furniture and belongings, packed up and moved to the new house by August 8th. Harm would also immediately start the process for the phone and utilities to be reconnected by that same date as well. The Internet cable connection could wait until they returned from their honeymoon.

During all this time, Harm continued to put in a full days work at JAG. He and his temporary partner Sturgis Turner did investigations up and down the East coast, and they were also given all the Pax River and Norfolk cases, which meant the two of them were often driving back and forth between DC, Pax River and the Norfolk Naval Base.

On one of these driving trips, Sturgis finally spoke up.

"Harm? Are you being punished or something?"

Harm frowned. "No. Why?"

"Because ever since I arrived here at HQ and I was partnered with you, we never get any west coast or overseas jobs. We only get the east coast jobs and we seem to be getting ALL of the Pax river and Norfolk cases. So what is going on?"

"Oh, Um. Nothing serious, I promise. Except that I have asked to be limited to the East coast, but only until the end of August. For personal reasons."

"And can I ask what those personal reasons are, Harm?" Sturgis pushed, mostly because he was just plain nosy.

"No. Sorry Sturgis, but I need to keep this personal and private for now. In the meantime, you are learning heaps about what makes the JAG HQ tick."

Sturgis Turner was not happy at being kept out of the loop, especially by one of his oldest and dearest friends.

Thursday August 9, 2001

Finally the last day at work arrived. Harm had a happy spring in his step and his flyboy grin across his face as he signed in to the JAG offices on Thursday. Only two more days until his wedding day.

Someone got finally laid was the general consensus of the enlisted personnel on duty at the gate and at the entrance to the JAG building.

Rabb could see the faces of the enlisted, and he knew what they were thinking. He too would have thought the same thing if he had seen an officer grinning widely at this early hour of the morning. After he had signed in, he straightened up with a serious look on his face and snapped out a command.

"Sergeant!"

"Yes sir," the marine sergeant on duty snapped to attention.

"You may think you know why I am so happy today, so you will order your men to keep their mouths shut about what they think. If I hear any scuttlebutt about my personal life today, I will have you up on charges so fast, your head will spin. Is that understood?"

"Sir! Yes! Sir!" the sergeant screamed.

"Carry on." ordered Harm as he turned and walked towards the elevators.

In the meantime, Commander Turner had signed in while Harm was lambasting the sergeant.

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Sturgis asked as they both entered the elevator and punched the button for the third floor.

"What would you think if I was grinning widely at this hour of the morning" Harm asked.

"That you spent the night with a lady?" Sturgis replied with one eyebrow elevated.

"Of course you would. And that's exactly what those men were thinking as well. And they would be wrong. Which is why I had to tell them to keep their mouths shut. I would also ask that you not mention this incident to anyone today. I am actually happy because I will be off on vacation from tomorrow, for the next two weeks. THAT is why I was grinning."

Turner was very curious.

At staff call that morning, Sturgis was paired off with another lawyer to investigate a case down in Florida. Harm was called into the Admirals office after staff call and quietly given some FOIA requests as make do work.

"You have my permission to secure early at 1500 hours today. I will see you at the Reception on Saturday and then again in two weeks. Congratulations, Commander."

"Thank you, Sir. Permission to be dismissed?"

"Yes, yes. Dismissed." the Admiral waved a hand as Harm absented himself.

Just before lunch, Harriet Simms knocked on Harm's office door and bustled into the office upon hearing his command to enter.

"Sir. Bud and I haven't seen you for ages. Nor has A.J. We were wondering if you could come to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sorry, Harriet, but I already have plans for tomorrow evening and I'm afraid I cannot change them."

Harriet's face dropped. She was getting very concerned about Commander Rabb. It was not good for a man of his age and rank to still be unmarried. Perhaps he was still pining after Mac, who had been silly enough to marry the Australian. The Commander certainly didn't seem to be recovering. She decided to help him with his love life and find him a new wife. Harriet had already forgotten the warning Harm had given her back then.

"Lieutenant Simms." Harm growled on seeing her expression.

"Yes, Sir?" Harriet's face fell

"Some months ago I advised you not to interfere in my life. I warned you about what would happen if you continued to do so. Do you remember?"

Harriet gulped. "Yes, sir. I remember."

"Then I suggest you drop whatever idea you currently have. Noone likes a busybody and you, Harriet are acting like a busybody. From now on, I'm afraid I must refuse any invitation to any dinners at your place, except Christmas. I will still come to those. I will maintain contact with AJ as and when I can. That will be all, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." Harriet replied in a subdued voice as she braced, and exited Harm's office.

At 1500 exactly, Harm packed up the files he had been working on and dropped them all back onto Tiners desk.

"Tiner. These files I have done, and these I have not yet done. I am securing early and will be away on vacation for two weeks. Do NOT tell anyone, but the Admiral already knows."

"Aye Aye, sir." was all Tiner could say.

Minutes later, Tiner watched as Rabb quietly slipped out of the office. Half an hour after that, Lieutenant Roberts was discovering that Rabb's office door was locked. He wandered over to Tiners desk, and casually asked.

"Tiner, Have you seen Commander Rabb today?"

"Yes, Sir, I have."

"When did you last see him?" Bud asked.

"Um, at 1500 hours when he was securing for the day, Sir."

"Securing for the day at 1500? That's early. I wonder why he left early? Can I see the Admiral? Maybe he will know."

"Sorry, Sir. The Admiral left orders not to be disturbed for the rest of the day." Tiner was quite good at making up lies on the spot and protecting the senior staff from the junior staff.

So Bud was frustrated from being able to report anything of interest to his wife, other than the fact that the Commander had secured early for the day.

Now Harriet was curious. She had been warned off from investigating the Commanders personal life that morning, and now Rabb had done a runner by leaving early. He was certainly hiding something, and Harriet was determined to find out what it was.

By the time Harriet and Bud were able to get over to Harm's apartment two days later, his apartment buzzer was not being answered, and a new for rent sign was in the downstairs window.

Harriet knocked on the supervisors door.

"I'm looking for Commander Rabb. He's not answering his buzzer."

Rabb had told the supervisor to not tell anyone that he was moving out until after the lease had expired at the end of August. But the supervisor was a little tipsy, and didnt often get to speak to nice blonde ladies, so he leaked the news three weeks early.

"The Commander has moved into his own house with his new wife, but don't ask me where their new house is. I don't have any idea."

Harriet gasped. "New wife? When did he get married? Where? To whom? And why didn't he invite us?"

Harriet was furious when she got back into the minivan.

"The cheek of that man. He went and got married and didn't tell us at all." She huffed. "And he clearly didn't let me help. I love weddings." Harriet was weeping. She felt this was a betrayal of friends, that the Commander had not told her his personal plans. Bud drove his unhappy wife back home.

Once back home, Harriet called the Admiral to ask if he knew what was going on. But the Admiral was not answering his phone. Harriet chose not to leave a message. But that didn't stop her calling his phone several times over the weekend.

In the meantime, Harm and Tracy had flown to California on Friday, where Frank and Trisha met them at the airport.

TBC

A/N - I didn't realise that it would take up so much time and space to prepare for a wedding in such a short amount of time. Thinking back to all the preparations I did, for my own wedding, I was quite spoiled to have had 5 months between my engagement and the wedding. Harm and Tracy have had just five weeks!

A/N - The next chapter will be the Wedding and the Honeymoon. It may or may not be M rated.