Timing Is Everything

Chapter 1

Spoilers: Practically the whole series, as you will see.

Disclaimer 1: Except for John and his relatives, I do not own any characters from 'JAG', 'NCIS, Magnum P.I. and 'The West Wing' or from author Stephen Coonts. Those characters are the intellectual property of the respective producers and author. Also the idea for John's house came from an actual Washington DC house renovation shown on the PBS program, "This Old House".

Disclaimer 2: Those of you who have submitted your own Fanfiction will recognize parts with some of your work. So I wish to thank all of you. Since we are borrowing from the show(s), I borrowed some excerpts from your stories because I liked them and they reflected some things that happened in my life, as in the ballet/dance story, as my sister really danced ballet from kindergarten through high school. Also I needed to fill in some gaps. I did paraphrase them or edited them to fit the characters and situations I created. When you read this you will know who you are.

Summary: What if Mac & Diane were fraternal twins, separated at birth and Diane wasn't killed? This would entail introducing a new character, one John P. Marshall and those related to him. As you will see in the subsequent story; John's intervention at one key juncture in Harm's life sets off a chain reaction, thus the title.

Also due to John's presence and the timing of certain events and life choices made by Mac and Harm (to be detailed), certain episodes would not take place, (i.e. 'People V Rabb' & 'People V Mac' and especially Lifeline') while many episodes happen differently, i.e. 'Skeleton crew/Death Watch'. Also seeing as this is not a Harm and Mac pairing, the '5 Year Deal' never comes into play.

Mac was portrayed on the show as someone who was incapable of having a healthy relationship until she finally got together with Harm. That was because TPTB needed to extend the series for as long a possible by saying the regulations and other partners kept them apart. The following story will show that as long as the timing is right and there is clear communication of feelings Mac, Harm, AJ as well as Diane are capable of having normal relationships.

Being that this is a 'Magnum P.I.'-'JAG'-'NCIS'-'The West Wing' crossover, and this being an alternate universe, Josiah Bartlett was President from 1993 to 2001, not one William Jefferson Clinton. Also because September 11, 2001 will figure prominently in the appropriate chapter, George W. Bush will be / is president.

August 14, 1967

2100 Local Time

Yuma County General Hospital

Deanne Mackenzie hated washing dishes—especially at eight months pregnant with twins. And especially with the way she'd been feeling all day. But the urge to get the apartment clean had overridden the temptation to plop onto the sofa and watch I Love Lucy.

She reached across the sink to place the plate she'd just washed in the strainer. As she did so, a gush of liquid rushed down her legs.

She straightened up and then looked down at the small puddle at her feet. She was in labor! That's why she'd felt out of sorts all day. She tossed a dish towel to the floor and used her foot to move it around and sop up the water. She kicked the sodden towel into a corner and hobbled to the phone.

She called the hospital and then a cab.

Thirty minutes later, she was being wheeled into labor and delivery at Yuma County General Hospital.

"Where's your husband, honey?" asked one of the white-clad nurses. "He got you into this; he should help you through it!"

"My Joe's in Vietnam," Deanne said. She grabbed the nurse's arm. "Listen, please, I'm having twins—only Joe doesn't know. I can't keep two babies, I just can't. Do you know anyone who wants a baby?"

The nurse patted Deanne's hand and offered her a sympathetic look. "It's all right, honey. There's places that'll take your baby."

Deanne let out a loud groan as a contraction ripped through her.

"But first, let's get 'em born, shall we?"

Shortly after midnight, Deanne was the proud but sad mother of two beautiful baby girls. She wished she could keep them both, but caring for one baby was going to be difficult enough, not only financially, but physically as well. And with Joe gone and them estranged from both their families, there was no one to help her. The other women who lived close to them always looked down on her—she guessed 'cause she was young and from a poor family. But wasn't that what joining the military was all about—bettering yourself?

Yet another nurse entered her room and she sniffed back the urge to cry and wiped a hand across her face.

"Mrs. Mackenzie?" said a soft voice with a southern drawl.

"Yes?"

"My name is Ellen Schonke—word on the floor is that you want to give up one of your daughters." As she spoke, Nurse Schonke checked Deanne's pulse and blood pressure and performed other nurse-ly duties.

Deanne sniffled. "Want—no. Have to—yes. We can barely afford us right now, and Joe's in Vietnam."

"I'm sorry. Of course, you don't want to give up one of your precious babies. How does your husband feel about all this?"

"A-actually…he doesn't know. I only found out there were two babies a couple of months ago—but he's in Vietnam. I was afraid to tell him. He'd worry about things and I just worried he might…get killed if he was thinking too much about things here at home."

"Mrs. Mackenzie…I can't have children. I work here in labor and delivery, but that only helps so much. My husband and I have looked into adoption, but it's quite expensive. I'm guessing that all you're interested in is a quiet transfer of parental rights?"

"Yes, oh, yes, Nurse Schonke, I'd be so grateful. What about the hospital?"

"Please, call me Ellen. May I call you Deanne?"

"Oh, yes, of course."

"The hospital is not a problem. I'll bring you the forms in a day or two, all right? When you're released, you'll be the mother of one beautiful baby girl. Does she have a name yet?"

Deanne nodded. "I want to name her Sarah Catherine after Joe's mother and grandmother. I promised Joe I'd do that if we had a girl."

Ellen smiled. "That's a beautiful name. What do you think about Diane? I have a twin, you know…she died when we were girls. I'd like to name our daughter after my sister, Diane Elizabeth."

Tears streamed down Deanne's face as she nodded again. "Thank you," she whispered brokenly.

August 1967

Yuma, AZ

When Deanne got home with Sarah, she wrote Joe to let him know he was a father of one baby girl. She also didn't tell her families of the second girl. It wasn't until Joe came home from his tour that he first saw his daughter. Joe enjoyed his new family. He and Deanne even reconciled with their families. He stayed in the Marine Corps and went back to Vietnam for a second tour a year after Sarah was born.

After Joe came back from his second tour he was a changed man. Joe had a hot temper and he was always getting in trouble with his superior officers in the Marines. As a result he was slow to be promoted. He began drinking and was generally abusive.

Deanne for her part put up with Joe's abuse until the night of Sarah's 15th birthday. That night while Sarah was away at a friend's house for a sleep over, Joe came home from the NCO Club drunk again. He pulled a knife put it to her throat and threatened to cut her up into rabbit food. She convinced Joe to put the knife away. Even after Joe apologized for the millionth time she had had enough. That night while Joe slept and Sarah was away, Deanne O'Hara Mackenzie packed her bag and left. The family dog Ruggles followed her out.

Joe found a note the next day. Sarah came home from school that afternoon and found him crying.

She asked, "Where's mom?"

Joe could not answer her. He just got up, reached for a bottle of whiskey and drank himself back to sleep. Crying, Sarah fixed her own dinner and went to bed.

For the next two years she endured emotional and verbal abuse from her father. The only nice moments Sarah had with her father were when he was sober, but they were few and far between. But by and large all she could look forward to at home was dealing with her drunken father. Before her mother left, Sarah could go into her room and shut the craziness away. Now she had to be the one to check on her father. Before she went to bed, she would make sure his smoldering cigarettes were out, the doors were locked and her father was either safely asleep in bed or in his chair. To soften the sting of the bad moments, she also started drinking on her own.

When she was 17 and in her junior year of high school she had enough of taking care of and putting up with her father so she moved out of her father's house and into her friend Eddie's house. Eddie shared the house with his roommate Chris Ragle. She liked being there, especially with Chris. Sarah only had to take care of herself and Eddie never bothered her about her drinking and did not give her any grief or abuse. Six months after she moved in, Ragle was arrested for attempted robbery of a liquor store and went to jail for 5 years.

Sarah was glad Chris was gone two reasons. First Chris wanted to marry her, but she turned him down. She did not want to be tied down to anyone, afraid to end like her mother who was abused by her father.

Second Sarah believed that Ragle "date raped" her. She remembered one night that they were sitting around watching TV and drinking. The next thing she remembered it was the next morning when she was in her bed. She had a dull ached in her groin and there was a blood stain on her bed sheet. When she went into the shower, she was horrified to see blood running from her pubic area and blending with the water as it flowed down the drain. She knew then that she had lost her virginity. She didn't know if Chris or Eddie was her sex partner. When she got out of the shower, she asked Eddie if they had sex. Eddie told her no and that she and Chris had gotten up and went up to her room the night before. When she went to confront Chris, she couldn't find him because he wasn't there. He had participated in a robbery that morning and was gone. Two weeks later she found out he was in jail. She didn't see him again until years later.

She was afraid she may be pregnant so for the following two weeks she was waiting on pins and needles until she had her period. She did get tested, with negative results, for STDs because she knew Chris was one to sleep around.

Anyway she was glad that he was gone. She knew that like her mother did to her, she would wake one day and find that he was gone. So without anyone telling her no Sarah just kept drinking, saying she could control it.

She did control her drinking to a point. But eventually her drinking caught up to her.

June 15, 1985

0500 Zulu Time

Yuma High School

It was prom night. Sarah stood in front of the full-length mirror and examined her handiwork. It took a great amount of concentration to get her makeup on as her hand shook so badly but she'd managed to get it done. She'd cut her hair into a bob and she wore a bright red sleeveless floor length dress. The dress complimented every curve that she had and the split flashed her shapely legs with every step she took. It was also backless. If she had any doubt as to the wisdom of blowing her whole waitress paycheck on the dress Eddie's reaction was worth it.

Earlier that afternoon she had graduated high school with honors. Sarah was always a good student. Coincidentally she came into her own academically after she had moved out of her home and into Eddie's. Being that she no longer had to put up with her father's abuse, drunkenness and tirades, plus taking care of him when he fell asleep from being drunk and it was quiet where she lived, she was able to study better and do well in school.

When Eddie saw her come out of her room he exclaimed, "Wow! Oh Wow!" He gushed. "You cut your hair."

"Thank you. And yes I did. You ready?"

He nodded and that is how it was that she and Eddie went to the ball.

The planning committee did an outstanding job and the gym was transformed into a teenagers dream. The music of a generation vibrated the night.

Use it up and wear it out by Odyssey

Eye of the Tiger – Survivor

Freedom – Wham!

Nothing's Gonna Stop us Now – Starship

Were some of the songs that Sarah made her personal duty to dance to.

Sarah was feeling good. She was standing with her friends. They weren't from the pretty girl cliques that shunned her for being too nerdy looking. These were her friends from her sports teams. As well as being recognized as an honor student, Sarah lettered in softball, volleyball, basketball and track.

Sarah was speaking with her best friend, Cindy McAdams. She asked her, "So Cindy where are you going to college?"

"Well I got a basketball scholarship to the University of Arizona. They want me to be their shooting guard. What about you Sarah?" Cindy replied.

"Well I've been accepted to the University of Minnesota on an academic scholarship, but I'm thinking of waiting a year until I go. My Uncle Matt was in the Marines and he is kinda of pushing me to enlist." Sarah answered.

"Well, what does your dad think about that?" Cindy asked.

"He doesn't care what I do. I'm so disappointed that he didn't even come to my graduation." Sarah said bitterly and took a swig of her drink.

The drink was in a plastic cup and it was supposed to contain only red punch from the punch bowl, but Sarah snuck in a few 'airline' bottles of vodka and emptied one into her cup after she drank some punch to make room. Her date Eddie had also done the same thing. They started doing this as soon as they came in. Consequently they were both quite drunk.

"Anyway I'll be glad to leave this town to start a new life." Sarah added wistfully.

"Well I'm going to miss you Sarah. Please keep in touch." Cindy said as she gathered her friend into a hug.

"I'll try Cindy." Sarah said as she withdrew from her hug.

As Sarah walked away Cindy could see that Sarah was a little unsteady on her feet. She knew that her friend drank, but she didn't know the extent of her drinking. Cindy did remember though that Sarah was never drunk when she played, she only drank at the after game parties.

Sarah found Eddie and they walked out of the gym and into the parking lot. Neither was in any condition to be driving but that never occurred to either.

"You wanna drive?" Eddie swayed in the breeze.

Sarah obliviously went over to the passenger side of Eddie's Camaro. Not getting any response Eddie got behind the wheel. Sarah did have the wherewithal to buckle her seat belt, but Eddie neglected to buckle his.

Before they pulled out Eddie bent over to share a kiss with Sarah. As they pulled away Eddie said, "I love you Sarah I hope we stay together."

"Me too Eddie," Sarah replied.

They drove out of the parking lot and onto the main town road. They turned onto the highway for the short distance to their home. Sarah put her head down and closed her eyes. The nest thing she remembered was a bright light in her eyes, the sound of a collision with the breaking glass and grinding metal, a feeling of flying followed by an impact and then blackness.

When Sarah opened her eyes her face was against the car window and she could feel the breeze coming from somewhere. There were flashing lights. She stirred.

"We got a live one here!" Some on shouted and she heard sounds of an engine. Her door began to give way and finally she tumbled out. Strong hands caught her. "Easy miss." A fireman said.

"Eddie?" She queried.

"Over here miss." The fireman said.

Sarah spotted Eddie and moved towards him. The rescuer tried to guide to a spot where he could examine her.

But she refused to cooperate. He gave up and followed her.

Sarah stooped next to her friend. Eddie was the oldest friend she had. "Eddie?" She whispered. "Eddie?"

His eyes flickered open. He was covered in blood. "Hey." He managed. He swallowed and grimaced. "You Okay?"

She nodded. He on the other hand was a mess. The Emergency Medical Technicians were working frantically on him. He had broken bones; a cracked skull and blood flowed freely everywhere. "… not making it." He managed to say.

She sobbed loudly. "Help him!" She screamed at the EMTs. One of the Techs shook his head at her.

She turned to look at Eddie wildly. He smiled at her and the effort made him wince. The look of death cast its shadow over him; he became calm and still and there by the side of the road Eddie died.

She buried her head in his bloodied, broken chest and cried.

June 16, 1985

1200 Zulu

Yuma, AZ

Sarah's life was turned upside down. The EMTs took Sarah to the hospital to have her checked out. She spent hours upon hours after the accident being quizzed on the events by everyone from police to paramedics. She had to spend a night in the hospital, where doctors quizzed her. Well-meaning friends, neighbors and teachers stopped by to visit. They wanted to know what had happened. She couldn't remember.

The next day Sarah called her father to come get her. Upon her release from the hospital, Sarah moved back in with her father. He didn't play the role of the concerned parent, though. Instead, he yelled at her. Asked her how she could be so stupid. Eddie was dead, he said, and it was all her fault.

She spent days in the house, not daring to venture out. But she finally had to escape her father. Not that she got much escape though. Everywhere she went she was confronted with people wanting to know how she was, if she remembered anything. She'd go home again to hide in her room. She drank. Oh, how she drank. She missed Eddie terribly. Her life was an endless hell.

And then her savior arrived in the form of her Uncle Matt. Matthew was Deanne's brother. Seeing the state she was in he packed her a few things and they left. Never again would Sarah Mackenzie see that house.

He took her to Red Rock Mesa for 2 ½ months to dry her out. The drying out was long, grueling and emotionally cleansing.

Before she left the mesa O'Hara imparted to her his wisdom on relationships. "Don't prostitute yourself to anyone. Find someone who will love and respect you and love that person back the same way. When you find that man, then that's the one you stick with." She resolved to take his advice to heart.

1985 to 1991

After her time at the mesa she was clean and sober and in September 1985 at 18 years Sarah Catherine Mackenzie left her former life in Yuma behind. She moved to Tucson and got a one-room apartment and a waitress job. The second week living there she marched into a Marine Recruiting Center to enlist. For the two months she waited to go to boot camp she supported herself waiting tables, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and working on remaining dry. She never made any further contact with anyone from her life in Yuma.

The six weeks of Boot Camp at Parris Island was grueling. The D.I.s at Parris Island went about breaking her of her bad habits and instilling in her the Marine attitude.

When she graduated from boot camp she applied for Officers Candidate School. Because of her high grades she was approved, but because all officers have to have a Bachelor's Degree, Mac was temporarily placed in the Marine reserves to attend college for three years.

So in June of 1986 she moved to St. Paul to attend the University of Minnesota. She majored in Political Science. In May 1989 she graduated with honors. She began attending OCS shortly thereafter.

The thirteen weeks of OCS was long and grueling. As in boot camp the D.I. took her weaknesses and laid waste to them. Even though her experience at boot camp prepared her for that, there were many nights when she sobbed softly into her pillow, wanting a drink, wanting Eddie, wanting...wanting someone to love her.

When she graduated OCS in August 1989, Uncle Matt stood proudly in the audience while the bars of 2nd lieutenant were placed upon his niece's uniforms. A past life was done, and a new one begun.

Mac's first assignment after OCS was in Okinawa, Japan.

Friday, 2 August 1991

Okinawa, Japan

Sarah Mackenzie knocked on the door to her CO's office. She was wondering what her CO, wanted to see her about.

She had been in Japan for the last eighteen months working as the Brigade Information/ Public Affairs Officer and aide to her commanding officer, Colonel John Farrow. She was assigned to Japan because of her amazing gift for languages and her negotiation skills. She was fluent in five languages before coming to Japan.

It was a wonderful experience for her. She received her promotion to 1st Lieutenant. She gained experience at running a large and complicated organization. She also learned to speak Japanese and learned a lot about a new culture.

Another skill she mastered was recognizing when fellow officers had more than a professional interest in her. She knew that they just wanted her to be another notch on their bedposts. Hell many of them were married and just wanted a conjugal substitute for their wives who were back stateside. Sarah always rebutted their advances with a firm, "NO, not interested".

She thought Colonel Farrow could be one of them, though he never made any serious advances on her. He took a personal interest in seeing that she had everything she wanted while she was there. While she appreciated the attention on one level, on another level it made her feel uneasy. She wasn't interested in being with any man she didn't love.

She was adhering to Uncle Matt's advice. She wanted to make it on her own in the military. She wanted to earn anything that came her way. She didn't want to get anything or have it appear that she received something because she was involved with her Commanding Officer.

"Enter!" She heard through the door. Sarah opened the door and walked in. "Lieutenant Mackenzie reporting as ordered Sir!" reported Sarah.

"Have a seat Sarah. I suppose you're wondering why I called you in here today." smiled Lt Colonel Farrow.

"Yes Sir." replied Sarah.

"Because of the impressive work you've done since you've been here, I have recommended you for Law School. Major Creswell, the local JAG stationed here, has agreed that you would make an excellent candidate. He was very impressed with your ability to handle difficult disagreements between military base personnel and the local population." said a smiling Farrow.

"I didn't do anything special sir. All I did was my job." replied Sarah.

"That's what I like about you Sarah, no matter how great the accomplishment, you say you were only doing your job. You never expect anything for doing your job well." smiled Farrow.

"Yes Sir." replied Sarah. "When do I leave Sir?"

"In two weeks Sarah, you're going to make a great lawyer. I'm proud of you." answered Farrow as he shook her hand and gave her a quick hug.

Sarah felt a little uncomfortable that her CO was hugging her. Being a well-endowed young woman, she knew when someone was taking advantage of her. They usually pulled her closer and tighter than necessary and held the hug longer too.

Later that night Sarah laid in her bed thinking about her life. It had changed so much since she left home and joined the marines. Back then she had very low self esteem and very little confidence dealing with other people.

She didn't have anyone in her corner except maybe her Uncle Matt, but she didn't see him very often. Now she had confidence in her ability to succeed. First it was college where she had graduated near the top of her class.

After she joined the marines, her life was one success after another. She breezed through OCS. She was given a choice assignment to Japan.

As Farrow said, she was very successful at mediating disputes between the military and local population. Both sides usually walked away satisfied, a rare occurrence in Japan. Based on that she knew she would make a great lawyer.

September 1991 To May 1994

Mac attended law school at Duke University. After 3 strenuous years, she earned her law degree, graduating fourth in her class. Again Uncle Matt was there to watch her graduate. She passed the North Carolina Bar on the first try.

2242 ZULU
November 18, 1994

7th Battalion Marine Camp

2 miles North of Produjevo, Kosovo

Sarah was sent to Kosovo as a platoon commander. It was her first assignment after Law School because there were no legal billets open to her yet.

During one cold autumn night a lot of Marines suffered from food poisoning. Even though she was the platoon CO, Sarah had to do the night shift guard duty patrolling in front of her camp. The previous night, there were two attacks by militia groups, so Sarah was pretty cautious out there in the dark. As she patrolled along the dark path she suddenly heard something rustling in the bushes. She whirled around and pointed her flashlight at the brushes, but couldn't see anything.

"Ryker?" she called for the Private Second Class who was on duty with her that night, but didn't get a response.

As she pointed her M-16 at the bushes, she slowly approached, ready to use it if she had to. Then she heard someone cry out in the woods and started to run like hell toward the voice. Then someone opened fire in front of her. As she dove for cover behind a fallen tree, she saw muzzle flashes in the direction from which the fire was coming. She didn't know who was firing or if they were firing at her. But she did have a direction at which to return fire. She fired toward where she saw the muzzle flashes.

Another cry echoed through the woods, and the shooting stopped. Sarah heard voices screaming in a foreign language. She didn't know who was screaming. When it became silent Sarah got up and stepped over the fallen tree she took cover behind. Reaching for her radio, she realized that she lost it.

'I probably dropped it while I was running through the woods,' she thought to herself.

"Ryker!" she called again - and again didn't receive a response.

As she walked cautiously toward where she saw the muzzle flashes she suddenly fell over something and hit the ground full length. Rising to her knees she turned back around and shone her flashlight onto what tripped her. It was the dead body of Private Second Class Michael Ryker.

1442 ZULU
November 20 1994

2 miles North of Produjevo, Kosovo

After sunrise two more corpses were found in the woods where Sarah had her fire fight. The two men were known for their activities in the militia group. They had two backpacks between them with half a dozen hand grenades. Autopsies performed on the two revealed that one had two bullets from Sarah's rifle in his body and, the other was killed by a shot to the heart with a bullet that came from Ryker's rifle.

The subsequent autopsy on Ryker revealed that he was shot with one of the rifles that were found near the two militia men. There were two bullets in his chest and one in his head. The investigators assumed Ryker came to Sarah's help when she called for him. As Ryker ran through the woods to Sarah, he stumbled upon the militia men and he was the first to open fire on them. The one who was shot by Ryker received a mortal wound to his chest. Apparently his comrade returned and shot Ryker. When Sarah fired at the muzzle flashes, she scored the fatal hits on the one that killed Ryker.

Sarah didn't even know Ryker was there. She thought he was still on the other side of the camp.

The JAG investigators ruled the incident as a good shoot. As a result of successfully defending the camp from the two Serbs with the hand grenades, Sarah was awarded the Bronze Star.

January 1995 to January 1997

Two months after receiving her Bronze Star she left Kosovo in January 1995 as a Captain when she received orders for her first legal billet. She was assigned as an Investigator / Lawyer, in the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Her commanding officer at NIS was Captain Thomas Magnum, himself a Vietnam Veteran. In the 2 years she worked there she racked up a reputation as a tough and thorough investigator and dedicated attorney with an impressive 74% wins to loss record. Capt. Magnum saw that she was a very capable officer giving her very favorable fit-reps as he as he promoted her to major, making her one of the youngest women in the Marine Corps to attain that rank.

Eventually in January 1997 she was assigned to JAG. Her first case there was determined because of her relationship with her uncle. That first assignment at JAG also allowed her to meet someone to love her.

Diane was an avid student and achieved high marks through grammar and high school. She applied to the Naval Academy and was accepted. During her stay at Annapolis, she met a charming Midshipman named Harmon Rabb and fell immediately in love with him. It had to be those beautiful blue eyes and that knee knocking smile that got her. She and Harm graduated Annapolis in June 1989. After graduation she chose Military Intelligence and Cryptology as her specialty. Harm was going to be a naval aviator like his father. Diane was going to love being with him.

They decided to wait until they established their careers before they even would think of getting married. They did promise each other though that as soon as they both settled into a permanent land duty, they would tie the knot and start a family. That plan was drastically changed however in early February 1991.

Diane was aboard the carrier Seahawk in the Atlantic on its return to Norfolk when she heard that Harm crashed his Tomcat on a "ramp strike" on the carrier Patrick Henry. She took leave to go see him in Germany, before he was further stabilized and transferred to Bethesda.

February 10, 1991

Somewhere on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast

0545 local time

Lieutenant John P. Marshall was the leader of SEAL Team 3. They were flying along the Saudi Red Sea coast in a training exercise. There was talk from the media during the Gulf War that SEAL teams were being sent into Iraq to take recon on landing beaches for an invasion. General Schwarzkopf was doing his best squashing that rumor. Lt. Marshall just knew that his team had to be ready for anything.

John was born September 28, 1964. He grew to be 6'-3" and weighed a healthy 215 pounds. He had piercing green eyes that when he turned them on you; you felt that they were boring into your soul. He graduated Fordham University, majoring in Management and pre-law also enrolling in Naval R.O.T.C. After serving his first duty as an Ensign on a guided missile destroyer, he was accepted into SEAL Training. He excelled as a SEAL and in a short time he was given the leadership of his own team. In the three years as Team Leader, he earned the total respect of the men in his team. He was assertive without being overly aggressive and he always accomplished his missions. The Gulf War of 1991 was his second taste of real warfare. He was excited about going into action again, even though this was still just practice.

They were two hours out and approaching the landing site when the Blackhawk helicopter in which they were riding suddenly banked to port. The pilot called out that there was an unlit radio tower dead ahead. The pilot just managed to turn before crashing headlong into the tower, but in the turn the tail rotor clipped an extended tower strut.

The pilot tried to auto-rotate to a safe landing, but there was a high dark mass of rocks that scraped the belly of the chopper on. They made it past the rocky hill to a flat sandy plain where the chopper landed hard.

John and his team were ready to jump out when the chopper first banked hard to port. When they saw that the craft cleared the rocks, they braced for impact and just before the chopper touched down they managed to jump five feet to the sand and roll away from the damaged craft.

Two of the team landed hard on rocks covered by inches of sand and sustained leg injuries. John gathered his team together and took stock. He looked back to the chopper to see if the pilot and co-pilot had managed to get out of the cockpit. He saw that they were still strapped in but were moving to extricate themselves.

As John got closer to the wreck, he could smell fuel. He called the able bodied members of his team over to help get the flight crew out. The team swarmed to the cockpit doors and managed to pull them open. The men on the port side pulled the pilot out. John was on the starboard side and had just got the co-pilot's harness unbuckled. When he saw a spark and flames shoot up from the engine compartment. John yelled for the team members to get clear. He and the co-pilot were able to get out. They had just got 5 feet clear of the cockpit when the fuel exploded.

The force of the explosion lifted John and the pilot and threw them head over heels 20 feet. They landed hard, with the co-pilot landing across the middle of John's body. He protected John's front, but there were still barely buried rocks inches under the sand. John landed on a rock in such a way that he felt instant pain in his lower back and hips. Despite his injuries, he and the co-pilot had barely escaped being burned.

The team that could walk hurried over to the pair as they lay in the sand. They rolled the co-pilot off John. Petty Officer 1st Class Matt Franklyn was the medic of the team.

Franklyn examined the co-pilot and saw that he was unconscious but breathing. There was a superficial scalp wound on his head where the helmet met the forehead.

When Franklyn went to check on him, Lt. Marshall told him, "Don't touch me. I'm not bleeding anywhere, but I have a lot pain in my lower back. Check my legs, see if I have movement." Franklyn used a pin to probe John's legs. He saw good reaction and then removed John's boots and told him to wiggle his toes. John did so with a relieved sigh. Franklyn told him, "There doesn't seem to be any paralysis, but we'll use a backboard to transport you anyway. We're not in "Indian country" and our radio survived our crash and I have Nolan calling for help.

Help came very soon. The injured and the rest of the team were evacuated to the nearest field hospital. There, John found out that he had a fractured pelvis and had compression fractures of two lower discs. He was further stabilized and prepped for transport to Ramstein Military Hospital in Germany for three weeks, then onto Bethesda for further surgery on his back and then a long recovery.

Somewhere in transit, John decided that maybe he would have to accelerate his change of designator to lawyer and go to law school sooner than he planned.

March 10, 1991

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

1230 Local

John was in Bethesda for three weeks. After his pelvis healed, he had spinal fusion surgery on his two vertebrae that stabilized his spine. The doctors told him that he would need further recovery time as an outpatient. After that he would be able to do all that he was capable of before the accident and he would live a very normal life. Now all he had to do was pass the Navy's Medical Board. The doctors told him that he should not have any problem doing that as long as he stuck to the exercises they prescribed for him.

He was coming back into his room from therapy when he saw that he had a new roommate.

"Oh good, I finally have a roommate. Now I don't have to spend all my time talking to myself or counting the ceiling tiles. The name's Lt. John Marshall," John said as he stuck his hand out

The new roommate took the offered hand and introduced himself, "Lt. Harmon Rabb. You can call me Harm".

As he went through the transfer process from wheelchair to his bed, John could see Harm's two legs encased in casts and asked, "How'd you break your legs?"

Harm explained, "I crashed my Tomcat in a ramp strike on the Patrick Henry. Besides my two broken legs I'm also recovering from injuries to my back. That's why I'm in traction."

"Wow you lucky to survive that," John added. He asked, "How did you crash?"

"I have a problem with my eyes. I couldn't see the carrier at night. That's why I crashed. The ophthalmologist who examined my eyes diagnosed the condition as sudden onset night blindness due to an infection. So my flying days and probably my Navy career are over."

John was taken aback some as he replied, "Why do you say that? There are all sorts of other things you can do in the Navy when you recover. I was in a helo crash which screwed my back up pretty good, but I'm changing my designator to law and I'm hoping to get into JAG."

Harm perked up at that, saying, "You know that's what my attorney, Commander Chegwidden said to me. It gives me a lot to think about."

John said, "Don't think about it, do it."

Harm could only nod his head.

John and Harm were hospital roommates for two days. During that time the two officers had long discussions about their respective career plans and about Harm's girlfriend Diane Schonke.

Harm explained, "She's also a Lieutenant in the Navy and her specialty is cryptology and Military Intelligence."

John offered his unsolicited advice with, "You should marry that girl as fast as possible. I mean look at your crash. You almost died. You can't wait for your careers to come into sync. The U.C.M.J. doesn't stand in your way because you're not in the same chain of command. If I were you I wouldn't wait to tell her about your feelings for her. It seems to me that from the way you're speaking about her that you're in love with her. So take my advice friend, tell her A.S.A.P."

Harm went to sleep that night thinking about what John said. He realized that John was right. Judging from his crash, he had to start rethinking his attitude toward his life and career. He spent the rest of the night thinking on how he was going to tell Diane. "I hope she goes along with what I have to tell her" was his last thought before he fell asleep.

When they woke up the next morning Harm told John what he had in mind. John was glad to see that Harm was coming around to his way of thinking and actually deciding on his future.

March 12, 1991

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

1845 Local

John was discharged from the hospital early on March 12. As his elevator closed and began to descend to the lobby, the adjacent elevator arrived at his former floor and Lt. Diane Schonke walked out and went into John's room to see his roommate, Harm.

Diane had just come off the Seahawk at Norfolk after the completion of its latest sea duty. The ship would be in port for the next two weeks as it prepared for its next sea tour. After it docked, she took a long shower and changed into her Class A's then went to see Harm in the hospital.

Just as Diane sat at Harm's bedside he began his presentation.

"I have to stop my sulking and start making plans for after my recovery. First off I have something I really need to tell you."

"Go on," Diane said with some trepidation.

Harm began with a deep breath, "Diane, you know how we spoke about getting settled in our careers before we made any commitments?

"Yeah what of it?" she said initially fearing what was coming.

"Well I want to scrap those plans. I dodged a major bullet by escaping the crash with my life. So instead of just thinking how am I going to go forward from this, I should be thinking about how are 'we' going to go forward? I don't want to do this alone. I need someone to go with me. I need you. I love you Diane. Do you think you can put up with me until I can walk again?"

Diane went into shock at the little word 'we'. Her complete undoing came when he said those other six little words before her name. Then the tears started flowing. Here was Mr. Non-Commitment asking her for her help, asking her to be with him, finally expressing his love for her.

She bolted out of her chair, maneuvered around the medical equipment, embraced him and kissed him fiercely. Harm returned the kiss and hugged her as tightly as the equipment allowed.

When they came up for air, Harm wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"It's about time you said that" she said with a sob. "I love you too." She was very encouraged by the change in him.

After she calmed she asked, "Not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but what brought about your change?"

"You just missed the reason, my roommate, John. He was discharged today. For the two days we were together we spoke a lot about our careers and a lot about you."

Diane sat back and listened.

"During the war John was in a helicopter crash and his back was just as messed up as mine. But I saw that he wasn't letting it get him down. I mean when he came into the Navy from ROTC he already had a plan in mind for his career before he was even in his crash. He started as a SEAL, knowing he eventually wanted to go into law. The crash just served to accelerate his plans. All I ever had in mind was to keep flying until they had to push me into a rocking chair."

"He convinced me that I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and started thinking about my future, or 'our' future. I was wrong to make you wait for me to commit. So if you can stand me, I'd like to have you with me for everything that I want and need to do."

Diane hugged and kissed him some more. While she was happy that Harm was ready to restore his career, she was overjoyed that John convinced him to open up to her about his feelings for her.

She thought back to when she last saw Harm in Ramstein Hospital in Germany and the change from then to now.

She was extremely frightened when she first saw him in the condition he was in, about forty eight hours after the crash, that she almost fled. But she stayed with him for the entire duration of her leave. When he finally woke Diane let him rant and yell about the crash, staying silent. She knew that he needed time to come to grips with his circumstances.

Harm did not deal with the death of his RIO very well. He felt guilty, as she knew he would. A RIO's life was his pilot's responsibility.

When he finished his rant, Diane then nagged him to stop feeling guilty. Harm had eventually stopped speaking about the crash and just changed the subject to how he was feeling physically and what the doctors were saying of his prognosis.

When Diane left Harm at the hospital she promised to see him in Bethesda. She also told him to stop feeling sorry for himself. To appease her, he made that promise to her. She went back to her ship, the Seahawk, to complete her cruise, still not quite convinced that Harm was emotionally out of the woods.

Now in Bethesda, she was marveling at the change in him. The expression of complete and utter defeat that she saw in Germany was gone. It was replaced with an expression of hope, for them both.

Diane stayed late into the day listening to his plans. When she went back to the Seahawk the next day she went with a feeling of utter joy for her and Harm's future. Now she knew that he was really going to get better.

As soon as she was able to, she requested a transfer to a land-based station. During the two weeks the Seahawk was in port she visited Harm as often as she could. She went off to sea again waiting for her request to be approved. During the fourth week of the cruise her request for transfer was approved. Her new assignment would take affect at the completion of this cruise.

While still on sea duty Diane researched her new assignment to get a leg up on what was expected of her. She was assigned to the J2 or Military Intelligence Section at the Pentagon working under Vice Admiral Jacob Grafton. She would be reporting directly to his Executive Officer a Captain Robert Tarkington. Diane's research into her new commanding officers told her that Admiral Grafton and Captain Tarkington were also aviators. Admiral Grafton was a pilot while Captain Tarkington was his RIO. She couldn't wait to tell Harm. It also looked like she would stay on this duty for a long time.

While Diane was away, Harm kept her up to date on the progress of his rehabilitation. As he promised her, he filed his request for his change in designator. While he waited for the approval, he was given three months medical leave. He went to stay with his paternal grandmother's farm in Belleville, PA. He spent those three months exercising and running to get into shape and working on refurbishing his father's Stearman. During his last two weeks there Diane took leave and stayed at the farm. They thoroughly enjoyed their time together falling more and more in love. Harm's grandmother Sarah Rabb was so happy for the two.

After they left Belleville, Diane returned to the Seahawk to finish her cruise and Harm went back to DC and rented a two-bedroom apartment in Alexandria. Harm went through the incident review board and passed the medical review tests. His change in designator to Law was approved. He then took and passed his LSATs and enrolled in Georgetown Law School.

When Diane's ship docked at Norfolk at the end of her cruise, Diane was among the first shift off the ship because she would no longer be assigned there. When she came down the gangplank, she saw Harm standing there waiting for her. She took her home to his apartment. Harm suggested that they should move in together. Diane readily agreed.

After two weeks leave she started her new job at J2 while Harm started his first year of law school. After completing that with high marks, Harm took Diane to his stepfather's cabin in the woods of Virginia. He asked her to marry him. She readily said yes and wasted no time in planning their wedding.

When Harm still had a year left in law school Diane was promoted to Lieutenant. She was promoted a year before Harm because she was continuing her career while Harm was on reserved status while he completed law school.

Diane was so happy about the positive direction her life took. She couldn't wait to meet Lt. Marshall and thank him for giving Harm his boost.

June 15, 1994

Sea Shore Restaurant

City Island, New York

1530 Local Time

John Marshall was sitting enjoying his law school graduation celebration. He was there with his parents James & Maureen, his sister Ann Marie Matthews and her husband Peter, his two brothers Mark & Matthew and their respective wives, Christine & Leslie. They were acting very proud of John's achievement, considering that he was almost crippled during the Gulf War.

Ann Marie was the Press Secretary in the Bartlett Administration. She loved the interplay of Washington.

Ann Marie came over to John. "So hot stuff, how're you doing?

John smiled broadly and said "I'm doing great".

Ann Marie could see by his smile that he was very happy in his accomplishment. She continued, "I hope you're assigned to DC soon. That way you can move into my apartment with me. I'm getting tired of living alone. With Peter's law job keeping him up here in New York, it gets lonely waiting for his weekend visits. Besides I'm surprised that you don't have a girlfriend in every port. I know how you Navy guys are." she teased her brother.

John just shrugged. Ann Marie saw a flash of hurt creep into his smile. But he brightened up and said, "I'll know when the right one comes along."

Ann Marie just laughed and gave him a sisterly kiss on his cheek and went away wondering when John would eventually find someone and settle down. He was certainly good looking and when he wore his dress whites, his gold SEAL triton stood out proudly. It may not be gold wings, but she knew girls would throw themselves at him just by his turning his head their way.

September 1995

1000 Local time

JAG HQ

Military Office Complex
Alexandria, VA

John was working the last 15 months as a JAG lawyer. He took a break from his computer and stood up and looked out his cubicle. He smiled as he saw across the office as Lt. Harmon Rabb walked through the bullpen to report to the CO, Admiral Thomas Brovo's office.

'So, he took my advice. I bet his girlfriend had a lot to do with that. He certainly talked a lot about her. I wonder if he married her,' he thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when his intercom buzzed. "Lt. Marshall?"

"Lieutenant, Admiral Brovo wants to see you," the admiral's aide, Lt. Commander Ted Lindsey ordered.

"On my way," John replied before he hung up the phone then left his cubicle.

After John entered Brovo's office and reported in the usual way, Admiral Brovo told him, "Stand at ease Lt. Marshall. This is Lt. Harmon Rabb."

Harm's face lit up as he recognized his hospital roommate.

"How's the back?" he asked John.

"Oh, you know, it's hard to bend over backwards most of the time, how about yours?" John joked.

That brought an easy smile to Harm's face. "The same as yours."

John then asked, "How's your girlfriend, what was her name, Diane, Diana?"

Harm said, "Diane, she's fine. We're engaged now and she's having fun planning our wedding. We're getting married Christmas week 1996. That's when we'll have enough leave accumulated between us to have a proper honeymoon."

Before John could congratulate him, Admiral Brovo cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, as much as I hate to break up this happy reunion, we still have an office to run. Lt. Marshall, escort Lt. Rabb around and introduce him to everybody and get him settled into that empty cubicle next to yours in the bullpen."

Turning to Rabb he said, "We only have cubicles in our temporary home here. All attorneys will each get an office when we move into our new building in Washington Navy Yard this time next year.

Until you get a little more investigative experience, you're going to be partnered with Lt. Marshall. In the time he's been here, he has cracked and tried some rather difficult cases. So you'll be in good hands. Dismissed!"

Both lieutenants popped to attention, smartly saying "Aye Sir," about faced and marched from the office.

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