In
this episode, Harm and Bud are taking on the defense of a case that
happened in 1989. Harm believes this man's attorney at the time
didn't do a thorough job of investigating and defending the man at his
first trial. Mac will be prosecuting the case. The man he will be
defending is Lt. Commander Teresa Coulter's (played once again by Trisha
Yearwood) father. She comes to Harms office to ask him not to take
the case. Even though they are friends, Harm still will defend her
father to the best of his abilities, against her wishes because he
believes her father to be innocent.
Tiner
and the other members of the JAG office also in the episode finally get to
meet the Admiral's girlfriend Dr. Sydney Walden, whom we remember from the
episode when Mac went to Australia and they met in the airport.
Tiner is so surprised that even though she says she doesn't want anything
to drink, he plans on bringing in three different drinks for her.
Typical Tiner.
One
of the witnesses that Harm wants is Teresa's ex-husband whom was seen
arguing with her mother the day she was killed. Teresa is not
happy about this and confronts Harm about bringing her ex husband into it.
He still tells Bud after she leaves to find the ex. Because of the
tensions and the friendship between Harm and Teresa, Bud is the one to
question her on the witness stand.
After
Harm and Mac going over the various reports of what happened and the
autopsy, it is found that Teresa's father did not kill her mother but
instead her mother killed herself after an argument with her father.
She turned on a furnace that wasn't supposed to be turned out because it
was not functioning correctly at which time she laid down on the bed and
fell asleep only to never wake up. In the end of the episode, Mac
convinces Teresa that she needs to make things right with her dad which is
something that Mac never really got to do with hers.
Harm
puts finding the truth above friendship in this fast paced episode dealing
with the death of Teresa Coulter's mother, who we found out iin THE RETURN
OF JIMMY BLACKHORSE and NOBODY'S CHILD was killed by her father.
The show starts out in 1989 when Teresa came home and found her parent's
house a wreck and her mother dead on the bed.
Not knowing that the Navy officer he is defending is Teresa's father, Harm
takes the case. Mac prosecutes. Teresa shows up at his office and asks him
not to take the case. She then explains who the man he is defending is to
her. Harm explains to her that he didn't know, but is still going to take
the case.
One of the witnesses that is going to testify is Teresa's ex-husband, Rory
Coulter. When Teresa finds out, she goes to Harm.
"IF
YOU VALUE OUR FRIENDSHIP, YOU WON'T PUT MY EX-HUSBAND ON THE STAND."
Standing in his office, you can see how much Harm respects the friendship
that he and Teresa have. He knows it's going to hurt her, but he has to do
it anyway for his client. When Teresa storms out, Harm gives Bud the okay
to find Rory.
Rory is brought in for questioning by Harm. When the questioning gets to
intense for Rory, he walks out.
Meanwhile, the Admiral is trying to reserve a plot for a female Lieutenant
who thinks she's dying of cancer. She wants the plot next to her parents,
but it's reserved for someone else. The Admiral provides the comedy in
this episode with the the scene where he's trying to get into the
Arlington National Cemetery phone lines to talk to someone. A recorded
voice asks him silly questions and finally he hangs up and goes to the
head of the Cemetery himself.
When
Sydney shows up at the Admiral's office, everyone is shocked by their new
discovery.
"CAN I GET YOU SOME COFFEE OR WATER OR SODA?" Tiner asks her.
"NO, I'M FINE."
"WELL, I THINK I'LL BRING YOU ALL THREE JUST IN CASE."
When Tiner leaves, the Admiral looks his girlfriend over.
"YOU LOOK LUMINOUS."
"WELL, YOU LOOK VIGOROUS." An inside joke for those who watched DANGER
ZONE.
Harm interrupts them. He, too, is shocked to know that the Admiral is
seeing someone. When Sydney mentions that he and Renee should get together
with them, Harm agrees, but not before seeing the dirty look the Admiral
gives him. He leaves them alone shortly after that.
Mac and Teresa find Rory living at a mobile home park in Virginia Beach.
Teresa asks him flat out if he killed her mother and he tells her no. She
believes him, but Rory shows up missing a few days later making him look
guilty.
The trial begins and Teresa is put on the stand along with several other
witnesses. Because of Harm's friendship with Teresa, Bud, as second chair,
questions her. She tells him that her father abused her mother and that he
left the house. Bud mentions that Rory was also seen arguing with her
mother putting reasonable doubt of Rory's innocence into their defense.
Going back to the Admiral, he finds out that a General has the plot
reserved and the Admiral heads to his house to talk with him. The General
tells him the only reason he got it was because it had a great view of the
sunset. He agrees to give the plot over if the Admiral will dance with a
widowed woman whose after the General. The Admiral agrees.
While
Harm and Mac both go over the records of Ellen's death, they both catch
certain things that weren't seen earlier. For one, Teresa found that
Ellen's blow to the head didn't caus her death and Harm finds out that the
broken furnace was being worked on around the time of the death.
Teresa agrees to have her mother's body exhumed for testing. When it comes
back that Ellen committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning Teresa is
shocked. Her father is found innocent.
The Lieutenant that came to the Admiral about the plot comes to him again
elated. She had a second opinion and found out that she isn't dying. They
both get a good laugh over it.
"WELL, ENJOY YOUR LIFE, LIEUTENANT." The Admiral tells her before she
leaves. Another comedic turn comes when the Admiral stops at Arlington
with Sydney to survey the plot that was reserved.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE GENERAL WAS TALKING ABOUT. THE SUN SETS OVER THERE
AND THIS TREE. THIS TREE IS DECIDUOUS. THE LEAVES WILL FALL AND MESS THIS
WHOLE PLACE UP."
"AJ."
"AW, LET'S GO." He puts her arm around her and they go back to his car.
In a touching scene outside of the courtroom, Mac and Teresa talk about
thier fathers. Mac and Harm both tell her to go talk to him. As the show
ends, Teresa walks towards her father.
"HI." That is the first word she said to him in ten years.
"HI."He says back.
In
this episode, Harm and Bud are taking on the defense of a case that
happened in 1989. Harm believes this man's attorney at the time
didn't do a thorough job of investigating and defending the man at his
first trial. Mac will be prosecuting the case. The man he will be
defending is Lt. Commander Teresa Coulter's (played once again by Trisha
Yearwood) father. She comes to Harms office to ask him not to take
the case. Even though they are friends, Harm still will defend her
father to the best of his abilities, against her wishes because he
believes her father to be innocent. 
Tiner
and the other members of the JAG office also in the episode finally get to
meet the Admiral's girlfriend Dr. Sydney Walden, whom we remember from the
episode when Mac went to Australia and they met in the airport.
Tiner is so surprised that even though she says she doesn't want anything
to drink, he plans on bringing in three different drinks for her.
Typical Tiner.
One
of the witnesses that Harm wants is Teresa's ex-husband whom was seen
arguing with her mother the day she was killed. Teresa is not
happy about this and confronts Harm about bringing her ex husband into it.
He still tells Bud after she leaves to find the ex. Because of the
tensions and the friendship between Harm and Teresa, Bud is the one to
question her on the witness stand. 
Harm
puts finding the truth above friendship in this fast paced episode dealing
with the death of Teresa Coulter's mother, who we found out iin THE RETURN
OF JIMMY BLACKHORSE and NOBODY'S CHILD was killed by her father. 
"IF
YOU VALUE OUR FRIENDSHIP, YOU WON'T PUT MY EX-HUSBAND ON THE STAND." 
When
Sydney shows up at the Admiral's office, everyone is shocked by their new
discovery. 
While
Harm and Mac both go over the records of Ellen's death, they both catch
certain things that weren't seen earlier. For one, Teresa found that
Ellen's blow to the head didn't caus her death and Harm finds out that the
broken furnace was being worked on around the time of the death. 
