A/N: Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! I was supposed to be in fanfic retirement, having hung up my copies of JAG on DVD and put my word processor on perpetual idle. This fic has long been in the back of my memory and it was prompted by a couple of friend Private Messages sent to me. Two things:
This story picks up, verbatim, from the end of the end of Chapter 15 of my story "Three Wise Men", if you want to understand the start point, new character or anything eles. This is obviously an A/U from where that story went.
While this story, as will be evident from the end of this chapter, starts out as a Mac/Other, that doesn't mean that this story will necessarily end this way, fact is, at this point I don't even know how it will end.
0419 ZULU
MAC'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, DC
Nate hesitantly knocked on the door. He knew that he had been a little quick and shallow with his answers on the show earlier and that he might have some explaining to do, especially with Mac. Mac came to the door and opened it only a crack.
"Hi." She said timidly.
"Hey." He started. "Can I come in?"
"Why do you want to?" Mac asked, still a little weary.
"Perchance to explain?" Nate offered.
"What's there to explain. You stated your position pretty simply tonight on the show." Mac replied as she let him into the apartment.
"You told me not to assume, that's exactly what I did." Nate began his explanation.
"So you made a unilateral decision about the status of our relationship because I told you not to assume?" Mac's prosecutorial program was working on overdrive.
"Mac, I just stated a truth that we've both been shying away from. Neither of us wants to admit it, that's all. We both know that there can never be anything romantic between us because I'm not the one you belong with." Nate answered.
"After everything that's happened between me and Harm this year, how can you be so sure that we belong together?" Mac packed a lot of force and emotion into her question.
"Because you can't be sure that you don't. See if you two didn't belong together, there would be no doubt in your mind as to that effect. But that doubt still exists, reasonable doubt, Mac, you're a lawyer, you know what that means." Nate coached, slipping into a legalese metaphor.
"That we're lucky I'm the lawyer and you're not." Mac rebutted with a slowly developing smile. "It may be true that once upon a time, Harm and I meant something to one another. It may be true that it could have been something profound. But he had his chance and I'm not sure that it's fair to myself to sit around waiting for him to make up his mind." Mac shook her head. "I won't lie to you. I won't deny that once upon a time, I loved Harmon Rabb and that I'll always care for him very deeply, I've shared too much with him not to. I think I deserve a chance to move on."
"Mac, I'd be the wrong guy for you." Nate shook his head. "I'm a politician, you'd live your life under a microscope, schmooze parties at embassies, at the White House. Profiles on 60 Minutes, Dateline, Oprah. I've gotten to know you well enough to know you're a private person that would hate this life."
"Stop pushing me away." Mac asserted herself. "I'm a big girl, I can make decisions for myself. I know what I'd be getting into. I did see you on Larry King tonight, I know that if we were to become involved in a relationship, I'd be in a spotlight. I'm tough, I can take that."
"The question is do you want that?" Nate leaned against a wall in her living room.
"I'v been thinking about that." Mac's eyes shifted from the sport of the carpet where she had been focusing up to Nate's eyes. "It's not about wanting the spotlight, it's about whether I want you more than I want to stay out of the spotlight. Relationships don't start with protestations of love, they build up to that. When we're together, you make me feel good, you make me happy and that's something worth holding on to."
"There's a lot I want to say that I have no right to say. I don't want to give into my baser instincts and ask these questions." He took her hands in his. "I didn't want to feel anything for you because I knew that I'd want to ask questions about Harm that shouldn't have anything to do with you and me. So, how do I deal with this insecurity so that it doesn't eat at me like some carnivorous insect?"
"You know our history, you know that we never had a relationship." Mac welcomed him into her living room and they sat on the couch.
"I know that, I'd never question your honesty with me." He looked so ashamed of himself. He didn't like appearing insecure. "I just know that you're really ready to move past Harm. If you can tell me that you are, and really mean it. Then I'll take you at your word, no questions asked ever again."
Mac bit her lower lip. It wasn't an unreasonable request but she could tell it killed him to ask it of her. She could tell that he wanted to be a stronger man on the inside, that he wanted to be more secure, that he wanted not to care. She put a hand to his cheek. "I can't tell you that for sure right now." She said, staring down at the couch between them. "But if this starts going somewhere serious, I won't leave you without an answer. You'll never have to question my sincerity."
"I never would." He replied softly.
"Then why were you so sure that we really didn't have a future when you were on Larry King earlier?" Mac wanted to confront the one thing that was nagging at her.
"Because whatever was between us, just didn't really seem to be forced to that next step. It seemed fated that we simply be friends." He tried feverishly not to let his eyes meet hers.
"Have you thought about dating me?" Mac pressed a little.
"Many, many times." He nodded with his eyes closed.
"I've been single this whole time, we've done date-like things, why didn't you just go for it?" She asked, like she didn't know the answer.
"Old Guys Code, if you've got a friend and he's interested in or used to date a woman that you're interested in, you've got to get his permission before you can ask her out." Nate shook his head. "It may be a little chauvinistic, but there are less fights between the guys who follow that code."
"It also removes my ability to make decisions for myself from the equation." Mac grew a little weary of his explanation.
"The system's not perfect. I'll admit to that. But I'm not sure you'd like a fist-fight between me and Harm that much more." Nate tried to explain. "There's something very special about you, Sarah, I knew that from the first time you showed up at my front door. I haven't been able to put my finger on it yet, but I'd like to try."
"And in the future, now making decisions regarding me without consulting me first, right?" Mac took on a cute kind of lecturing posture.
"What if I wanted to surprise you with a gift or a trip or something like that somewhere down the line?" Nate sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm not that fond of surprises." Mac shook her head a little bit. "But if they're not too frequent, and they're kind of romantic, I guess it would be foolish for me to bite your head off about them." She leaned in and placed a light kiss on his lips.
"I just want to set one ground rule." Nate hung his head. "No sex until we're both certain that everything's on solid footing. I don't want us using it as a substitute for a legitimate emotional connection. If something's not there, there's no use trying to manufacture it."
"You're a good guy." She touched his cheek again. She didn't want to admit that she'd had the same worries about his relationship with Peach that he'd had about hers with Harm. She knew that he'd come close to cheating on his wife all those many years ago and she had assumed that to one degree or another, there had been some alienation of affection at the end of his marriage as Peach began to get the kind of attention that most men reserve for their significant others. His question for her was could ever be him? For her, the question was not could it be her, she assumed that on some level he had loved every woman he'd ever been with, even only emotionally. She wanted to know could it be only her? Or would she always feel that his emotions toward her would be a little hollow?
She longed for that simple kind of love that she'd never gotten. She wanted it not as an escape from her life as she'd had it in high school with Chris. She wanted it simple, uncomplicated maybe not easy to accomplish but at least easy to understand. With John, with Dalton, with Mic, with Harm there was always something there to make it complicated, something to make it hazy. She wanted to be able to just date, she wanted to be able to giggle and laugh, cry at sad movies and curl up under a blanket on cold nights. There was no reason that she couldn't with Nathan. They'd both gotten married young, they'd both matured considerably since. They were both able to put sins in the past, bury them and move on.
"Got an idea for our first date?" She questioned allowing the slightest bit of excitement to enter her voice.
"In fact I do, I was planning for us to attend this as friends, but now there's another motive." He reached into his jacket and produced a couple tickets. "Springsteen, Friday night, MCI Center."
"You got Springsteen tickets?" Mac snatched them out of his hands. "Box seats? You can't do box seats at a Boss concert."
"I could have gotten a couple jailbaiters, but Secret Service killed that idea pretty quick." He smiled. That was when the realization really sank in for Mac. Dating a guy who was the interim Secretary of State would have its drawbacks. There would be no anonymity in a crowd. No ability to be invisible in plain sight. While cabinet secretaries aren't usually assassination targets, it would still mean things like box seats at a concert or football game instead of mosh pits and 50 yard lines. "You're lucky I'm in court this week, who would you have taken had I been forced into the field on an investigation?"
"I don't know, probably just would have passed them on down the chain at the Truman building, let some Assistant Secretary take his wife." Nate finally seemed to relax on the couch. "I always love seeing the Boss in person. I remember back at Penn State, one night me and some of my frat brothers went to the Vet and saw him during the Born in the USA tour. Then there was the reunion tour with the E Street Band back in '99 when I went to see him up in New York at Madison Square Garden. It's never the same show."
"I've always wanted to go to a show, I just never got the chance. When I was younger, there wasn't the cash to do it and I just haven't gotten around to it in the last few years." Mac stared down at the tickets. "I'm gonna have to do my best to dress for this aren't I?"
"Nah, I've got the same leather jacket and blue jeans I wore to my first Springsteen concert. In high school, I thought he was the coolest guy on the planet so I did my best to look like I just stepped off the cover of Born to Run." He chuckled and so did she. She'd seen a lot of sides of him. There was the business suit, the Marine uniform, the prodigal son and now the adolescent rebel. She could almost see those brooding eyes and scraggly dark hair, well passed the length his Marine officer father likely deemed acceptable, the leather jacket pulled tight over his broad shoulders and an old faded pair of Levis.
"Did you have a bike?" She inquired, slightly aroused by this new picture.
"Of course, classic Harley that me and my brother fixed up." He showed her the back of his left hand. "Got that scar fixing the driveshaft." Oh God, Mac thought, and he's a damn gearhead. She was feeling her inner teenager come out. "Bled all over the driveway, had to have twenty stitches put into my hand." She knew exactly what kind of guy he'd been in high school. He probably hung around with a bunch of guys that he hid his intelligence from in order to fit in. The Corps likely did build a man out of a guy that had a rail thin frame and no athletic form. She put her fingers into his chest and gave him a push back flat on to the couch. She pinned him down and captured him quickly with a kiss.
She wanted to bring out a little of that high school boy. She imagined that he was happier then. Before his father had turned him into the Marine he wasn't sure he'd ever wanted to be. Before Princeton had turned him into a diplomat and the Corps had turned him into a sniper. His brain was always where his life was. But she felt that his soul would likely still rather be lying on a garage floor under an engine while The Promised Land or Prove it All Night played in the background. She wanted to see one of his genuine smiles. She was sure she never had. She wanted to see him finally have fun. She kissed him again, this time feeling his big hands open up on her back and gently press her against him. After a few seconds, she pulled her face away from his with a smile. "Not bad, Marine."
"I try." He said with a sense of false modesty. "But I'd better get out of here. Early day tomorrow, 0600 for some physical therapy at Bethesda to heal the knee and then into the office by 0815."
"How's the ACL rehabilitating?" Mac looked down at the knee that had suffered such damage that night outside the movie theatre.
"Little slower than I'd like. I'm gonna have to be cleared by the doctors at Bethesda before they'll let me put any more reserve hours in." Nate squared himself away as he leaned against her front door. "I've been shot before, so recovering from bullet wounds is nothing new."
"Drive home safe." She roped her arms around his neck, leaned up and gently brushed a kiss against his lips.
"I will." He replied with a smile.
1720 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
Mac had been in court until 1110 and since had been shackled to her desk working on evidentiary motions in the Lopresti court martial. Her friendship with Harm had improved in leaps and bounds from where it had been earlier in the year. They weren't where they had been a few years back but they weren't as antagonistic as they had often been over the last few years either. Until the Three Wise Men offices were back up again next week, Harm was still TAD to JAG Headquarters. He was prosecuting Petty Officer Lopresti in front of Captain Sebring this week, which placed him in opposition to Mac.
"Hey Mac." Harm stood in the doorway. "Heard that you cooked Sturgis in court this morning, hope you're not planning on the same kind of luck against me this afternoon, Marine."
"Oh Harm, when have I ever needed luck to beat you in court?" Mac laughed lightly.
"Ouch, Colonel." He feigned being wounded. "What are you up to this weekend?"
"Concert on Friday night, not sure about the rest of the weekend." Mac's eyes returned to the papers on her desk. "You have something in mind?"
"Well yeah...what concert?" Harm's curiosity got the better of him.
"The Boss, Nate scored a pair of tickets and told me about it last night." She smiled.
"I didn't know you were a Springsteen fan, Mac. Then again I didn't know the Secretary was either, always struck me as more of an opera and Beethoven type." Harm laughed to himself. "You know Keeter and I drove up to the Roxy one night during the summer of 80 to see Bruce?"
"Nah, I don't think you ever told me that story." Mac shook her head.
"Oh yeah, it was right before our summer cruise after plebe year. We were out on the west coast and drove up the coast from La Jolla to LA. The Boss was a much younger man then though, but I guess I was too." Harm beamed one of those flyboy smiles at her. "Hey, if you guys wouldn't mind another friend in the group, I'd love to take in another show on E Street."
Mac suddenly got a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Normally, it wouldn't have been an unreasonable idea. Harm and Nate were friends of a sort, new friends, but friends. She and Harm were friends and as far as Harm knew, she and Nate were just friends. They were box seats, she knew that if she asked him to, Nate could easily get Harm into the concert. But she forced herself to draw the line. "Harm, it's not that kind of concert." She responded shyly.
"What, is it like invitation only?" Harm looked puzzled.
"Kind of." Mac winced noticeably. At that moment Lieutenant Harriet Sims appeared in the doorway of Mac's office.
"Ma'am, those files you asked for on the Lopresti court martial." Harriet walked in and handed Mac the papers.
"Lieutenant Sims, have you heard anything about this invitation only Springsteen concert on Friday night?" Harm joked lightly, putting Harriet a little on the spot.
"It's not invitation only, sir." Harriet piped up. "I know Bud was trying to get us tickets but they were sold out months ago. Why did you think it was invitation only, sir?"
"Well, the Colonel is going with Secretary Ross and since I'm something of a Bruce fan and the Secretary's a friend of mine as well, I was hoping I could tag along for the night but the Colonel seems set against that." Harm knew how to cajole Mac after all these year and it really did seem like a good opportunity for a fun night with some friends.
"Maybe it's a date, sir." Harriet shrugged and slowly tried to extricate herself from the situation.
"You think so, Lieutenant?" Harm just laughed off the thought before turning his eyes toward Mac who was working hard to avoid his eyes and keep the redness out of her cheeks. "Is it, Mac?"
"Listen, Harm..." Mac tried to explain but Harm shrugged her off.
"I guess I understand what you meant by 'kind of' invitation only." He disguised his disappointment behind a self-deprecating laugh. "How...uh....how long have you two been..." He couldn't bring himself to use the verb.
"This is supposed to be the first one." Mac was honest, she wouldn't lie to him. She wouldn't play emotional games with him any more. "He dropped by the other night after Larry King and we had to talk about what he said. He felt I was owed an explanation. I had to face the fact that I didn't want him to just slip away. That I'd kick myself if I didn't at least try to see what was there."
"Well, he's better than Brumby." Harm joked, his posture becoming instantly defensive.
"Harm, for what it's worth, he brought up this thing about the guy code or something, he wasn't really comfortable with agreeing to this date until he'd talked to you first." Mac was trying to soften the blow. A part of her did still carry a torch for him. Only time would tell now if that torch could be extinguished. Mic couldn't do it because he wasn't the man Harm was and with everyday that became more and more obvious.
"The code only means something if you and I had dated, Mac." Harm crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We never did."
"I know, but there's a level of...I guess emotional complication at work here that goes beyond just that, Harm, at least cop to that." Mac got up from behind her desk. He nodded quickly. "He respects you, I know on some level it's eating at him that this has happened this way."
Harm's dispassionate answers surfaced again. "You'll do what you want, Mac, and I'll be happy for you as a friend." He was also glad that he was transferring back out of JAG ops at the end of the week. But he'd lived through Brumby and Lowne and he wasn't sure that his Pentagon office was far enough away from JAG ops for his liking. He would consider a transfer out to the Pacific for a few months. His mom would certainly welcome that little change. He'd been there before, he'd left JAG and yet he'd found himself right back here. When he'd gone to the Pentagon, he should have been able to get things together with Mac but almost a year on and that clearly hadn't happened.
He'd just have to war his way through to Friday. He didn't like the idea of leaving D.C., his friends were here, his godson was here, his apartment was here. He slipped into his old office, which was now his temporary office and he tucked in behind the desk. He'd done it all so far in his career, and this latest junket with the Three Wise Men project had given him experience with Naval Intelligence. Maybe he could put in for a billet somewhere out in the "Real Navy" as Tom Boone would have said.
Across the bullpen at JAG, a familiar form got off the elevator dressed in a suit, taking salutes and returning them in kind. He had a white Beltway Burget bag in hand and an exasperated look on his face. He stepped into the doorway of Mac's office and rapped on the door. Mac looked up and smiled . "JAG is a long way from the Truman building."
"Had to cross the river for a meeting with SECDEF at the Pentagon." He rolled his eyes. "Brought something over for you." He tossed her the Beltway Burger bag.
"Wow, normally it takes a while to train guys on the whole hamburger thing." She smiled and pulled her lunch out of the bag. "C'mere, you." She crooked a finger and waved him in closer. He blushed a little and slowly shuffled over to her. She roped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She'd been a little distracted in court thinking about him this morning, but that hadn't stopped her from lighting up Sturgis. She'd been thinking about him periodically for the last hour or so as she had been working at her desk. He'd been in meetings for most of the morning. One with the National Security Advisor in his office at the White House and another with the SECDEF at the Pentagon. But during the travel time, he found his mind returning to thoughts of Mac.
"You have a fun morning?" He asked her, leaning up against the wall of her office. To her, it was obvious that he was either unsure of being here with her or else just uncomfortable in his surroundings.
"I kicked Sturgis Turner's six in court, which was pretty fun. But since court was dismissed I've been sitting here, working on evidentiary motions for an upcoming court martial." Mac unwrapped her hamburger.
"Yeah, this one I've read about." Nate nodded. "Part of my meeting this morning with SECDEF was about Petty Officer Lopresti. I don't know what he thought State could do about this case but I was briefed anyway. A female P.O. First class being accused of raping a male P.O. 3 on her gunner's crew? That's gonna grab some media attention."
"Can't talk about the case." Mac responded through a mouthful of hamburger.
"I know you can't." He shook his head. Mac swallowed her mouthful of hamburger and got up out of the chair. She walked over to him and lightly stroked his arm.
"You don't seem comfortable." She whispered lightly.
"I'm not comfortable." He looked dead serious. "I like being with you, spending time with you but something about this particular locale, it feels wrong." He shook his head and took her hand in his.
"What is it about JAG? Just tell me it's not about Harm." Her tone toughened.
"It's not, this is your workplace, you and I are professionals." He hung his head. "The person I am at work isn't the person I am with you. I enjoy who I am around you. I'm warmer, I laugh more, smile more, enjoy more. When I go to work, I have to be colder, more cerebral, more dispassionate. I have to protect that first person from the professional side. I've watched Washington and politics chew up and spit out the people who came here without a protective mask. It hardens them, it creeps into every open pore and fills every crevace. I can't let that happen to me with you."
She smiled fondly at him. He was giving her the way in. He was trying to show her that he could be open. "You won't." Rather than kiss him, she simply wrapped him in a tender embrace. "Listen, Harriet was in here talking about how Bud was trying to get tickets for the concert a few months back and he couldn't get anyway. And they never get out of the house, and to be honest, I kind of want to see Harriet giddy and moving to Dancing in the Dark..."
"Mac..." Nate used a weary tone.
"They're my friends, my close friends, and it's important to me if we're going to date that they at least like you. Besides, a double date on our first outing should take some of that initial forced awkward pressure off." Mac explained very methodically.
Nate thought for a second. He really was hoping that his first date with Mac would be more private but he knew that her friends were important to her. So, it really wasn't that big a concession to make. "I can get two more box seats." He nodded and Mac smiled widely.
"You just got major points, you know that?" She tapped him playfully on the nose with her index finger. He brought his hands down to her hips and she leaned up and kissed him.
"Colonel, I..." The Admiral entered Mac's office and stopped when he saw his Chief of Staff kissing the interim Secretary of State. "I'm sorry, Colonel, Mr. Secretary, I should have knocked."
"Nonsense, A.J., this is your command. As my dad probably would have told me, there's not kissing in JAG Ops!" Nate's professional face slid back on almost seamlessly. Mac watched it with a kind of stunned silence. "Colonel, I realize the Lopresti court martial is in the thick but recent revelation being what they are for the evidence that has come Captain Rabb's way, it might be worth considering a plea."
"Advice appreciated, sir." Mac moved toward her desk. "But I'm working on my motions to exclude some of the evidence, sir."
"Very well, Colonel." The Admiral nodded knowingly. "Mr. Secretary, while you're here, I've got a call with the SECNAV in my office that you should probably sit in on." Nate nodded and followed AJ to his office with the door shutting behind them.
"There's no call, is there?" Nate stuffed his hands into his pockets. "What's up, AJ?"
"I realize, that as your sister's new boyfriend this may be nearing a line of decorum, but since you weren't here for most of the last two years, I feel the need to protect my staff." AJ exhaled hard. "You're holding the match to the fuse. It seems you're attracted to Colonel MacKenzie and that she is likewise inclined. That's fine, two people certainly have a right to that. But the following things will happen, you will date the Colonel, at the end of the week Captain Rabb will return to his assignment at the Pentagon."
"No, he won't." Nate interrupted. "The Three Wise Men program is being discontinued. Successful though it has been, it's also been wildly over budget. Congress has stopped it. Harm will either be re-assigned here at JAG or elsewhere in the Navy. As you're still his CO, I suppose it would fall to you to speak with him. Any duty station he wants, I'll pull every string I've got, throw every last pound of weight I've got around to make it happen for him."
"Mr. Secretary, if he opts to stay here, the Colonel's personal life will once again become the centre of the social energy of this office and not in a constructive way. I need this office to not go through that again." Admiral Chegwidden put his face in his palm.
"I understand, A.J." Nate nodded. "But there some things, even the Navy can't stop. I have the utmost respect for the Captain and Lord knows I was morally conflicted for months over even pursuing the Colonel. On some level, for some period of time, I'm not going to be comfortable around the Colonel romantically in part because I do have such abiding respect for the Captain. But what I come back to is, if I have a problem that needs to be worked through, I can do that while dating the Colonel, she may even help me with it if she feels so inclined. If I'm capable of making that leap, after only having exposure to the kind of person she is for a few months, how is it that the Captain was unable to after knowing her for six years?"
The Admiral thought for a second. He wasn't willing to cross certain lines of decorum, especially with someone who he was coming to respect who also happened to be higher on the Washington food chain than he was. Second, his argument was effective, even if it didn't change the Admiral's view of the situation. "Well, I'll inform the Captain that a new assignment will be headed his way to start next week."
"I'll see what I can scrounge up in terms of assignments that should serve to stimulate the Captain intellectually and advance his career." The Secretary of State got out of the chair and walked toward the door. "A.J, believe me when I say that my intent was not to disrupt your command."
"I understand, Mr. Secretary." The former SEAL nodded as the Secretary of State left his office.
1516 ZULU, FRIDAY
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
On this particular Friday morning, Harm felt like a great closing pitcher. The members had come back in the Lopresti court martial, Petty Officer Lopresti had been found guilty on all counts. Harm had had an odd week of sorts. Being informed of Mac and the Secretary on Tuesday had thrown him and he'd spent the next day considering what the next step in own career would be after the Admiral had informed him that the Three Wise Men project was being discontinued. He'd been looking around his apartment all week wondering if it was his last week there. "Good try, Mac." Harm grinned as they moved through the hallways of JAG.
"That time at the Pentagon certainly hasn't dulled your skills, Harm." Mac joshed him as they stood waiting for the elevator. "So, I heard you get a new billet today."
"Yeah." Harm couldn't quite bring himself to look her in the eye right now.
"Got any preferences for where you end up?" Mac turned so that she was facing him instead of the elevator.
"Not really." Harm shook his head. "There are some good reasons for me to want to stay in Washington but there's also a kind of listlessness that comes with hanging around this place too long." He laughed nervously. "I've got a meeting with the Admiral in a few minutes to go over assignment options."
"You get options for where you want a transfer when you're an O-6? Man, I've really got to get that promotion." Mac laughed heartily as they stepped on to the elevator. The lingering, unspoken presence in the room whenever Harm's career were the gold wings glinting on his chest. She wanted to ask, she begged to ask "Are you considering re-entering the fleet?"
"It would be kind of tough at this point." Harm opined. "Only billets for Captains are command positions on carriers and I don't have the flight hours to be a CAG."
"I suppose that's true. You may be stuck in Washington?" Mac asked, a note in her voice that touched on relief.
"Could be." Harm got off the elevator at JAG ops, with Mac following in tow. "What are you up to now?"
"I've got to prepare for court on that Yarbrough indecent exposure case against Bud." Mac leaned against the door to her office. Harm gave her a quick nod and headed toward the Admiral's outer office.
"Tiner, I've got an appointment with the Admiral?"Harm looked to the yeoman.
"Yes, sir, he's expecting you." Petty Officer Tiner motioned toward the door and Harm walked through.
"Captain, I hear you were successful in prosecuting Petty Officer Lopresti." The Admiral greeted Harm.
"Yes, sir." Harm nodded.
"At ease, Captain, take a seat." The Admiral motioned to the chair opposite his. "We're here to talk about your next duty station. Obviously, you're a top flight lawyer and I'd like to keep you here at JAG but I simply have no room on the staff for an O-6. I put in a few calls to try and get you something that would appeal to you, Harm and I know others worked on your behalf as well."
"Well, I'm certainly appreciative of those efforts, sir." Harm nodded slowly.
"Here's what we've managed to come up with." The Admiral produced a couple folders. "Admiral Ingles now oversees Naval Air Stations in the Pacific and he's recommended you for a command post."
"Where, sir?" Harm asked, somewhat thrilled at the notion that his old skipper would vouch for him.
"NAS Fallon." The Admiral stated plainly. "Admiral Ingles feels that your record of heroism at the controls of an aircraft means that you have quite a bit to impart on to the next generation of aviators, I'm quite inclined to agree."
"Thank you, sir." Harm couldn't keep the smile from his face. "What's the other option, Admiral?"
"Acting on the recommendation of the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor needs a new man in uniform to act as his aid and as a watch commander for the Situation Room. You'd be tasked with things like force depletion reports, formulating international law positions in conjunction with White House counsel and similar tasks." The Admiral wanted to make sure that Harm had all the information about the job. "It would include an office in the OEOB. Apparently the Secretary thinks quitely highly of you as both a lawyer and as a person, Captain."
"Yes, sir." Harm looked blank. It was certainly something that had taken him aback. Mic Brumby or Dalton Lowne in the same position likely would have wielded their influence to put as much distance as possible between him and Mac. Instead, Nate Ross had actually put in to have Harm not only working with him but on a track that would see him flagged sooner than not. "How long do I have to weigh my options, Admiral?"
"Well, Admiral Ingles had originally wanted an answer by tonight but one call from the Secretary's office bought you until Monday noon." A.J. Chegwidden leaned back in his chair. "These are a couple good career moves for you, Captain."
"Yes, sir." Harm got up out of the chair.
"Admiral's permission to be dismissed?" Harm came to attention.
"Permission granted." The Admiral gruffly stated and Harm exited the office. As clear as the choice had been two him some two plus years earlier, it was just as clear now. If he wanted to move on, it would have to be as either an aviator or a JAG. He could not be both any longer.
2245 ZULU
MAC'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN
She hadn't been to a concert since she was a teenager and even then, it was usually a free show in the city park or a five dollar cover at a club. She slid a tight pair of old acid washed jeans over her legs and pulled on a black tank top. She wasn't sure if she should go eighties with the hairstyle, back to the days when she could listen to Born to Run and identify with the desire to soar out of the life she was living as a teenager into something far beyond and far better. She couldn't remember being this excited for a date in a long time. They were going to meet Bud and Harriet at the arena before the concert. She put on a pair of boots and waited for him to show. She anticipated that he might, might be late or that there might be an emergency. He was a cabinet official of course, if there was a national security emergency, it would have to come first.
Nervous energy racked her body. There was a knock at the door. She opened it and there he stood, at least she thought it was him. He was a few days past a shave. His normally styled hair was untamed an scraggly. He wore his own tight fitting pair of faded blue Levis and a wrinkled white collared shirt under it with the first three buttons undone. Sunglasses hid his normally dark and brooding eyes, a menacing dancing smile crossed his lips. He was Nate, but not Nate. Or maybe he was for once, the way on the outside that he'd always felt on the inside. He was temptation. In a Marine uniform, he was one archetype, squared away and manichaean. It fit professional Nate so well. But this was a different kind of uniform.
"You look..."She tried to keep her voice level.
"Back at ya." His smile grew wider. "You wanna head out?"
"Yeah." She nodded enthusiastically. She stepped out into the hallway and locked the door behind her. "Leather jacket, huh?"
"Was buried in the back of my closet, I unearthed it earlier this week." He told her. They walked down to street level where a classic Harley was sitting there with two helmets on the seats. "Take the jacket for the drive. The wind's gonna make things chilly. This is that bike I told you about before." He pointed to the scar on the back of his hand.
"We're going to drive that?" She inquired in near disbelief.
"I know a classic car would be a little more in style for a Springsteen concert, but I was understandably limited in time this week, and couldn't restore one." He sarcastically toyed.
"I can't imagine Secret Service approved of this." She looked to him.
"Yeah, I ditched them." He was nonchalant.
"You ditched them?" She followed up.
"Yeah, besides, you think anyone would really recognize me in this?" He laughed heartily. He was right. The beard, the sunglasses, the jacket, the hair, the clothes, even CIA specialists wouldn't have recognized him tonight. She laughingly thought that only a Marine sniper could so expertly camouflage himself in an urban environment. He tossed her the jacket and she slid it on. She was giving it back immediately after they got to the arena. It was safety clothing. The plain white shirt was far too tight for her liking and his particular build carried it too well. She wrapped her arms around his middle and he fired up the bike. She put the helmet on and then settled his on to his head.
"No wheelies." She warned him through the muffled composition of the helmet.
"On a classic Harley? No way!" He shouted back as he gunned the bike and headed off across D.C toward the MCI Center. Mac felt like a kid, she really did. She hadn't been on a motorcycle in a long time. A Marine on a motorcycle was a heck of a sight, a Marine with a Master's Degree on a motorcycle was even more potent. The concert wasn't due to start for almost two hours. The parking lot was still filling up quite quickly. Nate pulled the bike into the parking lot next to Bud and Harriet's car. Mac pulled the helmet off and looked Bud and Harriet in the eye.
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" Bud questioned and Mac smiled to herself before nodding.
"You look bad ass." Bud grinned and Harriet laughed. "But where's the Secretary, ma'am?"
"Right here, Bud." Nate pulled off his helmet. "Figured I could go a little in cognito tonight. Ever been to a Boss concert before, Bud?"
"No sir, but I hear you got us box seats for this one." Bud walked alongside Nate over to the side of the arena away from the main gate.
"I did, but I traded them earlier for a couple general admission tickets and then I spoke to an attendant, showed him my ID badge and he agreed to let us into the arena a little early so that we could get into the jailbaiters, which are the first sixteen rows that are always left open at Springsteen shows so that they can get a lively crowd close to the stage. Mac sounded disappointed earlier in the week that we weren't going to get a shot at them and I figured we could get lucky and Bruce might end up pulling one of the girls up on stage when the band cues up Dancing in the Dark.." They arrived at the side of the building where there was an attendant waiting for them. Nate reached into his pocket and produced his ID badge. The attendant waved the four of them on through and into the arena. There were obviously people who'd also found their way in somehow and they were starting to fill up the first few rows. Mac, Harriet, Bud and Nate settled into a spot in the second row. Mac finally handed Nate back his jacket and after a few minutes people began to crowd around them. A few minutes after the expected start time, the houselights went down and members of the E Street Band began to appear on stage, followed soon after by the Boss himself.
The Rising was the first song cued up and it was followed in turn by Lonesome Day and Empty Sky. Bouncing around to the pulsating rhythms, singing along with some of the songs of the new album, and some of the classics off past albums. Mac and Nate shared some wonderful longing glances during Human Touch and danced something that looked like a jive during Crush on You. The first set ended with a few more songs off The Rising album like Waiting on a Sunny Day, Into the Fire and Mary's Place. The night was something to be remembered even before Harriet ended up being pulled on stage for Dancing in the Dark.