Gratitude
Part One
When the Commander resigned his commission to go after the Colonel, everyone in the office felt a mixture of worry and relief. While they knew the mission was dangerous, they trusted Harm to find Mac and bring her home safely. And they trusted that the two would walk through the doors of JAG closer than ever, having faced and defeated death again. They trusted that the Admiral had known that Harm would be back and not process his resignation. They trusted that life would return to the way it was. And they were devastated to learn that their trust had been misplaced.
Harm had found Mac and he had brought her home. But instead of being closer, they were farther apart than anyone had ever seen them. They entered the Admiral�s office with stiff formality and closed off expressions. The entire staff had waited anxiously for the end of their meeting with the Admiral, hoping that when it was over the Commander and the Colonel would return to their respective offices and circle each other warily until time and proximity once again wore them down and mended their relationship. But when the two officers exited the office, Tiner knew that it wouldn�t be that easy this time. The look of shock and dismay on the Colonel�s face was worrisome, but it was the Commander�s expression that threw them all. For the first time since any of them had known him, Harmon Rabb looked defeated. He had walked quietly to his office, picked up a box that he hadn�t had a chance to unpack since his return to JAG after Lt. Singer�s murder, and just as quietly walked out of the bullpen. And the Colonel stood there without moving, without saying a word.
Tiner didn�t understand. No one understood. He had followed her across the world and she couldn�t even follow him across the bullpen. He had given up everything, his career and his wings and his life, and she never uttered a word. No �Are you O.K.?� or �I�m sorry�. But they could have understood that. They could have attributed that to shock, the same shock they felt at hearing that the Admiral had in fact processed the Commander�s resignation. But the next day, after Commander Turner had gone to see Harm and find out what had happened, all sympathy and understanding for the Colonel disappeared. The story spread from Turner to Roberts to Coates to the whole office. After everything that Harmon Rabb had done for her, everything he had given up to save her, Sarah Mackenzie never said thank you. That they could never understand. And that, Tiner thought now as his gaze hardened on the industriously working Colonel, he didn�t think any of them could ever forgive.
JAG Headquarters
0556 EST
Petty Officer Tiner strode through the halls of JAG headquarters, reveling in the silence. It had long ago become habit for Tiner to arrive first, preparing himself for what would surely be an eventful day. If there was one thing Tiner had learned over the years, life at JAG was rarely boring. So he was surprised to see a light trickling into the darkened bullpen. Slowing his steps, he looked around for the source of the faint glow. He found it seeping through the open blinds of Sarah Mackenzie�s office window. The colonel had returned a little less than a week ago and was already back to being the no nonsense, straight-laced Marine Chief of Staff. She came in early each morning, back straight, eyes ahead, focused on whatever tasks had been laid out for her since her return from her adventure in Paraguay. Normally, Tiner admired her for her ability to bounce back from anything. Today, he resented her for it. Because this particular adventure had cost them all more than they expected. It had cost them Commander Harmon Rabb.