A/N: Ok, here, as promised is the third installment. Thanks once again to my beta reader Ms. Frizzle. (You're an angel, Frizz!!) I still don't own JAG, or my bassoon, but if there's anyone out there who is searching for what to get me for Christmas this year...... Still, hope that you'll enjoy this!

A Little bit of Irish Luck, Chapter 3.

By Starlite 1.

Katherine was intrigued. She had just seen Harm and Mac just about tear out of the building, barely twenty minutes apart from each other. And, if that wasn't enough, the Admiral had just called an emergency meeting of all the staff...

Something was up. And that something was something pretty big.

The congregation of officers who had invaded the bullpen were a strange mix of Navy blues, whites and Marine greens. Thrown into this was a scatter of civilian garb, in muted shades of brown, black and gray. And all were looking towards the door to the admiral's office. A strange sense of dreaded anticipation hung like a shroud over the JAG headquarters.

"Admiral on deck!!!" Tiner called out. Almost instantly the group snapped to attention.

It was with a somber face he took the floor, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hate being the bearer of bad news, but there are times when it is unavoidable. A few hours ago, orders came through which have sent Comdr. Rabb off to the Gulf. He leaves tomorrow. "

Around Katherine, people exchanged looks of shock and horror. No-one had been expecting this at all.

He paused for a second before continuing, "He will be flying for his country, and for everything that we believe in. We hope that Lady Luck will give him a smile, and keep his butt from being blown to Kingdom Come," a few smiled slightly at this, "And that he'll return to Jag with all of his appendages intact. But this also does leave a spot within our legal team. It means that there will have to be compensations to accommodate the Comdr.'s case load, and there will be more strain placed on everyone. There are times when the cards don't fall right, but the only thing we can do is deal with it, and this is what we will have to do. Dismissed."

Katherine slowly walked back towards her office. She didn't really know Harm, and yet she could see how his imminent departure was already having affects on each and every person within the JAG staff.

With a quick glance up at the clock, she navigated her way over to her desk, and flopped herself down in her chair. For just a moment, she closed her eyes, and relaxed.

A knock at the door broke her from her reverie. She looked up to see Will standing in the doorway.

"Hey." He said despondently.

"Hey, Will. Come in. Anything that you want to talk about?" she said in concern.

Quickly he came inside, and sat down across from her, "Just thinking about Comdr. Rabb's call up. For the few weeks since I arrived here, he's been showing me the ropes of the course, and, well, I just find it rather hard to imagine JAG without the man, and I'm not one of the people who have been here for god only knows how many years!"

"I can understand that. Say, are you at all busy tonight?" she asked

"Well, if you call reviewing old files and organizing my sock draw interesting" he said seriously, "..... Then yes! Otherwise I'm not."

"Good, cause if you're interested, I know just where to go...." She said with a slight smile, "So what was it that you came here to talk about?"

************ Rabb's apartment,

Georgetown, VA.

1800

Harm was right in the middle of cooking dinner, when there came a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" he called out to Mattie. Quickly he slung a towel over his shoulder, before rushing to the door.

Fingers fumbled on the lock, and the door opened to reveal Mac standing on the other side of the door, wrapped up in a long cloak, protection against the bitter cold.

"Hi Harm. Look, I know that I'm probably imposing but I just came over to apolo-"she said.

"Dinner's almost ready. Now come inside, before you freeze your butt off." He said in understanding.

Mac looked up at him in befuddlement, "What do you mean, Harm? I mean, I don't really want to impose on you and Mattie, considering..."

He gave her a quick half grin, "well I knew that you'd drop around, so I made enough pasta and sauce to feed you and us, and still have enough to put into the freezer. And it's colder than a freezer out there, so I suggest that you come in and warm up."

"Thanks Harm."

"Anytime."

Mac came into the warmth of the apartment, quickly taking off her cloak, before taking a seat on the lounge. "So how did you know that I'd be coming round? I mean, it's not as if I called or anything like that to tell you."

"Call it a lucky shot if you must, but even if you hadn't come over here, I would have called up to ask. Before I leave, I just... Argh! Sorry, I splashed a bit of hot water, and it hit me on the back of the hand! Damn that hurt like *&%@!!!" he cursed.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Mac said, getting up and coming over to the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Still, dinner's ready. Mattie!" he called.

"Coming!" Mattie called out, and with a thudding of feet, appeared in the living room. Her hair was a mess, and her socks were mismatched. Her shirt was a baggy comfortable lime green shirt, with stretch dance pants on underneath.

"Nice outfit." Mac said calmly.

Mattie just blushed. ***************

Falls Church Community hall,

Falls Church, VA

1830.

Colour and light adorned the warm hall, and people were stretching out their muscles, tightening laces, whilst exchanging the week's gossip. Will walked along beside Katherine, whose long hair had been pulled up into a tight bun, was smiling at people who waved as they saw her.

"So, can you pitch it to me again? What are we doing here?" Will said in befuddlement.

"This is simply a get together of the Irish community around this area. My aunt and uncle are the ones who generally organize it, and we have a party, talk and gossip, dance and-"she chatted.

"You mean like the do in Riverdance? Because I can't dance like that." He stated flatly.

She smiled, "Very few of us can. Some of us will do a few of the more complex dances, but this is about everyone, and that means that there's room for every single person here who wants to have some fun!"

"Okaaay....." he said, still uncertain.

She laid a reassuring hand on his arm, "Don't worry about it. Look, I'm going to go and change. See you in a bit." And with that, she walked off towards the change room.

*** Falls Church community hall

Once she was in the change room, She took out a second bag from her backpack. With a skill that had evolved from years' worth of practice, she slid out of her warm clothing, and into her Irish dress. It was something which had been handed down from her mother. The beadwork formed the Celtic patterns which had been part of her family for years, and the deep blue material fitted her perfectly. But she still winced as she slid it over her shoulder.

Her feet felt decidedly better as they slid from the shoes that she wore for work. Her hands pulled on her taps, and light fingers laced them up tight.

She walked out to find Will standing with her uncle, chatting like they had known each other for years, "Hey, seems like you found my uncle before I did. Uncle Jake, this is Will, a colleague of mine from work."

"Nice to meet you. We're about to get this show on the road."

"Good to talk to you again. By the way, how's the shoulder?" Jake questioned.

She coughed in embarrassment, "Just about no change. Almost four years, and it's still as painful as ever."

Will looked at her in puzzlement, "What-?"

"Look, I'll explain later. Now, shall we go and find some seats?" she asked.

******* Harm's apartment. 1915

They sat round the table as they ate, whilst making plaintive attempts at idle small talk. Each was lost in their own world of thoughts.

Well, if this isn't as cheerful as St. Patrick's. Mac thought to herself, Could probably walk on the tension.

Mattie was picking at the remnants of her pasta. Harm was staring into oblivion, unaware of the world surrounding him. There seemed to be no way to lift the blanket of silence which had engulfed them.

She sighed, got up from the table, scraped her plate and put it into the dishwasher.

"Leave anything?" Harm said from the door. In his hand he had her glass, as well as his plate.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I'm just a bit distracted, that's all." She replied miserably.

"I understand. But do you think you could cope with sitting down with me to help out with the paperwork that I need to get into order before... well, before I take to the skies." He said sadly.

"I guess so."

**** Community hall. 1930

The party was in full swing. Just about everybody was up dancing to the sound of fiddles, drums and pipes. In the middle of it all, Katherine and Will spun and twirled, feet flying and a look of pure joy on each of their faces. Katherine's eyes shone with delight, as wisps of her hair broke free of their restraints.

Slowly the song wound down, and both walked back to their seat, where they collapsed with exhaustion. "Whew! That was absolutely crazy!" Will said with a smile. "Not half as crazy as it'll be after we've all eaten!" Katherine retorted with a smile. A bell rang, and everyone moved off towards the table. Stews, breads, pies, and roasts lined the table. Galleons of gravy, potatoes prepared in every way imaginable, corn, carrots, peas and beans mounted up before them. Katherine quickly grabbed their plates, before queuing up, and explaining the process to Will.

"So what you do is you go in a clockwise direction, and you've got one shot to get what you want. You can come back later, but once you're on the cue, then you've got to keep moving, or else you can get some really dirty looks, and take it from someone who's been on the receiving end, you don't want that to happen. Oh, and save lots of room for dessert."

"Okay... I guess I can live with that." he said with a small smile.

****** Harm's apartment, 2000

"So this is my will, and I basically try to keep it up to date, as for the rest of the files, once we've checked they're all correct, there are a few more things that I need you to sign but, they're not that many and nothing like the paperwork on the Colorado case is going to be."

"Okay. So, just out of curiosity, what's going to happen to Mattie?" Mac questioned. "That was another thing that I wanted to talk to you about. Whilst I'm gone, would you be willing to be Mattie's caregiver? I mean, if you want, you could stay here, and I wouldn't mind if you used my bed. But you're just about the only person on the face of this planet who I'd trust. So could you do that, Please Mac." He just about pleaded. She sighed, "I suppose so. But I'm taking you up on that offer of staying here." Harm just gave her a gentle smile, before turning back to the paperwork.

***** Stomachs filled, Katherine sat with Will, listening to the gossip that was flying round the table at what amounted to the speed of light. Schooners of beer flowed freely in the relaxed party mood. Everyone was listening to the punch line to one of Uncle Jake's infamous jokes, when Katherine began to feel the first small pinpricks in her shoulder. Damn it! I knew I'd gotten off easy, but why does it have to start being a pain in the butt right at this moment! She thought to herself miserably. She quickly stood up, and made her way back to the change rooms, stopping just long enough to grab her bag. Will watched her leave, and saw her expression. With his mind made up, he quickly followed her.

********* Will entered the change room, to find Katherine sitting on a bench, her shoulder bared from the dress. Her face showed she was just about in pure agony. And it was really no wonder. The scars on her shoulder, three massive, deep and not quite healed gashes, were flaring. Almost immediately, he was next to her, "Hey, you all right? I know it's a stupid question, but are you....?"

With tears streaming down her face, "Not really. The painkillers must have worn off. I wasn't quick enough to get to my bag to get them out."

"So you can't move your arm?" he asked. She nodded silently with a grimace. He quickly went digging into her bag, and produced a pack of prescription pain killers

"How many?"

"Two."

"Water?"

"Just forget about it!" she hissed, grabbing the proffered painkillers. She gulped them down her throat, and closed her eyes, desperately waiting for them to kick in............

*********

A/N: Hey! I'm reeeeaalllly sorry to all those people who have been waiting for this chapter, but it is the longest that I've ever gotten my butt around to writing. For those who have been grumpy about the idea of holding chapters hostage, well, they just won't be held hostage anymore (Also, not having Free speech is a violation of the UDHR!) Anyway, work is now catching up to me, and I now do not have a day to myself. Officially, and that includes all weekends! Who knows? I may actually get some sleep between now and the next chapter's publication. Happy belated St. Patrick's! Cya, Starlite1 (