Title: A Long Weekend at Camp
Author: rooster dawn
Pairing: Harm/Mac
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: The Admiral invites the staff to Camp Maplewood for a weekend of bonding. Harm and Mac have fun with their friends movements.
Feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed.
Author's note: My teen years were spent camping for several weeks on a large lake each the summer. We used to go swimming, canoeing to an island with blueberries, and just having fun.
This story will reflect that time. We slept in a tent, but we had what is called a bunk house kitchen with electricity, a frig, and a propane gas stove. It was a place to eat meals, play cards, and get out of the rain.
part one Notification of the troops
1000 hours
Monday
1 July 2002
Headquarters
The Admiral called Harm and Mac into his office. He wanted to plan something special for the long upcoming fourth of July weekend. It was a longer weekend than normal, four days this year instead of the usual three.
Some old colleagues were in town visiting; Meg Austin, Carolyn Imes, and Caitlin Pike. He also heard that the fleet was in at Norfolk and some old friends of Harm were coming to Washington for a visit.
He was thinking about inviting everyone to his house for a barbeque on one those days. He wanted to know what they thought about the idea.
"Have any plans for the long weekend Commander?" asked AJ."Nothing definite Sir. Why?" replied Harm."Some old acquaintances of yours are coming to town for this weekend. I was thinking about scheduling a barbeque for one of the days." explained AJ."Mac and I were thinking about going camping Sir. We were going to fly out to the western part of the state. Maybe do some hiking and sailing. Was there a particular day you were thinking about Sir?" asked Harm.
He really didn't want to spend any time with the Admiral. He had been planning on spending this weekend alone with Mac for quite some time now. He might be willing to give up an afternoon if he had to, but not a weekend."I was thinking about Saturday, but I like your idea much better. I know the Colonel at the Marine training facility at Camp Maplewood. I'm sure he can put us up for a few days." smiled AJ."Are you sure about this Sir? Do you think anyone would want to go Sir?" asked Mac. She had been relishing the idea of spending a long weekend away from Washington alone with Harm. Time with Harm was always better when they were out of Washington."Of course they will, I'm the Admiral. It will be like one of those corporate outings things that I've heard and have been reading about. Everyone will have the opportunity to bond and depend on each other." smiled AJ thinking about all the possibilities.
"Yes Sir. How many people were you planning on being there Sir?" asked Mac.
"I think sixteen people would be an appropriate number. I think I'll call Mic. I think he would welcome the opportunity to see old friends too." chuckled AJ.
1700 hours
Monday
1 July 2002
Headquarters
The Admiral called Harm and Mac into his office. He wanted to update them on his plans for the upcoming fourth of July weekend. He had called Colonel Creswell about bringing some of his people to Camp Maplewood.
The Colonel, like any good marine officer, knew it was better to make an effort to accommodate the Admiral rather than trying to come up with some half bake excuse as to why he didn't want the Admiral and his people there. He set aside an area large enough to hold twenty people.
There was a small enclosed kitchen area with a stove to cook meals and refrigerator to store away any perishable food they brought with them. There was screen in dining area for meals or a place to get out of the rain if necessary. The forecast was for four sunny days.
"Commander, Colonel, we're all set. Colonel Creswell has confirmed our reservation." smiled AJ."Yes Sir. If you want Sir, Harm and I can handle mess duties for the weekend. We'll handle getting all the food, Sir." replied Mac."Sounds good Colonel, thank you. I'll have Gunny and Tiner arrange for some tents, bedrolls, and eating utensils. I'll take care of the liquid refreshments." smiled AJ. He was salivating about the upcoming weekend.
He enjoyed spending time with his people, unfortunately it wasn't very often and not of long duration. This weekend would be great, it would be special. He could take time to relax and spend more time with each of them."Yes Sir!" replied Harm and Mac.
"That reminds me, I need to arrange for some daily activities with Colonel Creswell. We don't need to have idle bodies with nothing to do all day." smiled AJ.
1000 hours
Wednesday
3 July 2002
Headquarters
Harm and Mac were talking together in Harm's office. They were discussing their plans for the long weekend when Jack Keeter, Elizabeth Skates Hawkes, Caitlin Pike, and Meg Austin walked into his office.
"What are you all doing here?" exclaimed Harm as he gave Jack, Caitlin, Skates, and Meg a hug.
"We came to see you old buddy. We heard that this was supposed to be a special weekend for you." replied Jack with a grin.
"I don't know who told you that Jack. Mac, you know Jack. This is Caitlin Pike, she was my first partner here at Jag. This is Meg Austin, she was my partner before you." introduced Harm.
"Nice to meet you Mac. I've heard that you have been his partner for six years. I can't imagined how you've been able to manage that. I had a tough enough time working with him for six months." laughed Kate.
"Must be all her marine combat training." laughed Meg. "I could never keep him in line."
"He can be a handful at times, but I have never known anyone as special as Harm. He's been great to work with. I couldn't ask for a better partner." replied Mac.
"They must be in love." smirked Skates as the others chuckled.
"Enough with the touchy feely stuff, when can you get out of here Harm?" asked Jack.
"We have a staff meeting at 1200 hours Jack. Why don't we go to the diner down the street for some coffee." smiled Harm. He wanted to tell them what the Admiral had planned for them.
1200 hours
Headquarters
Everyone was milling around in the bullpen. The Admiral had sent a e-mail to everyone at 0900 hours Tuesday morning that there would be a meeting of all special personnel at 1200 hours Wednesday.
Harm was surprised to see Mic talking with Gunny. They were all hoping that the Admiral would keep the meeting short and dismiss everyone for the long holiday weekend.
"I have a special announcement for everyone. As you all know there's a long weekend coming up and some of you might have had plans, but as everyone here knows, I didn't authorize any four day passes to accommodate anyone. That is because I have arranged for a special weekend getaway for everyone at Camp Maplewood." smiled the Admiral.
"Isn't that the camp where the marines go to train for their Physical Readiness Test?" asked Bud to a chorus of moans. Bud was being his usual self serving pain in the donkey self trying to impress the Admiral.
He had a way of letting everybody know he knew everything about all nonessential information which irritated many to no end.
"That's right Mr. Roberts. The marines have offered their training facilities to us for the long weekend. It's been a while since the Jag family has had the opportunity to get together and bond. There will be games and activities for everyone to enjoy." continued the Admiral.
"But Sir!" moaned everyone.
"I expect to see everyone back here at 1400 hours in your woodland BDU's along with a change of casual clothing for four days, swimming gear, personal hygiene gear, and mess gear. Sleeping bags and tents will be provided by the Marines. Each tent will sleep two. Dismiss!" smiled the Admiral.
Everyone returned to headquarters by 1400 hours. They weren't very happy about it. Many of them had planned to go away for the weekend.
They loaded their gear into the back of the AJ's large truck. The food for the weekend was placed in the back of Harm's SUV since he was running the mess hall.
Gunny went along with the AJ in his truck. Mac, Jack, and Skates went with Harm in his SUV. Jen and Jason rode with the Roberts in their minivan.
Caitlin, Meg, and Carolyn went with Loren in her new BMW convertible leaving Mic to travel alone in Sturgis's vintage 1988 Ford Pinto. Mic didn't want to take any chances of having his Porsche being mysteriously damaged by unknown sources.
"Where did you find this heap of junk?" asked Mic. "Are you sure it isn't going to break down on the side of the road?"
"It's not that bad. She only has two hundred and twenty thousand miles on her. She's good for another five at least." smiled Sturgis as he saw the look of disgust on Mic's face.
"Not funny Commander, I don't think they make the parts to fix this bucket of bolts anymore. I serious doubt it can be safely towed more than a mile to any garage." shivered Mic.
1630 hours
Camp Maplewood
parking lot
The Jag convoy arrived at Camp Maplewood at 1630 hours where they unloaded all their gear. The Admiral split the gear and food among the sixteen people before their hike to their camp site. He had taken the beer and soft drinks to the camp site yesterday.
"Alright everyone! Everyone has their pack properly situated." smiled AJ. "For this weekend I don't want to hear the word Admiral, Colonel, Commander, or any other designation of rank. I'm AJ. Anyone who calls me Admiral will have cleanup duty."
"How far is it to the camp Sir?" asked Jason.
"I see we have our first volunteer for cleanup duty." smiled AJ. Harm and Mac had volunteered to do the cooking.
"It's a ten mile trek to base camp. So we don't have a lot of time to waste. The longer it takes to get there, the more likely you will be putting your tents up in the dark. So let's not dilly dally around people." There was a chorus of moans from the group.
AJ decided that Gunny would lead the way. He would maintain a reasonable pace so that everyone should be able to keep up. He didn't want the group to be scattered over a mile or two in the woods.
He wanted some military precision since they would be staying at a marine camp. There would be a few marines there to help with the activities that he had plan. He didn't want the navy to be a laughing stock for the marines.
He would bring up the rear to make sure there were no stragglers. He expected Bud, Harriet, and maybe Singer to fall behind without proper encouragement.