All the usual disclaimers apply. Bellasario Productions and Paramount own them. No money changes hands as a result of this little endeavor. Hopefully we’re all still having fun.


Birthday Series Part 13 (As corrected)

Facing The Music

Manly Arms B&B
Harm & Mac’s room
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003
0830 Local

I open my eyes to the most wonderful sight in the world: Harmon Rabb, Jr. asleep in bed with me. Normally we fall asleep with him on his back and me kinda tucked into his arm, resting my head on his shoulder. We’ve been waking up spooned, his body wrapped around mine from behind as if he wants to cover my six even when he’s dreaming.

‘Normally’? I think to myself. We’ve only slept together three nights (if you don’t count the Appalachians, Afghanistan and Russia, which I really don’t) and I’m thinking about this as ‘normally’?

Boy, he’s not the only one who’s taken to this whole ‘us’ thing like a duck to water. Uhmm, I wonder if that was the hidden meaning of the rubber duck.

In any case, this morning I wake up facing him. Briefly I study how he looks in repose. Most relaxed. Well, I’m gonna claim credit for at least part of how relaxed he is. Woohoo! Maybe if he woke up he’d need to get relaxed again?

Delicately I trace my finger around his ear lobe. “Mmhmm.” Who would have guessed his ears were so sensitive?

Leaning forward I whisper, “Harm, are you awake?”

OK, I know that’s a stupid question ‘cause I’m in the process of trying to get him awake but seems kinder than ‘attention on deck’.

“I am now. And I know a certain Marine Colonel who is going to pay dearly for the privilege of waking me up.” Mumbled, sleepy but decipherable.

I peek under the covers. “I don’t know Harm, I think I see some very compelling evidence that at least part of you is quite awake and happy about it.”

His eyes fly open. “You’re leering at me while I sleep? You’re taking advantage of me while I slumber?” This is the lawyer zeroing in on a witness. I’ve seen it a thousand times.
“Yes.” Matter-of-factly owning up to it takes a little of the wind out of his sails, but not, I’m most gratified to see, the strength out of his mast.

“I take it by this cavalier admission to your guilt, you find no shame in this?” He’s trying to regroup for the members that, thankfully, are not in the room watching this exchange.

“Nope, none at all. In fact, I intend to do it again. Right now.” With glee I flip the covers back, sit up and brazenly grin at what I see.

“The way I figure it, Harm, is we have to go back to DC today, and time’s a wasting.” Draping myself over him I begin to give him a much finer wake-up call than reveille.

JAG Ops
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003
0800 Local

I stride into JAG Ops for the first time since Friday, the familiar cry of “Admiral on deck”going out. It’d taken longer for me to sort through my aunt’s will and all the paperwork for her Bed and Breakfast than I had anticipated, but I’m confident all her matters are now in order. ‘Not that she probably won’t outlive me,’ I think to myself.

Passing Petty Officer Coates at her desk in my outer office, I pause. “Coates, give me 15 minutes to collect my thoughts, then get the SecNav on the phone if you can.”

“Yes, sir. Coffee, sir?”

‘Intravenously if possible’ I mutter to myself. “Please.”

In my office I pace behind my desk. Back and forth in front of the windows. Coates brings in the coffee, silently sets it on the desk and makes a hasty retreat. She clearly senses something is brewing besides coffee this morning and intends to stay out of it.

‘Jeez, like they couldn’t have picked a worse time to finally get together?’ Staffing is short, I can’t afford to transfer one of them. And making out like sex-starved teenagers in the middle of a public street!

Well, at least they hadn’t been in uniform.

And considering how many years they’ve been storing up the unsatisfied sexual tension it’s lucky they weren’t doing more than just passionately kissing.

What did Mac say? They first let ‘physics take it’s course’ on Saturday? That’s a new euphemism on me. Didn’t realize Newton, Einstein and their cohorts are the latest sex symbols. Whatever.
‘But if they just finally slept together on Saturday, I’m surprised they even were on the street Sunday. Given the years they’ve been holding back...Oh man, by the time they report to duty tomorrow morning I’ll be surprised if they can walk.’ I chuckle at the image of the proud Marine and cocky Naval aviator hobbled by their own appetites.

Briefly I consider the image of those two in bed. Quickly I try to put it out of my mind. ‘Hey, I’m a red-blooded man as much as the next guy and they’re two great specimens, I’ll let me think about it for just 10 seconds.’ Ten seconds later the SEAL training and commanding officer demeanor reasserts itself. But, I have to admit, it was an entertaining 10 seconds I’ll never own up to anyone that I indulged.

Oh, I really need to get my head into this. Gotta figure out a way to convince the SecNav to let me keep them both. After all, it’s worked out fine with Harriet and Bud for years. ‘Course technically she isn’t in my chain of command. But hell, what’s ‘Admiral’s privilege’ worth if not for situations like these?

Rabb and Mac and good officers. I can trust them to maintain the proper level of military decorum in the office. Can’t I?

Images of supply closet clinches, law library back-stack encounters, conference table trysts run horrifyingly through my mind.

Staring out the window I consider if removing the locks on their office doors and taking down the blinds might not be a prudent preemptive strike.

With my back still to the door, I fail to realize Coates didn’t shut it completely. Not that I asked her to.

“Admiral, the SecNav’s on line 2” she says over the intercom.

I pick up the phone, still gazing out the window. “Mr. Secretary.”

“AJ.”

“I need to discuss a personnel matter with you.”

“AJ, I know you need more staffing, I working on it but you do know what kind of budgetary constraints we’re dealing with right now.”

“Yes sir, I do. That’s why I need to discuss this matter with you. It regards two of my senior attorney’s, and I just can’t afford to lose them right now.”

Outside the Admiral’s office, Coates’ ears turn up like sophisticated radar. As luck would have it, Lt. Simms walks up to her desk at the same time.
Frantically, Coates puts her finger to her lips, her other hand behind her ear and looks meaningfully at the Admiral’s partially open door.

Harriet, always alert for inside information (at least that’s how she thinks of it, some people call it gossip), leans back slightly toward the door to improve her chances of hearing every word.

“Yes, sir. Very senior, sir. In fact, they’re my best.”

Harriet and Jenn snap their eyes to each other. No doubt about who he’s talking about, is there?

“No, Webb is not trying to steal them away for another one of his harebrained missions. This is more permanent. They want to get married.”

I briefly wonder what that loud crash was outside my office. Have to check into that in a bit.

“Yes, sir. Married. Well no, sir. They weren’t really fraternizing. Yes, I know sir, either you are or you aren’t, usually. But these two have had a ‘special connection’ for years. No, they haven’t been fraternizing for years.”

“AJ, you really expect me to believe that Rabb and MacKenzie have decided to get married without having,” OK, I can tell he’s trying to be delicate about this, “fraternized?”

“I believe they’ve only been fraternizing since this past Saturday.”

“So that is who we’re talking about.”

“Yes, sir. It is.”

Outside the office Jenn is putting a cold damp cloth on Harriet’s forehead and trying to keep her from fainting.

Bud rushes up, having heard the crash as his wife dropped a stack of files and collapsed in the chair outside the Admiral’s door.

“What’s going on? Sweetie, are you alright? Jenn, call the corpsman on duty!”

“Mr. Secretary, could you hold on for a moment, please? There’s some disturbance in the office. Thank you, sir.”

“What’s going on out here?”

“Harriet’s just feeling a little lightheaded sir. You know that can happen to a pregnant woman. I’ve called the corpsman on duty to check her out. Probably just needs to drink some orange juice.” Jenn explains most reasonably.
I stare at Lt. Roberts. “Again? You do know it’s possible to sleep at night, right?”

Walking back into my office I wonder if everyone in my office but me is having a hot and heavy sex life. Need to do something about that. About me, not about them.

“Yes, thank you sir, I’m back. No, nothing more than a pregnant Lieutenant who’s feeling a little dizzy. No sir, JAG Ops is not trying to set the Naval record for sex.”

I sigh. I’m afraid I’m losing this one and I really don’t want to.

“AJ, just how do you propose you keep them both at JAG?”

Now that’s a good sign, I’m starting to see a crack in the facade here. “Well sir, as long as they aren’t assigned as opposing counsel, I don’t think it should present a problem. I’d like to take this as ‘Admiral’s privilege’.”

“I’m sure you would. OK AJ, as long as I don’t hear tales of break room embraces, law library liaisons.”

“You have my word Mr. Secretary.”

“OK, we’ll try it out, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on this, AJ.”


JAG Ops
Lunch Room
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003
1000 Local

“No Bud, once again, I really don’t think I’m pregnant again.”

Bud is frantically hovering. Jenn is cautiously watching. The corpsman who just checked her vitals has pronounced her fine and left. Harriet is sipping orange juice at his suggestion.

“Then why were you feeling faint?” All husbandly concern.

“Because I just found out that the Commander and the Colonel have been, uhmm, fraternizing since his birthday party!”

Bud’s eyes bug.

“And they’re engaged.”

Bud’s mouth drops open.
“And the Admiral was trying to convince the SecNav to let them both stay at JAG.”

Now Bud’s the one who has to sit down suddenly. Jenn goes off to get more orange juice.


Later that afternoon

“Harriet, is there anyone you haven’t told? What if you misheard the Admiral.” Bud’s getting seriously concerned about this. Harriet’s calling it ‘intel’ but it sure seems like gossip about senior officers to him. Fraternizing, conduct unbecoming (although considering how pretty the Colonel is and how handsome the Commander is he bets it was most becoming, allowing himself the same 10 seconds the Admiral gave himself).

“Bud, it’s not like I’m gonna put up a ‘Congratulations’ banner or something,” he pins her with a panicked look...he knows she thought about it. “I just think it will be easier for them if we can all act natural when they report in tomorrow morning.”

“Harriet, don’t you think we could have all acted natural if we didn’t know they’d spent the weekend, you know.”

“Oh Bud.”

Mac’s Apartment
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003
2030 Local

“Mac, can I please stay here with you tonight?” Wow, when Harm’s little boy comes out he really comes out full force.

“You sure you want to? We’ll have to get up an hour earlier so you can go to your apartment for a fresh uniform.” And lord knows how this man does not like to get out of bed.

“Positive. First of all, from now on I don’t want to sleep without you unless absolutely, positively necessary. Second of all, we’re gonna be facing the music with the Admiral tomorrow morning and I want tonight to be as relaxing as possible. In the third place, I don’t have a bathtub at my place and I think we should soak in the tub with our little yellow friend to stand guard, just so we’re safe.”

OK, bubble bath, rubber ducks and an early night’s sleep to get us ready to face the music.

As I snuggle up next to him in bed, “Harm, I don’t think it’s gonna be that bad tomorrow. I mean the Admiral just about ordered us to get married. I think he’ll make a show of busting your chops for the “I’m sick” ruse, but I don’t think the Aleutians are in your future.”

“Hope not, Mac. But if he wants to we’ve given him all the ammunition he needs to put a major hurt on both our careers, not to mention transferring one of us out.”

He’s fretting. “No Harm, that’s not gonna happen. Remember, we’re in this life thing together now. Besides, we have the great 2nd Law on our side...if he throws too much negative energy our way we’ll just change its form.”

“Oh yeah. OK. Sleep well, Mac.” A gentle squeeze, a kiss on my head and he’s out like a light.


JAG Ops
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003
0800 Local

Even with going by Harm’s apartment we’re somehow on time. Good tactic when you know you’re in line to get the riot act, the UCMJ, and the ‘officer and gentleman’ code thrown at you.

We pull into the parking lot (why bother with two cars?) and look at each other intently, gauging our individual and joint mood.

“You ready for this?” We ask each other in unison.

Laughing, I say, “Yes, Harm, we are ready for this.”

Pulling ourselves up to our respective full heights (gotta admit Harm’s got me beat on that front), straightening our uniforms, squaring our shoulders we walk into JAG Ops. Up in the elevator.

The instant before the door open he pulls me to him for a quick kiss. “I love you. Nothing they can do here today can change that.”

“Ditto.” Is all I can get out before the doors open.

I hear us both take a deep breath.

Pulling the doors to the bullpen open, we walk in side-by-side and are hit with a thunderous silence. Everyone in JAG is standing in the bullpen. Even people who don’t work in the bullpen are standing in the bullpen. And they’re all staring at us.

Stops us dead in our tracks. Maybe we are gonna get hung from the nearest yardarm. Then they burst into applause. Catcalls and whistles coming from the younger enlisted men. And over it we hear the sound of a collective humming of “Here Comes The Bride”.

Well, OK. I guess we faced the music. We turn to each other and grin. “Gee, that wasn’t so bad.

finis. not sure if there is any more to this one. let me give it a few days.