| Subject: Christmas Nigh; Adeste Fi! - Part 15/25 |
Author:
Teacup
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Date Posted: 14:21:53 07/15/07 Sun
In reply to:
Teacup (aka Ever-Xmas)
's message, "Christmas Nigh; Adeste Fi!" on 23:51:19 06/30/07 Sat
Christmas Nigh; Adeste Fi!
A/N: Just a warning - this part brings up a serious sociological topic. I'm referencing something that I understand exists in a limited sub-culture, ... and I've made up an extreme scenario to fit the story and the Christmas allusion I'm going for. ... Please don't extrapolate it to imply statements about any more general religion, country, culture, or political issue.
Part 15
Knowing the courtroom events that Mac had just spoken of must have been a few days previous, Harm asked, “So, anything interesting at JAG today?”
“No,” Mac answered lightly, “… just your typical day in the Admiral’s delivery room.”
“You got to witness that first hand?” Harm asked. He had heard how the Admiral had once again delivered a baby in his office.
“Yeah. … It was amazing,” said Mac with awe. “The whole thing is … such a miracle, … how a life is created. How it grows inside a mother’s womb from practically nothing, and then nine months later … there’s this incredible little human being entering into the world.”
She paused and then continued remarking on the baby. “He was so adorable, Harm. … Babies make you want to just hold them close and protect them from everything bad out there.”
“Yeah, … sometimes they need to be protected,” said Harm. They had both seen situations where small children were subjected to horrors beyond what any human should be exposed to. For some reason, a particular story came to Harm’s mind
“A long time ago, I worked on a desertion case. It was a woman who had disappeared for four years. Her parents were originally from India, and she married an Indian man who had been attending school in America. He took his wife home to his country during one of her periods of leave. … His parents were not pleased that he had married an American, even if she was of Indian descent. And being in the Navy made her even less acceptable as a proper wife, but the man insisted that he loved her and would remain her husband.”
“Is that a good thing?” asked Mac, sure that this story was not headed in a positive direction.
Harm shrugged. “His parents pressured the man to keep his wife in their country, to assimilate her to their ways. … Because he had such respect for his family and culture, he allowed them to essentially keep her captive. He tried to make her happy, but … her freedom had been taken away. … The woman thought maybe if she had a child she might find some fulfillment in her new life, and that … she might gain the respect of her in-laws.”
“So, she and her husband tried very hard to have a child,” Harm continued. “For two years they had no luck. Then finally she became pregnant and gave birth to a little girl. … But this only earned the woman more scorn from the family, … because she had not been able to give her husband a son.”
“Even though it’s the man who needs to contribute the ‘Y’ chromosome to make a boy,” Mac added with frustration.
“I don’t think these cultures acknowledge that fact any more than they acknowledge the value of girls,” said Harm. “The woman told me how her in-laws treated the baby. How ‘accidents’ would happen near her child, leaving the little girl badly injured. Her in-laws openly encouraged the couple to kill the child. It was difficult, but the woman managed to keep her little girl safe from any major damage.”
“A year later, she again became pregnant,” Harm continued. “And again, … she gave birth to a baby girl. This time, the husband’s family became outraged. They considered the baby girl to be not only a burden, but an embarrassment to the family. This time they insisted that the baby be killed. The woman knew that with this second girl, her husband’s family would kill her baby themselves, so she ran away with both of her girls. … But she had no means to support them, and she could not hide.”
Harm tensed with frustration, as he proceeded with the tale, “But she had to run. She knew how babies were slaughtered in that area. She knew she would be hunted down and that at least one of her children would be ripped from her and brutally murdered.”
“I can’t even imagine,” said Mac with a queasy feeling in her stomach.
“It was her husband who tracked her down,” said Harm, “and she had never been so scared.”
“What happened?”
“Fortunately, her husband really did love her … and their children. He did not want his baby to die any more than she did. But, they still had a problem, because his family had hired people to search for her and her baby. Those people were instructed to kill any female baby they came across within the town, in case the woman had passed her child off to someone else to keep safe.”
“Killing babies is illegal in India,” said Mac.
“Technically, yes. But the police do little to enforce those laws in some areas, and prosecution is practically non-existent, … at least when families kill their own.”
That thought made Mac sick. “So, what happened?”
Harm sighed. “The husband finally realized that he had a choice to make. Let the culture and society he grew up in dictate the fate of his wife and their children, … or follow his heart. Leave those ways behind and protect his new family.
“… He said he had a dream the night before his wife ran away, warning him to leave with her and their children, because they were in danger.”
“Divine intervention?” asked Mac. She’d had enough of her share of ‘visions,’ to know that some kind of higher power was at play at times.
“Perhaps. … When he realized the threat was real, he made his decision. He found his wife and managed to get her and his girls on a plane with him. They left everything behind. He got a flight to Egypt, and they went into hiding.”
“So how did she end up getting charged for desertion?” Mac wondered.
“It was mere coincidence that the woman ran into some Navy personnel. It was actually her fascination with hanging around them that got some people interested in her. That’s how they found out who she was, and that she was technically a deserter.”
“She wasn’t found guilty for desertion, was she? It wasn’t really her intent to stay away permanently.”
“No, charges were amended to Article 86.”
“UA? But she was essentially held captive.”
“It was all a little sticky with regards to how forced she really was to stay with her husband,” Harm replied.
“I hope she didn’t do any brig time. Sounds like she was already prisoner for far too long.”
“Yeah, there was a softie on the prosecution’s side. She was simply discharged.”
“Softie, huh? Anyone I know?” asked Mac.
“You’re looking at him.”
Mac smiled. “You’ve always been a softie. … What happened to her?”
“She made it back home to her parents who were happy to welcome her and their granddaughters.”
“Her husband?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t hear much about him after I got the story.”
Mac shook her head with regards to the whole situation. “I find it hard to believe that anyone could want to kill a child. And sometimes it’s the girl’s own mother who does it. That thought is horrible enough, but … considering how many couples in the world want children and can’t have babies of their own, it’s … especially abhorrent that healthy baby girls are simply being discarded. They would be so wanted by other people.”
“I agree,” said Harm. After a moment of respect to the subject, he insisted, “… But tell me more about today’s experience. About the delivery.” He wanted to get back to happy thoughts.
“Oh, the Admiral was in his element,” said Mac, grateful for the return to their own happy world. “I think he might have missed his calling as an obstetrician.”
Harm chuckled. “Now there is one guy who really is a softie underneath the tough exterior.”
“Yeah. You should have seen him holding the baby after he was born. … The Admiral was practically glowing,” Mac told Harm.
“… Did you get to hold the baby?” Harm wondered.
“No. … I wanted to,” said Mac, regretting that she had not been able to cradle the child, “but there were a lot more important people for the baby to be with.” She shrugged, “… I helped the mother as much as I could.”
“Was it a difficult labor?”
Mac lifted an eyebrow. “I think any labor is difficult without anesthesia, … probably even with anesthesia if you talk to most mothers.”
After a moment, she added, “I’m sure it’s worth it though.” There was a longing in her eyes. “When you see the result. A precious, … cute little being who is a part of you, … who you helped create. Someone who you get to watch and to help grow and develop from the very beginning. … Someone to give your unconditional love and support to.”
“You’re jealous,” said Harm. It was not an accusation, and not meant to tease Mac. It was a simple observation.
“Not jealous exactly,” answered Mac, but she knew what Harm was picking up on. Diverting things slightly, but keeping with a related topic, she added, “… I’m happy for Bud and Harriet.”
“What do Bud and Harriet have to do with anything?”
Mac looked at Harm with surprise. “You didn’t hear?”
“Apparently not.”
“Harriet’s pregnant. … She just found out today,” Mac informed him. She had known Harm hadn’t made it to the Roberts’ house in time to hear the official announcement, but she would have thought someone would have mentioned it to Harm later.
Harm’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Yep.”
He smiled. “That is good news. … But you dodged the question.”
“What was the question?”
“You want a baby of your own, don’t you?”
---
TBC ...
--
A/N: Thanks for hanging with me. ... The next part is a lot more fun -- still Harm and Mac.
Also, I have been and hope to continue posting daily -- which is really quite amazing in and of itself. Just a reminder that, with this being a moderated site, I can't make any guarantees about when the posts actually get approved and made visible, especially if I don't get to post early in the day. ... I'm just happy the site exists and that my stuff does get posted :0) And even happier when there is feedback posted for me!
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