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Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. I had some major cleaning to do in my room. Thanks for the support on the previous chapter.

Mac jumped up and raced out of her room towards the sound. When she got to the other bedroom, She found Lanie sobbing in Chloe's arms. Jingo was sitting near the bed whining and nudging the girls with his wet nose.
"Nightmare." Chloe whispered.
Mac sat on the bed next to Chloe and began stroking Lanie's hair. "It's ok, sweetie. You're safe now. We've got you. Chloe's with you and so am I. We won't' let anything happen to you."
Lanie looked up for a moment before leaping from Chloe's arms to Mac's. Mac caught the little girl and held her tightly, rocking her back and forth.
"My daddy told me he's coming back for me! I'll never be safe!" exclaimed the terrified young girl.
"Honey, We're going to court tomorrow to tell the judge what your dad did. They'll send him to jail where he can never hurt you again," Mac assured her.
"Will I have to talk to the judge? Will I have to see my daddy?" Lanie asked timidly, as she stroked Jingo's fur for comfort.
Mac sighed. "We were able to get the judge to agree to tape your testimony in her chambers. You won't have to be in the court room."
Lanie nodded. "Mac, can I sleep in your bed with you?"
Mac hugged the girl again and replied, "Of course you can, sweetie. How 'bout some hot chocolate before we go back to sleep?"
Lanie and Chloe both grinned and nodded before getting up to follow their guardian.
The next day, the judge explained to Lanie what was going to happen. "You'll tell me and the lawyers what you can remember about when Colonal McKenzie, the little Roberts boy and young Miss Madison were ....in your home."
"Can Mac and Chloe stay with me?" Lanie pleaded.
"If they stay out of the way and don't make any noise, I don't see why not," the judge conceded.
The judge's assistant set up the video camera and called in the two attorneys. Turner would be procecuting with Manetti sitting second chair. Farmer had aquired a civilian attorney.
"Alandra, can you please tell us what happened in your house a few weeks ago?" Turner questioned gently
Lanie took a shakey breath and began. "Well... my daddy made me dinner and we watched a movie. Then I went to bed. He left when he thought I was asleep, but I wasn't. He came back a long time later. I looked out my window when I heard him drive up. He dragged a girl and a little boy out of the car and shoved them into the house then he came back and carried a lady in. I found out the next morning that they were Mac, AJ, and Chloe."
Lanie had to stop there.
"Alandra? Do you need a minute?" the judge asked gently.
Lanie shook her head. "You need to know this. Daddy didn't know I saw him, so when he left again the next day I could take the first aid kit and food and stuff down to the basement."
"How badly were the hostages hurt?" Manetti asked.
At Lanie's blank look, she clarified, "Were Colonel McKenzie and the two children hurt alot?"
"Mac was. Chloe and AJ were ok other than being scared," Lanie confirmed.
Manetti nodded. "You're doing very well. Now, Alandra, can you tell me if your daddy had hurt anyone else like he hurt your friends?"
Lanie began to shake uncontrollably, causing Mac's motherly instinct to kick in. "That's enough for now. She need's a break."
"I still need to cross examine," protested the denfense attorney.
"Not now," Mac insisted firmly.
The judge looked at Lanie sympathetically at the little girl. "Would you like to take a break, sweetheart?"
Lanie hesitated and then gave a small nod.
"We will re-convene after a thirty minute recess," was the judge's decission.
Lanie jumped up and ran to Mac, who scooped her up and carried her out. Chloe quickly followed.
They hadn't gone far before the little girl started gagging. Mac rushed her to the nearest bathroom and got her in front of a toilet in the nick of time. Lanie expelled everything in her stomach. Chloe went to get her little sister a bottle of water while Mac tried to calm Lanie down again. After she had finished throwing up she leaned against Mac in tears.
"Sweetie, what is it? What happened back there?" Mac gently inquired.
"It's when Commander Manetti asked about i-if my daddy had hu-hurt anyone else. I think he has, but I was afraid to say anything before. I didn't have anyone else and I didn't want the social workers to take me away . I didn't think I could say anything anyway because I didn't really see anything. I just found something after the police decided he didn't do it," Lanie admitted.
Mac dreaded pushing. She could see where this was going. "Lanie, what are you trying to say."
"My mama.... I think my daddy may have been the reason she died!" Lanie managed before dissolving into sobs. Mac shook her head sadly as she held her foster daughter.
Chloe brought the water and Lanie sipped it slowly before announcing she was ready to go back.
"Are you sure?" Mac pressed.
Lanie nodded. "I'm ready now."
Chloe took her hand and the three walked back to the judge's chambers.
Mac walked straight up to Turner and Manetti. "We need to talk. Now."
The prosecution team's eyes widened as Mac filled them in on what she was told. Then Turner called for a side-bar.
After a short discussion, it was desided that The defense could cross examine as long as he avoided upsetting the child. They would not go back to the previous line of questioning. The suspected murder of Mrs. Farmer would be looked into before the trial without Lanie's help.
The defense attorney mainley just asked what she had actually seen and tried to help his case by showing Farmer's 'caring father' side. Finally, the judge said she was finished and could leave.
Mac needed to get back to work, but Lanie and Chloe were able to go to the stables and ride. There was a therapy group that met at the stables, and Lanie was in serious need of stress- relief.
"Harriet will pick you guys up in a couple of hours," Mac promised.
The girls hugged the JAG lawyer and headed off to the stables.
Meanwhile, Turner and Manetti were hard at work. It was going to be hard to prove a several-year-old murder case. They had found records through the computer and discovered that Mrs. Farmer had been cremated. They found the address for Farmer's old house and questioned the neighbors. It was too late to get any physical evidence, but they were able to get enough information from the neighbors to have plenty to interrogate Farmer with. Hopefully they wouldn't have to question Lanie again.
Later that evening, Harm came over for dinner and brought his guitar. He played scrabble Jr. with Chloe and Lanie while they waited for dinner to be ready, and then after dinner he played some songs on the guitar and engaged the girls and Mac in a sing-along. Lanie's favorite was Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton. Chloe enjoyed Someday, someway by Marshall Crenshaw and was teaching Lanie some dance moves during the song. After getting the girls in bed, Harm softly played and sang just for Mac. She closed her eyes and listened as he played her favorite song by John Denver, Is it Love. Mac smiled as she thought about how much she loved this man and how, in addition to being the love of her life and her best friend, that he was already proving to be an amazing dad.

Well, that's it for this chapter. The court trial and more will be in the next chapter that will hopefully be posted on Wednesday. Thanks for reading. Have a great Labor Day weekend!








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