TITLE: A Kiss Is But A Kiss
AUTHOR: Vid Z.
PAIRING: Harm/Jen
WARNINGS: a mega dose of fluff and romance.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show JAG are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
FEEDBACK: I crave it! I mean it.
AN #1: formerly known as "Ride The Winds Of Change", because, frankly, that title sucked.
AN #2: season 9, after "There goes the neighborhood", but Harm is still in his old hole... er... office.
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CMDR. RABB'S OFFICE
Commander Harmon Rabb was elbows deep in his work.
With his dress blues jacket off, tie discarded and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he was the picture of a hard-working man.
But this hard working man was forgetting something.
Something important.
BULLPEN
SAME TIME
Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Coates was making her rounds in the bullpen, delivering case files the General had given her.
Suddenly thinking of something she frowned, looked at her watch and shook her head. 'Cmdr. Rabb is going to miss his appointment if he doesn't leave soon.'
She quickly finished her deliveries and hurried towards Harm's office to make him aware of his predicament.
The side corridor to the former broom closet was, as always, deserted and Jen wasted no time getting there.
HARM'S OFFICE
A FEW MINUTES LATER
At the knock on his door Harm looked up. But before he could say "Enter" the door opened and Jen walked in, closing it behind herself.
Harm was just about to say something about her just walking in when he noticed the anxious look on her face. But before he could ask her what she was doing there she again beat him to it.
"Sir, you have to go now if you don't want to be late."
"What are you talking about, Jen?"
Jen almost rolled her eyes and hurried to explain.
"You have the meeting with the SecNav today. And if you don't leave now, you are going to be late."
Harm's eyes grew wide and he checked his watch. She was right. Damn.
"Crap. Thanks, Jen. I have to hurry."
Quickly he started the shut down procedure on his computer and stuffed his briefcase with the needed documents.
Meanwhile Jen allowed herself a few seconds to enjoy the sight before her before she grabbed Harm's jacket, tie and cover and held it out to him.
Harm turned towards her, took the tie, slung it around his neck and shrugged into his jacket.
Jen decided to help him and quickly tied his tie while Harm buttoned up his dress blues jacket, thus saving him a few precious seconds.
Jen finished just a second before him and straightened it one last time before stepping away.
Harm finished buttoning up, instinctively bent down, kissed a stunned Jen on the lips and said "Thanks, honey."
With that he quickly grabbed his briefcase and his cover and turned towards the door. Just as he reached for the doorknob he realized what he had just done.
He froze in horror and slowly turned around. Jen was looking at him, stunned with shock, eyes wider than he had ever seen and a hand to her lips, which were still tingling from his kiss.
'Crap.' flitted through his mind as the full ramnification of his action sank in. Article 32, Courts Martial and a dishonorable discharge from the Navy for both of them, if anyone were to ever find out.
He knew it could never be enough, but it was all he could say at the moment.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, it was just instictive. I have to go, but we really need to talk tonight."
Jen, still mute, just nodded her head and watched as he left the office for his appointment.
RABB RESIDENCE
10 YEARS LATER
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Jen, dressed in her uniform of a Commander, burst into Harm's office in her and Harm's house.
"Harm, if you don't go now you'll be late for the meeting with other Joint Chiefs of Staff!"
But she needn't have worried as Harm was almost finished getting his files ready.
With what had become a ritual for them over the years, Jen went over to tie Harm's dress blues tiem which he had left undone for just this reason.
When done, Harm bent down and they exchanged a kiss, which revealed a boiling passion which hadn't disappeared even after almost 10 years of marriage. Both knew it never will.
Once they parted due to air depravation, Harm touched his forehead to his wife's and said "Thanks, honey."
Through the years this had become one of his most favorite rituals and he looked forward to Jen doing his tie for him every morning. Even though he was well capable of doing it himself, he still let her tie his tie for him. Neither minded, as it gave them a couple more minutes together and reminded them of how they had gotten together all those years ago.
Jen smiled at Harm and gave him a push out the door, with a quick playful smack on his butt.
She then followed him through the house to the front door to see him off.
Jen she watched from the open doorway as Harm approached the limo, that was at his personal disposal due to his rank and position as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, returned his driver's salute and sent her a kiss before climbing in the back seat.
She knew that the limo wold be returning for her and the kids shortly to drive them to work and school so she walked inside the house to start preparing breakfast for them all. Normally Harm helped her with everything, but today he had an urgent meeting and had to leave early. He was an even better husband and father than she had ever imagined even before they had gotten together.
Soon she was working in the kitchen to provide a healthy meal for the rest of her family. She and Harm had a lot in common, which guaranteed a long, happy and successful marriage. Among their common interests were also their eating habits.
They were both vegetarians and that is how they had also raised their two children, Andrea and Jarod.
(AN: Can anyone guess where I got those names from?)
While she was working her mind drifted back in time to how they got together.
/FLASHBACK TO 10 YEARS BEFORE/
When they had a talk the night after Harm had accidentally kissed her, it came out that neither of them regretted it. But they both knew that nothing could ever come out of it because of the regs and thus they had decided to remain just what they had been until now. Best friends.
After that followed some of the most miserable 3 weeks of their lives. Miserable because they had both acknowledged what they wanted and couldn't act on it.
Soon the General noticed Harm's decline in efficiency and ordered him to sort things out.
Which led Harm to start an extensive study of the fraternization regulations. After a few days of work he had finally found a loophole. But a loophole that was risky and unconventional at best.
Later that day he got together with Jen and told her of his findings. She was thrilled to hear that there is a way for them to be together, but worried when she noticed Harm stalling.
When he finally told her the catch, she completely understood his reticence. In order to have a relationship, they had to be married first. The loophole is that dating and sexual relationships are forbidden, while marriages are not.
(AN: I'm using Air Force Instruction 36-2909, which is taken from UCMJ, for this one. AFI 36-2909 are the regulations for interpersonal relationships.)
After 7 long hours of deliberation they decided to do it. Even though they would've been married, they had decided to go slow in their relationship and insure it's success. Neither of them had ever been married before and they were both determined that this marriage would last for a lifetime.
They applied for a marriage license and got married by a Justice of Peace immediately upon receiving it.
The next day they both came into work with the same car and wearing their rings.
They were discovered as soon as they stepped into the bullpen. That led to a big stir, which resulted in them being called into the General's office and being reamed out.
Thankfully the General believed their explanation and their reassurance that nothing had been going on betwen them, but he still had to launch an investigation to keep everything above board.
The investigation had proved their claims and they were allowed to remain in the Navy, without a mark on neither's record.
A few weeks later Harm accepted a transfer to the Pentagon. The official version was that he had transferred to avoid causing any problems for the office. The true reason was that he was offered a position that would offer him a good chance of future advancements. Posting at JAG is a dead-end street even if you become the JAG. A JAG lawyer can not rise further, but with his new position Harm had stepped into the fast lane. A chance to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which he succeeded. There was rumor going around that he is supposed to be the next Chairman of the JCS.
A few weeks after his transfer to the Pentagon Jen transferred there also. She became Admiral Tom Boone's yeoman, which coincidentally had her working only a few doors down from her husband's office.
The fact that she was now working at the Pentagon and was married to the rising star of the Navy, a fact that was revealed by the fact that she took Harm's last name when they got married even though she didn't do it for that reason, made her visible to the Powers that Be.
She had just finished her studies and become a Psychologist, specializing in Behavioural Sciences, when she was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. After that she joined the Officer Candidate School and became an officer. Now her and Harm's relationship was completely above board and no one could make trouble for them. She was quickly offered a job at the Pentagon as a consultant at negotiations, where her knowledge of human behaviour and body language became extremely helpful. Thus Jennifer Rabb joined her husband in the fast lane.
Life became very good to them. They moved out of what was once Harm's bachelor pad and bought a house in Alexandria. A year later they welcomed their first baby into the world. Jarod Rabb was a pretty impatient baby and entered the world after only 4 hours of labor. He was 3 years later joined by his sister Andrea.
Life was very good for the Rabb family
/END FLASHBACK/
As she was ushering her children into the waiting limo she was still in awe at what a simple kiss could lead to.
And as she settled herself into her seat she bit back a smile at the thought that struck her.
If she had known what would come of it, she would've helped Harm with his tie a lot sooner.
THE END