Disclaimer: The Characters aren't mine. They belong to Mr. Bellasario

Decisions, Decisions

What happened after the credits rolled on Heroes:

The Admiral leaned over the bar and whispered gruffly, "Get your ass in my office, Mr. Rabb. Now." Harm's heart stopped. He thought the reaming out he'd gotten from the judge and then from the Admiral earlier had been the end of the fiasco. But now, he was pretty sure the judge had reignited the fire.

"The court accepts your apology, and will leave any disciplinary action up to the discretion of your commanding officer."

Harm dropped his briefcase on his desk, straightened his jacket and tie and reluctantly headed to Admiral Chegwidden's office for what he was sure was going to be another loud, unpleasant conversation.

"Go on in, Commander. He's expecting you," Tiner said, sheepishly.

"I know Tiner. I know," Harm answered, shaking his head slightly before knocking on the door.

"Enter!" The command was a bit more forceful than usual. Not a good sign. Harm obeyed, and quickly shut the door. No sense in letting any more bile out of the room than absolutely necessary.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Ohhh yes, Commander." Then he barked into the intercom, "Tiner, we are not to be interrupted."

"Aye aye, sir," the intercom responded.

Admiral Chegwidden turned his attention to the Lt. Commander standing in front of him, walking around to stand directly in front of Harm, who was standing at stiff attention. "I believe we covered most points of my displeasure at our last meeting, Mr. Rabb."

"Then why are we here, Sir?" Harm asked, not daring to move.

The Admiral's chin jutted out even more than usual – never the prelude to anything good. "Commander, are you really that stupid?" he demanded. "Did you honestly think after firing a weapon inside a full courtroom that I was going to let you off with a slap on the wrist? I don't think so. The arrogance and idiocy you showed in that courtroom and the arrogance you are currently demonstrating have done nothing more than confirm that I've made the right decision."

"Decision, Sir?" Harm asked, glancing sideways with his eyes, as he was still standing at attention.

The Admiral continued to glare at his subordinate for a moment, then moved back behind his desk. Opening a lower desk drawer, he pulled something out. "Commander, do you know what this is?"

Harm looked at the object in the Admiral's hand and his heart stopped for the second time that day. "Yes, sir," he said, swallowing hard.

"Well, what is it, Commander?" the Admiral asked, impatiently.

Harm swallowed again, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a long-forgotten memory.

Harm knew he wasn't supposed to touch his step-father's tools. He knew that, but he just wanted to try them out, nothing more. If only the hammer hadn't gotten away from him. If that hadn't happened, the window wouldn't have broken, and he wouldn't be in his current, rather uncomfortable position…

"It's a…paddle. Sir," Harm answered nervously.

"And do you know what it's used for?"

"Yes, sir. I am familiar with its use," Harm answered, even more nervously. "Sir, you don't really intend to…use that, do you?"

"Mr. Rabb, I have every intention of using it, and have for the past 24 hours."

Harm was startled. "You've been planning this all along, Sir?" The Admiral chewed thoughtfully on his lip, but said nothing. "Then, Sir, if you don't mind my asking, why did you wait until now? Why didn't you just do it yesterday when you had me in here in the first place?"

The Admiral softened a bit. "I didn't want to interfere with your ability to try your case. I decided to wait until the hearing was over." He stopped to look at Harm, who was clearly squirming, in spite of still standing at attention. "At ease, Rabb. You have done some pretty stupid things since you've been here at JAG, but this is, by far, the absolute worst. There is no way in hell, I'm letting you get away with it. Now, either I write you up and tarnish your already less-than-perfect record, or, we deal with this non-judicially. I am not completely unreasonable, Commander, so the choice is yours."

"Mine, Sir?"

"Yours, Commander. I think this is the best way to deal with your childish behavior, but if you disagree, I will respect that, and we'll handle your situation through official channels."

"Admiral, couldn't you just assign some TAD or something?" Harm asked, hopefully.

"No, Commander, I could not. First of all, you already have far too much on your plate. When on earth would you have time for TAD? And second, this is not up for discussion. I have given you the only two options I have any intention of giving you. Now, what are we doing here, Commander?" the Admiral replied, his patience once again growing thin.

Harm shifted uncomfortably and considered his options.

He was staring at the floor, listening to his step-father lecture him on irresponsibility, disobedience and childish behavior. He felt the hand on his back, holding him down across the man's lap. He could hear the paddle turning in his large hand. Before he knew it, the lecture was finished…

"Sir?" The Admiral raised his eyebrows. "May I have some time to think about it?"

"No, Commander, you may not. I want your answer now, or I will simply take away the privilege of choice."

Harm took a deep breath. "You're sure about this, Sir?" The look from the Admiral left no doubt in Harm's mind that he was, in fact, sure. "All right, Sir. We'll do it your way," he finally answered reluctantly. There was no way this was going to end well.

The Admiral nodded. "You know what to do?" It was a rhetorical question, which Harm wisely saw for what it was. With a sigh, he bent over and put his hands on the edge of the Admiral's desk. The Admiral walked briefly back to his desk, picked up the paddle, and moved back behind Harm.

Harm sensed the Admiral was hesitating. But about the time that thought made it to the other side of his brain, the Admiral had stopped hesitating. The paddle slammed into him and he caught his breath. It had been years since he'd been in this position and the years had dulled the memory of how bad a paddling can be. While he reveled in this thought, the Admiral had landed two more well-placed swats. Harm was starting to remember why he had hesitated in accepting the Admiral's non-judicial punishment. His Navy-issued slacks offered very little protection where he was needing it at the moment. Four more swats and he had to admit that he was in a fair amount of pain – enough that he was forgetting how embarrassing his situation was. The paddle landed fifteen times before the Admiral stopped.

"Stand up, Rabb." Harm obeyed, with a bit of difficulty. "Do you think I've made my point, Commander?"

"Yes," Harm cleared his throat, "Sir."

"Good. Because I believe that future infractions will be dealt with in a similar manner. Although, I might remind you that as a SEAL, I've been known to wield more than one type of weapon, if you know what I mean."

Harm cleared his throat again, "I believe I do, Sir."

Admiral Chegwidden looked hard at Harm for a moment. Secretly, he was checking that he hadn't done too much damage. Harm looked to be in pain, but no worse for wear. Turning away to look out the window, he said simply, "That will be all, Commander."

"Aye, sir," Harm responded, snapping to attention, and then wincing at the resurgence of pain in his backside. He left the room and headed straight to his office, talking to no one on the way, even Bud who tried to intercept him.

Harm shut his office door and flopped down in his chair. And then, rather suddenly, stood up. Sitting would have to wait for a while. He reached back to rub some of the pain out of his rear, but it didn't help at all. A knock on the door made him jump. It could only be one person…

Without waiting for an answer, Mac pushed the door open, entered Harm's office and closed the door behind her. Harm had his back to her, looking out the window. "Harm," she ventured. He did not turn around. "Harm, what did the Admiral say?"

Still not turning around, Harm answered quietly, "Not much. And a ton."

"I don't understand. What happened?" Mac asked, moving across the room, and putting a hand on Harm's shoulder. She slowly, pulled him around to face her. His face was red, and he was moving stiffly. "Harm, what happened?" she asked again.

Harm sighed, "Let's just say, I won't be shooting up anymore courtrooms any time soon."

Mac grinned, "He really chewed your six, huh?"

Harm returned the grin, "Yeah, something like that."

"Can I get you anything?" Mac asked quietly, rubbing Harm's arm.

"Yeah, got an ice pack?" Harm grinned wider at the shocked look on Mac's face. "Let me give you some advice, Mac. If the Admiral ever let's you make a decision, just assume it's a trap."