Directed by Bradford May
Written by Paul J Levine
"Family Secrets", JAG Season 6 episode. Not to be confused with the Season 8 episode "Family Business".
Lt. Roberts is still trying to figure out why his daughter, Sarah Roberts, namesake of Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, died from birth complications. He goes to the hospital to ask questions. Before the nurse clams up, she does reveal that Commander Gettis (Laurence Lau) is brilliant, but arrogant and halfway checked out to private practice and a high 6-figures income.
Because the medical staff are active-duty military personnel, Roberts can't sue the government because of the Farris doctrine. But if Dr. Gettis was derelict in his duties, he can be sued for his individual part in the tragedy.
Roberts and his wife, Lt. Sims (Karri Turner), visit Mr. Mic Brumby (Trevor Goddard) at his law firm. But Brumby can't take the case. In fact, his firm has been retained by Gettis and now Mic might have to defend Gettis. But Mic didn't know that Roberts and Sims were the affected couple.
Mic asks Larry Kaliski (Scott Williamson), one of the partners at the firm, to not assign him to that case, but Kaliski refuses and Mic quits, forcing Kaliski to defend Gettis at his court-martial.
Mac is assigned to prosecute, and Chegwidden orders Roberts to stay away from the case. But of course Roberts doesn't listen, and butts into a conversation between Mac and Kaliski, declaring he'd trust Mac with his life, and calling Kaliski "a money-grubbing shyster." Mac is shocked by Roberts's rudeness and chastises him for it.
Gunnery Sergeant Galindez (Randy Vasquez) is showing Petty Officer Tiner (Chuck Carrington) the CompuSpy system, which the military uses to find personnel who are absent without leave. Tiner uses the system to find that his law professor is a member of the Sesquipedalian Society, and hopes to use this information to get better grades in class.
Roberts asks Tiner if he's thought about simply studying more. Roberts has Galindez use the CompuSpy system on Gettis, leading to the discovery that Gettis was taking a Porsche for a test drive when Sims was starting to suffer from a prolapse.
That's very damning evidence, but it's probably not enough for Gettis to be found guilty. Roberts thinks that Sims's testimony will bring it home. Except instead Sims is forced to reveal that she had been pregnant before marrying or even meeting her husband. She had suffered complications, but didn't think it relevant for either of her later pregancies.
Kaliski posits that if Gettis had known about the prior pregnancy complications, he might have been able to prepare for or maybe even prevent the complications that claimed Sarah Roberts's life. Gettis is found not guilty. Sims asks Roberts to forgive her, but instead he asks her to forgive him. Her happiness is more important to him than any court case.
Meanwhile, Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. gets the bad news from Agent Webb (Steven Culp) that his half-brother, Russian Army Sergeant Sergey Zhukov, involved in The Chechnya Wars, is now missing in action. Of course Rabb wants to go over there to look for him, even though he doesn't know the language, has no standing and no support. Chegwidden orders Rabb not to travel abroad, so Rabb starts thinking about resigning his commission.
Later, Webb tells Rabb that Zhukov is now a prisoner of war, and that a story about their father, Lt. Rabb, Sr., in the Washington Post, might convince the Chechens to treat Zhukov humanely. Rabb Jr. must now travel to San Diego, because he hasn't told his mother about Zhukov and doesn't want her to find out from a newspaper.
Trish (Christina Pickles) isn't mad at Harmon Sr. for having a child with another woman, she's mad at him for her "lonely heart" and for missing Harmon Jr.'s life.
Back at JAG headquarters, Webb Rabb Jr. that Zhukov will be part of a prisoner exchange. Now there's nothing for Rabb to do in Russia, and his resignation is null and void.
Mac moves Mic's ring from her right hand to her left hand. They will soon set a date for their wedding.
Tropes
- Continuity Nod to 'Legacy (Part II)': Chegwidden mentions Colonel General Krylov, who tried to have Rabb killed by Chechen rebels and framed Zhukov for the very crime Krylov was under suspicion of.
- Hypocrite: Roberts tells Tiner that the CompuSpy system is not to be used for personal purposes. Then he turns around and has Galindez use the system to find incriminating evidence against Gettis.
- Unprocessed Resignation: Rabb writes a letter of resignation so he can go look for his brother in Chechnya despite Chegwidden's refusal to let him travel to Russia. Once Webb reassures Rabb that Zhukov is more or less safe, Chegwidden tells Rabb there's no reason for him to resign now. Since Rabb failed to provide the letter in triplicate, it's invalid, and Chegwidden rips it up.
- Whip Pan: With a slight whoosh sound, just before Kaliski's closing statement.
- Writers Cannot Do Math: Chastising Roberts for his lack of professionalism, Mac mentions that she will be filling out the lieutenant's evaluation (fitrep) in a few weeks. She asks how she should rate him for judgement or military bearing. "If there was a number lower than 1, it would be too high." Of course there are numbers lower than 1, like 0 and −1, to name just two. The finer points of elementary number theory elude Mac in her ire. What she probably meant to say is that the evaluation form has 1 as the lowest rating and that is way more than Roberts deserves.
