The characters of JAG belong to DPB. They just come out and play in my Sandbox every now and again. Then they go back home. This story takes place sometime after The Stalker.
How Do You Spend a Friday Night?
The tall Navy Lt. Commander walked through the front door of JAG-HQ into the cold, late evening air. The office has been squared away for the week-end and office personnel were heading out for whatever Friday night activities they had planned with friends and families. The commander had plans as well, but he was on his own tonight. He walked to his vehicle, fell back into the driver's seat, and hit the ignition. The engine purred to life and was soon bringing the interior temperature to a comfortable level.Lt.Cmrd. Harmon Rabb, Jr. leaned back in the seat as he tossed his cover onto the passenger seat next to him. He contemplated his plans for a Friday evening. He had never done anything like this before, but he knew in his heart this was something he needed to do. He wasn't sure why he needed to do this, but he knew, none the less, he needed to do this, for her.
This woman was special to him. Probably more than any woman he had ever known. She had quickly taken a premier place in his heart. She had become his best friend, the one person he felt he could talk to about anything, well, almost anything. But he couldn't talk to her about this. Even though he was doing this to understand her more and to understand his own feelings, he could not tell her how he had been spending his Friday nights. For a while, at least, this was his secret. He put the SUV into gear and pulled out into the street. As he drove, he thought about what had happened earlier in the week. While he was prepping a client for court, she had walked into the court room drunk. He had never seen her like that before; mean, rude, hateful. In fact, he felt she was almost evil. He had to come to some understanding of this woman and perhaps himself.
He'd been known to throw back a few too many beers in his time. And he'd partied pretty hard with some of his buddies on liberty a time or two. But he could always stop when he wanted. She had admitted she was an alcoholic when they at red Rock Mesa trying to recover the Declaration of Independence from Matthew O'Hara. And he had never seen her take even a sip of anything stronger than tonic water when they were at an official social function. He'd watched her pour champagne in a potted plant on one occasion.
As he continued to drive, he thought about the reason she took that drink before coming into the office that day. It was right after Dalton Lowne had been killed. He had told her it was too soon to come back to work, but she wouldn't listen. That was Mac for you, though. Hard-assed Marine that she was, she'd hide from her problems by jumping chest-deep into her work, instead of facing them head on. Only this time, the work didn't help, and Harm didn't know how to fix this hurt. Maybe he would get some answers tonight.
He pulled his SUV into the parking lot of the library branch and shut off the engine. He sat there for a few minutes before exiting the vehicle. 'Well, here goes,' he thought, as he opened the door. He really didn't know what to expect. He'd never been to one of these meetings before and to be honest, he was a little nervous. What would these people think of him? What should he say? Would they ask him any questions? Would they want to know who he was? 'Ah, hell', he thought." I don't care. This is important.' He finally got out of the vehicle as he saw other people entering the building. He locked the door as he returned his cover to his head, and fell into a small group as they entered the building.
As he followed the group into a large meeting room, he noticed small clusters of people, engaged in small-talk. There were older men and women, even a couple of what looked to be college students, chatting. Over in the corner, stood a young Marine corporal and a Navy ensign talking with an older gentleman in business suit. With his cover under his are, Harm walked over to a coffee maker and started to pour a cup. He looked around the room and shook his head. It seemed like quite a few people were spending Friday night at the same place as he.
He turned around to find the young Marine standing there. "Hello, sir. My name is Travis," the Marine said, as he stuck out his hand. Harm balanced his cup of coffee and shook the young man's hand. The young man's smile spread from ear to ear.
"Hi, I'm Harmon R..." Harm started to say.
"Sir, we only use first names here," the Marine interrupted.
"Then just call me Harm. And let's drop the Sir here.OK?" Harm responded as he flashed his 'Fly-boy' grin. The young man nodded.
"Come on over, and I'll introduce you around, if you like?" Travis said.
Harm followed Travis and was introduced to several of the people gathered in the room. They were a very welcoming group and Harm was soon feeling very comfortable. During the conversation, Harm learned Travis's mother was there for his mother and the ensign told him he was there for his wife. Harm was beginning to think this was going to the way to spend his Friday night.
Harm smiled and said, " I'm here for my best friend, right now. Maybe something more soon."
The gentleman in the business suit walked to the front of the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we should get started. If you will all form a circle and join hands…"
Harm walked to the forming circle and took a place next to the young ensign. "Hi, my name is Bill, and my wife is an alcoholic."