Shakedown - 79

[Chegwidden's "adopted" son is introduced and found to have leukemia.] The USS Coral Sea was experiencing chronic severe power interruptions while in the middle of flight operations in the no-fly zone. A steam pipe failure with severe injuries brought Harm (H) and Mac (M) to investigate. A civilian contractor, Yarborrough, told them that the ship had failures for some time, including lock-outs, system crashes, and false alarms. He was described by the crew as a "smart guy who likes to remind you of it." they met another civilian contractor, John Newman, when examining the failed pipe and found acid had been applied. H had to rush M to the wash down station when her gloves began burning from the acid. H went to the bridge during a "rumble" and everyone watched him as he "armchair quarterbacked" the downing of two Iraqi MIGs. M observed to H that "you were good weren't you?" He responded that "I still am, and status current." M felt the need to pontificate at him about "never being able to go back, because you're too important to JAG." He told her it "wasn't my choice." Newman told M that the acid was a spontaneous metal dissolver (SMD) used as "liquid torch" when flames were inappropriate. M saw H watching flight tapes and walked away. He caught up with her and she said she was beginning to worry again with him trading one obsession for another: "finding your father, Roscoe, now the little girl and what's next, flying?" He told her that she was just afraid "you'll loose me." She merely responded "maybe, or that you will loose yourself."

Yarborrough spilled coffee on the XO so he could be alone with the computer to install a clandestine computer program which caused power failures. H told the captain of either Saboteur or Vandalism then asked Bud (B) to check the names including civilian contractors. The steam injured sailor told H that Newman had been in the engine room before the break. H bet dinner for a week that the guilty person was Newman. M bet it was Yarborrough because he was a "disgruntled, former-navy geek who tried to prove himself smarter than everyone else by creating problems then fixing them." But only if the dinners were restaurant not home cooked cause if they served "Harms meatless meatloaf on the ship they would have to take it off the ship in the hazardous waste." Yarborrough patched his laptop into a computer link splice in the bulkhead which produced multiple outages, alarms and failures. He and Newman went to the disbursing office when the captain shut off unnecessary power and stole over a million dollars. While they were climbing up a ladder, Newman kicked Yarborrough into the sea. When the theft was reported H & M realized that it was just a diversion. M found the patch in Yarborrough's room. When she pulled the plug all the lights and systems (magically) returned to full use and two "bingo" Tomcats were able to land. H confronted Newman (alone!) in Hazmat and a fight ensued breaking gooey material all over and starting a fire. Newman ripped off Hs mask which ticked him off so he knocked Newman out and drug him to the wash down station. H flummoxed the captain, when he asked how he had figured it out, by saying that it was because of "Harm's meatless meatloaf." M suggested that H stay aboard for a few days, and that saving a million dollars would probably be worth a ride in a Tomcat. H got his ride.

B was sworn into the bar and got his insignia. His first case was defending someone who relieved himself in public. When B complained that he was going to defend "the Urinator," H told him that he could always "pee-bargain" and M said "there were no small cases only small bladders." B found a Urologist to testify that his client had "prostatitis." Commander Coulter called H to check on Dar-lin. H said she was in foster care awaiting adoption and he checked on her two times a week. Coulter told H to "call me sometime when you don't need something." He said that he would. Lt. Sherkston (sharky) was introduced as Chegwidden's (C) "son he never had." A few years back, when he stole Cs car, C offered to not press charges if Sherkston would join the Navy. He became a seal and C became his "mentor." He was in Washington for a medical checkup at his wife, Shelly's, insistence for a "bug he had since returning from the gulf." It was found to be leukemia and Shelly had to come to C for help because Sharkey was refusing treatment. She said it was because Sharkey was afraid of being weak in front of C. Sharkey told C that he had seen the treatments NOT work on his father when he was eight. Just took away his fathers dignity and will to fight. C then turned to "tough love" by saying he would make a few calls and have him out within the hour. He held up the nurse call button and told him "just ring the bell. Be like all those whining, bawling mamma's boys who dropped out of SEAL training. Donuts and hot coffee for all pukes who wanna quit." He told Sharkey that this was the "battle of your life. If you don't have the guts to see it through then you will loose and you will die so- ring the bell." Sharkey didn't, and they both had a "hoo-yah" fest.

Nobody's Child - 78

An unknown girl was beaten to death on naval property being turned over to DC. Although not a student she stowed away on a school bus touring the base but sneaked away and was chased down by a naval Master Chief. Chegwidden (C)assigned Harm (H) and Mac (M) to see to it that the ball wasn't dropped. Agent Holland was investigating for NCIS and they found a Master Chief insignia in the girls hand. While there H seemed contemplative and saw the girl in sort of a vision. He sent M on back and he stayed with the body while the autopsy was performed. He asked C to be assigned to the case and was allowed. Eventually he brought in Doctor Coulter to perform another, more thorough, autopsy and she found that the child had died from severe abuse including being locked away and needing to eat paper to survive. No one reported a child missing and H and Coulter held a burial service and read from the bible. M could tell that H had the "same look in his eye" as when he was chasing his father and defending the "king of fleas" but H kept shutting her out. Bud (B) found records of a convicted child abuser living in the area with his brother who was a master chief. He and H tailed the man, William Hawkins, and harassed him until he told them where he had seen the child and that he had worried she was being abused but was afraid to report that he knew. H took a drawing around to the neighborhood and found a woman who would tell him where she had seen the girl if H would track down her deadbeat navy husband. The girl lived with her aunt Marjorie Lewis who had moved out with "Charlie" one week prior, in a hurry without notice. She said that the girl never spoke and didn't even say thanks when she had been given one of her husbands insignias. A social worker told H and Coulter that the girls name was Annie Lewis and her mother had died 3 years previously. She had been given to her maternal grandmother to raise, but she had died 6 months previously and Annie had been lost to the records. She said she couldn't legally give H the address but left the chart out where he could see it. They went to the abandoned house and had "feelings" that the child had been there then found the closet where she had been locked. H saw the girl, that he had seen twice in vision, and followed her to a hiding place. She was the dead girls twin sister, Dar Lin. She said that "they grabbed Annie but I got away" and Charlie had locked them in the closet. He had told them that he would stomp their head if they weren't good. H promised her he would find Charlie and make him pay. Then he was shown making the same promise to a headstone engraved with Annie's name.

C gave B the newspaper to read that he had passed the Bar exam. Ht was helping with the case and clumsily dropped the folder of photographs onto the floor. She freaked out when she saw then and chastised H for taking the case when he didn't have to and getting B involved. She slugged H then came to C the next day resigning her commission. He tried to downplay the incident but she said she "struck an officer." He said that all he had seen was her making an exaggerated gesture which by chance struck H. He tore up her resignation and muttered "I can't count the number of times I thought about hitting Rabb."

Silent Service - 77

The submarine Watertown surfaced in middle of norwegian sailboats and Chegwidden (C) sent Harm (H) and Mac (M) to investigate while they were having significant disagreements. Commander Flagler gave M XO Eustis' Palm Pilot to use while aboard. Mess Chief Basilio said that the boat was "not right," having more injuries and illnesses than he'd seen in 7 years. An entire watch got EColi dysentery, ruptured eardrum and scabies requiring sterilization of the entire mess. He said the corpsman was the "hardest working squid on the boat." Chief Hodge, corpsman, said the crew had 4 back-to-back patrols without liberty and had "shared stress." He pressed on Ms foot to "cure" her sore neck. The boat was ordered to N Korea to find an underwater missle facility so they were stuck for 14 days and had to "hot bunk" in the enlisted barracks. The enlisted thought it was funny to harass M with the trash compactor until she faced them down and promised to "haul them out the forward trunk and feed their #!@ to the crabs." H tried to settle her about the "pranks" but finally suggested they "just try to get along." He said he would be more sensitive and she less. She said if he was more sensitive she wouldn’t need to be less. A seaman was killed by a ruptureing high pressure valve which lacerated his Vena Cava. It was probably due to a tiny nick in the packing of the valve during maintenance. Flager didn't accept the XOs suggestion for burial at sea and ordered the food cooked and the ice cream eaten so they could use it for a morgue. At dinner M brought up a "cursed boat" and was shot down by Flagler. Hodge announced that seaman Bluestein had "hepatitis A" so everyone had to be tested. H deduced that someone was trying to hurt people because the crew hadn't been ashore in four patrols to contract hepatitis A. He and M thought it might be the XO due to his lack of empathy for the crew and being the only one on the watch that didn't get sick. He told H that he was the only one who was allergic to wheat and didn't eat the pancakes. Flagler was angry that they woke him up with their accusations and no back-up.

M told H that if they pursued it they would "be the most unpopular suests at the party." H said "as long as we dance together" and M retorted "and you lead." They got into another row that their anger wasn't just "a bump in the road." H said you "honestly resent me" and M said "and you have no faith in me." She suggested they talk about it and H said "this isn't a marriage" so she walked away. H asked Bud (B) to check the records of all the crew and he asked what it was like on a submarine. H told him he could find out by "throwing away all his fresh fruit and vegetables, putting lube oil in his humidifier, sleeping on a shelf in the closet and going to work before sunrise." C came on the line and asked him if he was operating with the full consent of the skipper or had done anything irregular, unlawful or ill advised. B called back that the crew were outstanding and mentioned that Hodge had received commendations two times before for outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease and serious bacterial infection- three epidemics in a row! H went to the infirmary and found an empty bottle of ipecac (emetic) so confronted Hodge with his Munchausen By Proxy syndrome. He had called M down to the infirmary but Hodge struck him in the throat causing spasm then injected him with sedation. When M came H couldn't speak. She told Hodge to accompany her to the bridge to inform the CO. H got to the computer and emailed Ms PDA that it was Hodge. Hodge put ammonia in Ms eyes but she kicked him to the ground and ran into the infirmary. She and H hid in the bulkheads but Hodge came in and tried to inject H again. He dropped the syringe when H hit him but had the advantage and slammed H around. M turned on steam jets; but, when H was downed, was choked into unconsciousness by Hodge. H stuck him in the back with the syringe to subdue him and rescue M.

H was still hoarse when they left the ship. Flager was down on himself for hand picking Hodge and M gave him encourgagement. He told her that "healthy self-criticism was useful but we should never underestimate our support." He said "you two are quite a team. Do you always work this well together?" M told him "when he lets me do the talking."

River's Run - 76

A teenager, Brian Yarrow, was shot and killed in a national forest where a SEAL team was conducting exercises. Lt Rivers received gunfire and returned fire only to find the dead boy. Chegwidden (C) sent Harm (H) and Mac (M) to investigate. FBI special agent Al Grenin, who previously and maliciously charged H for murdering a Russian mafia agent, said the FBI was tracking a federal building bombing fugitive in the area. Warren Toobin, who's bomb had killed a man, had become a local "folk hero" for the areas' separatists. They left food and supplies for him. Rivers told H & M that his team was only traversing through the forest to get to their normal exercise area and he had been shot at. When he heard that no gun was found he went UA to track who had shot and caused him to kill the boy. C gave H & M 24 hours to bring him in before filing. Having lunch in a small café, H revealed to M that he had washed dishes in the "Eagle and Key café in Julian California" during a high school summer break. Rivers found Toobin's hide-out and began tracking him. He was bit by a copperhead snake and was captured by the separatist gang. Harriet obsessed about the "dead little boy" and Bud (B) had to stop her. She was given her lieutenant JG bars by C and she said she had "completely forgot her two years were up" (yea right!). Grenin climbed on C for sending H & M into the area claiming they would "screw up his investigation."

A local red-neck thug, ex-sailor Lewis Beecham, started harassing M in the café and when H stood to back him down his gang had to be stopped by Mr. Yarrow. Yarrow said his son Brian didn't have a gun and that the "corrupt government had subverted our liberty and undermined the law of the people." He told them to leave but H put a tracking device on his truck which led them to the compound where they were holding a kangaroo "peoples" court for Rivers. M went to higher ground to try and call out on their cell phone while H went in to the compound and was allowed to "defend" Rivers. Yarrow's daughter testified that Brian had his gun in the forest and that her father had gotten it back the next day. Warren Toobin testified that Brian had brought supplies then saw soldiers coming and assumed they were after Toobin. He shot at Rivers, just to scare him, and allow time for Toobin to escape, but was shot. Toobin took the gun, gathered the casing and hid "while the soldiers went by." None of Rivers' men were there and when he tried to say so the judge gagged him. Yarrow quoted the Declaration of Independence and spouted rhetoric about his opinions of the government. H pointed out that the founding fathers said the established government shouldn't be abolished for light and trivial reasons so they gave the Constitution so that it wouldn't be. The separatists ignore the Constitution. Rivers only had returned fire, just like any of them would do. Brian had died because of the hate and suspicion his father had planted in his heart. C assigned B to see if the Forest Service was pressured to close the normal insertion area so the SEAL's would need to use the alternative near Toobin. Lewis' gang on the jury found Rivers guilty without deliberation and the judge sentenced him to be hanged just as a helicopter flew over. They put H, M & Rivers in a shed while Toobin escaped out a tunnel and the rest got their guns in a standoff. H realized that the autopsy had shown Brian was shot in the back exonerating Rivers. They surmised Grenan had done it and told Yarrow; but, he wouldn’t believe. C came into the compound and promised "someone would pay" to no avail so Rivers stood out to let Yarrow shoot him. Yarrow's daughter stopped him saying "she didn't want to loose him too." As Rivers limped out he told C that a Copperhead had bit him. C said "I hope you bit him back." [The producers felt the need for epilogue titles saying that Rivers had been exonerated and was back instructing SEALS, Grenan had been temporarily suspended and faced possible manslaughter charges, and Toobin was still at large. To my knowledge none of those plot lines were ever followed up.]

Webb of Lies - 75

Webb (W)called Harm (H) from a ship, where he was under fire; but, H was kissing Jordie so he couldn't be bothered answering. By the time H picked up the reciever, the phone went dead. The next day Chegwidden (C) was notified that Ws burned body was found on a freighter and he assigned Mac (M) and H to find out who did it. CIA agent Paul Candella broke into Hs apartment saying he was investigating Ws one minute call the night before. Bud (B) found that a Japanese scientist, Shoei Wakita, was one of the bodies found with W and he had been working on a superconductor. When Wakita found out that the Bradenhurst corporation was the one funding the research, he disappeared with the prototype. When H heard the words "Bradenhurst," he immediately went to Leavenworth to interrogate Clark Palmer, but found an imposter serving his sentence. H knew the murders on the freighter weren't performed by Palmer- they were too messy. Worried about H, M stayed with him overnight; but, she couldn't sleep so field stripped Hs pistol. M told H tearfully that "everyone around her keeps dying:" W, her ex-husband, and Dalton. H got the DUI charges against Jordie dismissed and she brought him copies of the autopsies. All three had been killed with similar weapons but W was also burned so had to be identified by dental records.

C told them that the CIA suspected a mole inside it who kept funneling information to ex-DSD agents (competing with them as "intelligence beltway bandits.") Palmer bluffed his way into CIA headquarters to obtain records on the superconductor and was nearly intercepted by Candella. H & B went to "feed Ws fish" and found that he had been a musician competed in the 1988 Olympics' modern pentathlon. Candella interrupted them and seemed surprised when H told him that Palmer wasn't in Leavenworth. Palmer was waiting in the backseat of Candella's car and they spoke, knowingly, about the superconductor. Candella said Palmer would get it when they found it. Palmer gave him a cigarette, laced with high tech poison, which killed him. H visited Ws mother who said that she and her husband, Neville, were both intelligence agents and Clayton had gone "into the family business." His mother took a call from Lt Abby Cowan, who didn't exist in military databases. M discovered that the name was an anagram for "Clayton Webb." H found W alive on the ship with the superconductor. W said that he had believed Candella was the mole so couldn't tell anyone in the CIA that he had arranged to get the scientist and the superconductor into the US. Palmer trailed H to the ship and got the drop on them. He had arranged a "trap" for Jordan at Hs apartment in order to bargain for the superconductor. W was already shot in the leg so, when they escaped from Palmer, H sent W off the ship to get help for Jordie. Palmer, however, shot H and got the drop, again, on W who he forced to retrieve the superconductor. Just as he was going to shoot W, H appeared and shot Palmer three times while chasing him onto the deck. He went back for W and when they returned found Palmers body gone. H found Jordie asleep in his apartment but Palmer had left a photo of himself taped to the back of the door.

W said that Palmers ultimate revenge would be to leave H in the "wilderness of mirrors"- a term for extreme paranoia suffered by "spooks" in the business too long. Bud was third in law class. He angered Harriet by wanting to wait for M to read his grades to him, like she always did, for luck.

War Stories - 74

Chegwidden C assigned Mac (M) and Bud (B) to defend Commander Thomas Risnicki, leader of SEAL team 8, charged with involuntary manslaughter and disobeying orders. He had delayed his assigned rescue mission for 2.5 hours due to adiabatic fog which probably would have killed the team then found the three NATO hostages hung. They were killed by an ultra radical faction of the Yugoslav army who had given NATO a day to leave the country. When the team arrived 37 minutes late the observers were dead and the SECNAV told C "you could hear NATO Commander, Major General Richard Plesac's screams all the way to the White House." C appointed Harm (H) to act as JAG during his "forced" use of vacation time. Brum asked H about defending a tuba player who struck a "flatulent note" as the president sat down, and Harriet (Ht) asked about naming their son. When H suggested naming after naval hero's they all commented that H seemed "different," "older," and "getting taller." With Plesac on the stand M brought out his previous reprimand for "ignoring intel, being ambushed, and the 14 men who died were not worth another bar on his shoulder." Plesac shouted at M then went to the SECNAV who demanded to see H. M said she was going to call Plesac again because he had a "history of loosing men under fire" and wanted to "contrast his apparent disregard for lives with Risnicki's concern." When H disagreed with Ms need to "shift blame" onto Plesac in order to win the case, M told him that when he "got power he became as political as the SECNAV."

Unable to find anything to do, C kept calling H and told him to "call or stop by anytime." He finally drove to JAG headquarters only to find Fran Glass producing a movie, "Field of Gold" starring Dan Lander, being shot in front. After dressing down an actor, thinking he was a disgraceful soldier, Glass convinced him to work as "technical advisor" for the show. When H came that night to talk he found C with the co-star as a date. H said that M had not taken his advice and C reminded him of all the times he had ignored the advice C had given. C said that he had to "decide what was best for the case: defending your authority or the choices of the people who define it." Then advised that H "get a handkerchief." The SECNAV ranted and raved in Hs face about maligning Plesac and said that "if M called him again he would make him personally responsible for the fall out." H told M that it would be her call. Risnicki found that B hadn't taken the bar and threatened to dismiss him. H told Risnicki that his "best shot was to use his strongest ally" so he didn't fire him. B found that the bodies were already cold and stiff so that they must have been killed at least a day before. Risnicki's delay had kept them from falling into a trap. He was found Not Guilty of manslaughter but guilty of disobeying an order. Risnicki apologized to B; and, when told he didn't need to advised B to "accept any and all acts of contrition because you don't often see it." C was fired from the movie because he dressed down the director for rudeness. When he returned he had become used to all the snacks on the set so told Ht to see that JAG got some. They asked if they could name their baby after C and he said he was honored. They all were happy until C revealed that he expected them to name him "Albert Jethro Roberts."

Dungaree Justice - 73

[A follow-up to the episode where Mac confessed to killing her estranged ex-con husband] Mattoni prosecuted Mac (M) for "lying" in the court-martial of her and her ex-CO, John Farrow, over the death of Christopher Ragle her estranged, (but not divorced) ex-con, husband. Harm (H) defended her arguing that it wasn't to avoid punishment or germane to the case because they were wrongly charged so it didn't rise to the level of perjury. Adm Morris agreed and sent her to Captains mast before Chegwidden (C) who wasn't very happy. He chewed her out for not only lying but for not trusting him and making him think she had murdered her husband. He said he was withdrawing his recommendation for her early promotion to Lt Col. and would dismiss her from JAG if she ever lied again.

Mikey (Mk) had been coerced into joining the navy by his father and came to Bud (B) to ask him to get him out of it. Tiner helped B find possible excuses behind Cs back. C told them that he hadn't "seen someone look so guilty since his last visit to the white house." B couldn't find a "loophole" and advised that he would have to "suck it up." Mk said B was just like dad and hope he "did a better job raising his son than dad on us." Later he came back and apologized saying he was a great brother and the baby was lucky to have him as a father. B took him to the navy art gallery at Annapolis and said that after boot camp he would try and help him get into the navy combat art program.

The owner of a bar, Peter Reardon, was beat up by 3 sailors who said they were doing it for "the Hawk." Reardon identified PO3 Wade Colbert, (actual beater), seaman Hendrix and seaman Olin. M and H investigated and found that the three denied knowing anything about either the beating or "the Hawk." They asked questions of the ships captain about non-cooperation in what they were calling "unit cohesiveness." He got angry at them but while on the bridge they overheard a radio transmission referencing "the Hawk," PO Lopez, a female gunner. She claimed not to know anything either, and denied being in the bar that night. They recommended referral to an article 32 hearing and were assigned to prosecute while Brumby (Brum) defended. C told them to identify, up to the top, if there was a culture aboard the ship that condones dungaree justice. They found that Lopez had missed role call two weeks previously after getting drunk with her three buddies at Reardon's bar. While she was in the restroom the three left in bar, drunk, and when they didn't return Reardon gave her coffee then helped her to her car to sleep it off when she couldn't find her keys. M and H interrogated her about her lying by omission and, after H left, she told M that she was just trying to "fit in" by not complaining. M told her that she could recognize the signs of someone who is trying to forget a drunken indiscretion. On the stand H got her to admit that she had passed out in the car then awoke finding she had been raped and drove home after finding her keys on the floor of the car. She had missed muster then told Colbert about it. H went to Reardon with accusations but he (luckily?) had been wounded in Vietnam and was impotent so couldn't have done it. Brum let H talk to the three and advised them they had beaten the wrong man.

Hendrix and Olin got civilian lawyers and turned evidence against Colbert for immunity against prosecution. On the stand Hendrix said that they had taken Lopez' keys for "survival training" and that it was Colbert who had the idea to beat Reardon up and actually did it. H got Olin to say that Colbert had taken her keys but had given them to him. H charged that it was he who had gone back and raped Lopez but the keys fell out of his pocket onto the floor. H told him that he had immunity from the assault charges not rape. He denied it on the stand but when Lopez asked him "why did you do it?" in the hall he told her that "military wasn't a woman's game." He said he "didn't join up to have some girl calling my gunnery," in front of M and H. At episodes end H saw C watching a ZNN report about the kidnapping of 3 NATO observers in Kosovo. There was a 24 hour deadline for NATO withdrawal. C said almost all at the Pentagon "were looking pretty grim;" and when H asked who wasn't looking grim, replied "some of my old friends."

Jaggle Bells - 72

[Chloe and Jordan Parkers introduction] Bud (B) and Harriet (Ht) were handing out mounds of Christmas gifts at children's hospital. B said he knew how lonely it could get from when he had a candy cane stuck up his nose. Harm (H) was acting department head while Chegwidden (C) went to Italy to see his daughter Francesca and let everyone secure early because of the blizzard. The airport was closed so C returned to an empty office and was upset. Chloe arrived at JAG saying she was "looking for her mother," M (M), and other lies. She proceeded to act rude, offensive and embarrass M by telling C that she "though he would have more hair and why didn't he ask M out?" She had said that her father Kyle Anderson had died on May 17th, 1987- the day she was born. Her mother had died four years ago with cancer and she told M that she had run away from her stepfather because he didn't want her and was abusive. M braced her up with "just because your life had been hard doesn't give you the right to lie or be rude." She asked, if they took her away from her stepfather, could she live with M. When M was calling child welfare to report the abuse, Chloe recanted and said that her bruise was from "his girlfriend" when "she lost it" over Chloe cutting and dying her hair when she was "passed out drunk." She ran into the elevator and hid above the trap door. B realized the date she gave as the date the USS Stark was attacked and found Chloe's father still alive on the USS Cayuga. They put through a $4,000 video call to her father to get her to come down. He hadn't known she was born and had just lost his wife and son in a car accident. Chloe went, temporarily, back to her stepfathers after a "girlfriend to marine" talk. M apologized to C for what Chloe had said and C told her that "there are two sides to duty- doing things we don't want to do- and, resisting the temptation to do things we want to do."

H couldn't find anyone to do anything with over the holidays so took the "next case up" which was Lt Cdr Jordan Parker, a psychiatrist who had skidded off the road and was arrested for DUI. She claimed she was ill with a cold and had only had one eggnog. H tried to get her to accept substance abuse counseling and she told him to analyze himself in a mirror. She deduced that he must have been named after a relative (or family pet), family history of naval service, live up to past expectations, having "baggage" from going to JAG from "gold wings," painfully "obvious" singleness, few and far between relationships from being "too busy or too picky" and that a relationship with a single mother would be "appealing to someone of your age who's afraid he's running out of time." H just left but returned, later, with Chinese food. He confessed that she had pretty much pegged him and said that he normally spends Xmas eve at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. He said that he had found his father, buried, in Russia. He now had closure, but found a void he didn't know he had. He discovered just how much of "who he was, had been formed by his search for his father." That he always before had a goal, but now "wasn't driving the bus anymore" and instead was "sitting in the back with no idea where it's going." Parker told him that "most people spend their whole life riding the bus instead of driving." H found alcohol in the cough syrup she took before the breathalyzer which would have thrown it off and got her released on her own recognizance.

B and Ht acted the doofus again dressing up in Santa costumes and having arguments over robot toys. C told B to find him a "ride to Milan tonight." C left a message on Francesca's answering machine that "this was the first time he was looking forward to Christmas in a long time." After playing with toys the whole episode, he "almost forgot" to tell C that he had found him a seat on a military transport plane."

The Black Jet - 71

Jack Keeter (Harm's (Hs) old roommate, rescued from Cuba) had multiple severe computer malfunctions while flying recon over Iran in a stealth F117. Under a plan of Webb's (Ws), he was looking for reported nuclear weapons using new technology which allowed the Stealth to automatically land on a carrier. He was able to land then walked out, to prevent anyone from finding the Stealth; but, was found by Iranians and taken to prison. Brumby (Brum), who had previous assignments in Iran, and Mac (M) were assigned to help defend Keeter in court. Brum magnanimously deferred to H which prompted M to tell him that she didn't "hold hard feelings" for him trying to pin a murder charge on her. Keeter gave H a coded letter to his dead father, with the coordinates of where he had landed, and told H "no martin baker" (i.e. he didn't use martin-baker ejection seat). H told M that in his third class year at the academy he had gone UA during finals before Christmas. Before anyone knew he was gone Keeter found him and brought him back. Ws plan was to give H some new circuit boards and have him fly it back to the carrier leaving M and Keeter behind for "State to do the best it can after the trial." Bud (B), on the Seahawk with W, strenuously chastised him telling him H lived by his "duty to country and loyalty to friends" and shouldn't have to choose between them. He said "there must be a better way" and W changed his plans into rescuing Keeter as well. W used Sina Kazzari, a CIA agent of Iranian extraction with US citizenship, to help them rescue Keeter and escape. However, by the time they reached the disabled Stealth, Bedouins had found it. M asked Keeter if "H had always been this cocky," and was told "only around women." She negotiated that she would stay with the Bedouins as collateral for one million in gold to be sent later. H advised her that sometimes people in her situation punished themselves by taking risks and she retorted that she would "pay her dues at her article 32 hearing."

Kazzari turned out to be a double agent, who had notified the Iranian military. The army came rumbling over the desert just after H had shot Kazzari, using an "ol' Western movie distraction trick;" and, just as Keeter was able to start the generator for take off. The SECNAV had refused to send in air extraction support so W "setup" Chegwidden into overriding the decision. B confronted him about it and was told US jets arrived and helped defend the plane against Iranians while H took off. The next thing you saw was H trying to land on a carrier with warning lights flashing and his being killed in crash; but it turned out to be only in a simulator - to teach H a lesson that he couldn't have landed anytime the warning lights were flashing. He was asked if he would have tried, and responded that yes, he probably would have! When they were worried about M and Keeter making it out, Brum said "she'll be back, I promised I'd take her skiing." She did arrive, with Keeter complaining about her ability to tell exact time by her "body clock."

People vs. Mac - 70

[Follow-up from previous episode] Chris Ragle (Ms ex-con husband from whom she hasn't gotten a divorce) did not leave as promised and ran to Mac's (M) apartment as sanctuary from loan shark Benny Turpin. Turpin broke down her door and beat up Ragle but not before M had broken the nose of one of his thugs. When they left with a 24-hour ultimatum for repayment of "$15 bills" Ragle said "honey" I'm home. M went to Harm's (H) apartment to talk but found Bobbi Latham (L) and left. H was back from "straightening out a congressional committee" and found new Mic Brumby (Brum) at JAG with "open ended" TAD orders from his Australian command. Brum began disagreeing with H from his first meeting in a visible and challenging way. He tried to force his "advice" on H about M; and, being annoyed, H told him that M was "just a friend." M was noticeably distracted but told H "I already tried" when he attempted to get her to talk. He said "let's talk now" but was interrupted, again, by a phone call from L. When M got home, Ragle was still there and when she threw him out he began blackmailing her about her previous tryst with her ex-CO John Farrow in Okinawa. Chegwidden (C) had defended him last month for sending troops into Haiti without orders and, although found guilty, was awarded no punishment (The good of the service). Over Ms objections, Farrow said "I'll talk to him." Ragle was shown answering his hotel door and saying "I've been expecting you," then H answering his phone to M saying "I've been arrested for murdering my husband."

C told everyone the next day that Ragle had been murdered with a 9mm Sig Sauer, having partial prints of both Farrow and M, but "inconclusive" powder residues. The police thought it was a "lovers triangle" but turned the prosecution over to JAG. Brum slammed Hs request to defend M for emotional bias; but, C assigned him anyway, and gave Brum and Bud (B) the defense of Farrow. He told them both to "play nice" or be replaced. Ted Lindsey prosecuted and told C "things have changed here since I left." C replied "you don't know the half of it." Brum exposed the affair and justified it to H that it was "to show they acted differently and not complicitly." H accepted that but then Brum tried to pin the murder on M and H asked for "severance." In front of L, Brum said that he "was convinced M killed her husband" and accused H, B & C of all being "a little in love with M" and "blinded." H said that he was an "arrogant bastard" and Brum said they would eventually "strip blouses" to which H agreed. C said he "didn't think much of" Brum's tactics but left them both in their positions. At the severance hearing, Farrow reigned in Brum who told the judge that his "client would refuse to answer questions that would incriminate M." L exclaimed "is this the 5th by proxy?" and Admiral Morris asked if this was just their "attempt at setting him up for an appeal." The severance was not allowed. Farrow said that he had gone to Ragle with $20K but Ragle pulled his gun and was killed in their struggle. Lindsey called it a lie because no money was found. M was upset that Farrow was taking the blame and wanted to testify. When H wouldn't let her she said "either you put me on the stand or Brum will." She testified that she had gone to talk to Ragle, "one last time." When she was leaving Ragle had pulled his gun out and put it to his own chest saying "then you better kill me now." He told her she "wouldn't have a life" because he "would follow her and kill her man and her kids and her." She claimed she pulled the trigger. She was shown cleaning out her desk and taking boxes to her car. (Unbelievably) Brum was shown "making time" with her saying that "I wish there were something I could do to comfort you." She had him hold her boxes then slapped him saying "there, now I'm comforted."

H found that money had been withdrawn from Farrow's account so went, with B, to shake down the hotel manager who had done time for breaking and entering. They blackmailed him into admitting he had seen Turpin leave the room after M and Farrow had left. Then they met Turpin in a library with Brum and blackmailed him into testifying claiming to have a security videotape of his break in to Ms apartment. Turpin testified that "nobody killed Ragle." Turpin went to collect but when M came hid in the closet. Ragle got the gun and gave it to M telling her to shoot him just as she had testified. She threw it away and Farrow came with the money. Ragle grabbed the gun and was going to shoot Farrow but M wrestled with him and it went off. Turpin said if M hadn't shot, "Farrow would have been dead and probably her as well." Lindsey accused Turpin of being "paid to lie" but he said "no, I'm paying them." H gave the $20K to the judge that Turpin had returned. The case was dismissed and Farrow told H to "try and keep her out of trouble." Brum tried to chat up M again (!) and she said "maybe." H found it incredible! She said it was "to give him a chance to apologize." He disillusioned' "the men you pick!"