Disclaimer: I do not own JAG, Harmon Rabb, Sarah MacKenzie, et al. I've earned nothing but the pleasure of the writing, and the possibility of some nice feedback.
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Part One ~ Do As I Say...
1347 Zulu (0847 EST)
Mac's car
Northbound Highway 270, Maryland
"Mom?" Cat looked over at her mother. She could tell she was off in la-la land.
"Mom?" Her voice was a little louder and a little more insistent.
"MOM!" Cat raised her voice.
"What!" Mac was startled out her daydreams by her daughter's bellow.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what do you want to know?" Mac glanced over at her daughter who was the spitting image of her father.
"How old were you the first time you…" Cat's voice trailed off unsure how to finish the question. "I mean when did you lose your…"
Although Mac was pretty sure she knew what her daughter was asking and she had dreaded this conversation for awhile now, she wanted to be certain. "What do you want to know, Cat?" she asked patiently. She didn't want to scare her or cut off the lines of communication.
"Dad wasn't the first man you ever slept with, was he?"
"No, Cat, he wasn't." Mac wondered if this was going to be the talk. "It was a long time before your dad and I even realized we wanted to be together. Plus, we were well into our lives and careers before we had even met."
"So, how many other guys did you, uh…date before Dad?" Cat didn't look at her mother, opting instead to memorize the scenery whizzing past the window.
"Well, let me see…" Mac's brow furrowed in concentration as she attempted to count her many boyfriends over the years. "Seven, I think."
"Seven!" Cat repeated. "Wasn't Dad ever mad about all those men in your life?"
"No, Cat, I don't think he ever worried about it. He was my best friend for so long before we got involved that it was all just a part of who I was―what made me the person I was." Maybe this wasn't the talk.
"How old were you the first time, Mom?"
Okay, so maybe it was. "I was seventeen."
"Oh."
Silence reigned for awhile. Mac wondered at her daughter's thoughts.
"What was it like? I mean―was it like you thought your first time would be?"
Mac glanced over at Cat. Cat had been sort of seeing a boy from school―a football player. Mac had worried a bit at first. But the boy had come over for dinner several times and he seemed nice enough. And they were very careful about when and where they allowed him to take Cat. Besides, Cat was her father's daughter. If she didn't want to do something, then she wasn't doing it. Mac wondered if he was pressuring her to sleep with him or if it was just natural curiosity.
"No. Actually I don't remember much. I was terribly drunk at the time." This was not a time in her life that she cared to remember very much.
"Oh."
"Cat, is there something I should know about?" Mac hesitated, not wanting to alienate Cat at this point. "Is Adam pressuring you to have sex?" What the heck, let's put all the cards out on the table.
"No, not really," she replied.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that when we kiss I feel kind of tingly all over and…" Cat wasn't sure how much she should share with her mom. They were pretty close, but she was still mom.
"And…?" Mac was glad that Cat was talking to her but did she really want to know how far her baby girl had gone with this boy?
"We haven't gone all the way, Mom. He's tried to steal second a couple of times but I was kind of shocked so I told him no." Cat glanced over at her mom who thankfully seemed to be concentrating on the road.
"What does stealing second mean?" Mac had her own idea but wanted to make sure that they were talking about the same thing. "And what shocked you?"
"To me, stealing second is when the boy tries to touch and feel the girl's…umm…breasts." Cat licked her lips in nervousness. So far, so good, Mom hadn't freaked out or anything. "Adam has tried a couple times. The first time I was kind of mad and told him off. But the second time, I don't know, Mom. It felt nice and I got kinda warm all over, but I still wasn't sure so I told him to stop."
"Did he stop, Cat?" Cat could hear the fear in her mother's voice.
"Yeah, Mom, he stopped," Cat said. "Right away. And he didn't pressure me for anything else and he wasn't mad either."
"All right," Mac said and heaved a silent sigh of relief. So far it seemed like normal teenage exploratory stuff.
"Mom, do you feel all tingly and warm all over when Dad kisses you and touches you?" Cat blushed as she asked. She wasn't one of those kids who thought it was gross to think of your parents having sex. Her parents had always been very affectionate with each other. They seemed to enjoy each other. A couple times she had heard them while they were making love.
"Cat, I can't even begin to describe how I feel when your dad kisses me and touches me and makes love to me." It was Mac's turn to blush. Should she be having this conversation with a sixteen-year-old? "But I can tell you this, the difference between being with your dad and being with those men before, was love. When a man loves you and respects you and you're married, the satisfaction and well being you feel is extraordinary. Are you thinking about having sex with Adam?" Mac tried to keep her voice neutral while her mind was screaming no, no, no.
"Not really, Mom."
"Cat, your body is a special thing." Mac wasn't sure what to say. "I am not condoning teenage sex at all, but first and foremost protect yourself from both disease and pregnancy."
"Mooom!"
"I'm serious, Cat. The best way is just not to do it." Mac hoped that Cat was getting the message. "Having unprotected sex can cause a lot of problems, not just physical ones, but emotional ones as well. Trust me on that."
"Okay, Mom." Cat didn't press her for answers about that. She already knew a little of what her mom had gone through.
"Honey, listen, before you give the gift of your heart and your body to someone, you had better be darned sure that he deserves it and is worth it." Mac paused then smiled at her daughter. "Cat, your dad was the only one who ever really deserved or was worth my body. I wished that I would have been able to give him a pure gift on our wedding night."
"Mom?"
"Yes?" Mac wondered what was coming next.
"What were thinking about earlier?"
"What do you mean?" Uh, oh.
"I had to call you three times before you answered." Cat was pretty sure she knew what or rather whom her mom had been thinking about.
"Oh, you did?" Mac blushed.
"Yes. Now, what were you thinking about?" There's the blush…must have been Dad.
"I was thinking about your Dad."
"I knew it!" Cat exclaimed. "You always get that far away, dreamy expression when you think about Dad."
"I do?"
"Yes. Mom...?"
"Yes, Cat…"
"Thanks."
~*~
Part Two ~ ...Not as I Do
1651 Zulu (1151 EST)
Harm's car
Northbound Highway 270, Maryland
"So, JR, have you kissed a girl yet?" Harm wasn't sure how to bring up the subject he wanted to discuss with his son. Kissing seemed a fairly safe place.
"Yeah, sure, Dad." JR looked quizzically at his Dad. It was almost like looking in a mirror. He knew exactly what he'd look like in thirty years.
"Has Mom ever talked to you about girls and girl things?" Harm hoped so.
"Not much, Dad. But you pick things up when you live with girls, ya know?" JR wondered again what his dad was leading up to.
"Right." Harm was getting no where fast. "Do you know what causes pregnancy?"
"What?!" JR's neck cracked as he whipped his head around to look at his dad incredulously.
"I think you heard me, Son." Harm had certainly gotten his son's attention now. "Do you know what causes…"
"Yeah, Dad, I know how babies are made." He wondered where his dad was going with this.
"Do you know how to prevent a pregnancy, JR?" JR had never had a steady girlfriend but Harm still worried. He looked over at his son.
"Dad, it's not really an issue right now, you know." JR wasn't sure he liked this conversation. "I don't have a girlfriend or anything."
"Never-the-less, do you know how to prevent pregnancy?" Harm's tone indicated that he required an answer.
"I guess the best way is just not to have sex at all, Dad." JR couldn't believe his dad was asking him this stuff. He could understand it from his mom―she was a girl, after all―but his dad. "But we did learn about condoms and birth control and stuff at school last year."
Harm breathed a sigh of relief. At least he knew about abstinence and protection.
"What's with all the questions, Dad?"
"Well, Son, you're a man now and I wanted to make sure you knew how to act like one." Harm still hadn't voiced everything on his mind. "JR…" Harm paused, unsure how to proceed. "You know that no means no right? Even if a girl already said yes."
"Of course, Dad, don't you trust me?" JR looked at his dad with a funny look in his eyes.
"Son, it's not a matter of me trusting you. It's about the women in your life being able to trust you."
"But, Dad, there are no women in my life except Mom and Grandma and Great Grandma Rabb," JR protested.
"There were quite a few women in my life before I realized that your mother was the one for me. Your mom watched me make a fool of myself with some of them but she always saw that I respected each one of them as women. With all the troubles your mom had, she would never have opened herself up to me if she hadn't inherently trusted me not to hurt her in any way. And this was all before we ever began dating."
"Dad, why are you telling me this?"
"There will come a day―probably very soon―when you will want to have sex for the first time. A woman―not a girl, JR―a woman―willing to give you the most precious gift she has. I would hope that you would wait until you're married…" Harm took a breath. He still wasn't sure he was saying what he really wanted to. "Anyway, this woman will be placing her emotional and physical well being into your hands. Whether this is her first time or not, it is up to you to make sure that you never betray her. That means no bragging to your buddies and that especially means protecting her from disease and pregnancy."
"Okay, okay, Dad." JR was getting a little uncomfortable with this talk. "I get it."
"I sure hope so, Son." Harm sighed. "I sure hope so."
"Dad?" JR wasn't sure how his dad would take this next question. "How old were you the first time?"
"I was sixteen. It was when I had gone to Laos to try and find my dad. I met a girl there, a Vietnamese girl. She was very beautiful." That was a very emotional time in his past not only because of his dad but because the girl had been killed. "It was a long time after that, though, before I was with a woman again."
"How do you know what to do?" JR blushed as he asked and studiously avoided his father's gaze.
"I guess instincts just lead the way, Son, but don't forget to pay attention to the non-verbal clues. Sometimes being a real man requires you to not go all the way when every fiber in your being is telling you otherwise. You need to learn to read a woman's emotional language."
"There's too much to know, Dad," JR said and laughed. He thought that part of becoming a man would be a lot easier.
"So how many women were there, Dad?" JR was curious about this part of his dad's past. Most of his life had centered around the military, especially the Navy…He knew about dress whites and gold wings. He wondered how many women his dad had impressed.
Harm was silent as he pondered his son's question. "There were seven important ones not including your mother. Some I ended up having sex with, others I didn't even though I could have."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I respected them, Son, and they trusted me not to betray them. If I had had sex with them just to get some they would have known and they would have hated me."
"What about Mom?"
"What about her?"
"Uh, what was it like?" He knew his parents still had the hots for one another. He had understood some of their little word games for a few years now. He had even walked in on them once. They hadn't acted embarrassed or anything although his dad had sort of shielded his view of his mom. JR had been so flustered as he backed out of their room but he had heard them giggling after he had closed the door.
"Making love to your mother is the most wonderful thing―every time. She touches a place in me…" Harm lapsed into silence for a moment as he remembered their union just last night. "It's hard to describe, JR, but I can tell you this: the love we share is protected and sanctified by our marriage. I was never truly satisfied when I was with those women. Only your mother…"
JR watched his dad drift off into a private reverie. He saw his dad's lips turn up in a slight smile. JR knew they had done it last night, he had heard them laughing and giggling and then silence. He didn't think you could just drop off to sleep after all that silliness.
He hoped that someday he would have what his parents did. Even if his dad hadn't talked to him today he would have known these things. He loved his dad so much. He watched him all the time. He knew how much his dad respected all women, how he treated them…especially his mom. He had learned from the best about how to treat the woman you love.
As JR gazed out the window, he noted that they were almost to Great Grandmother Rabb's farm. His mom and sister would already be there. They had left early this morning. JR had had a game this morning so he and dad had stayed behind.
As his dad pulled into the driveway, JR saw his mom, his sister Cat, and Great Grandmother Rabb come out the front door to greet them. JR watched as his dad got out of the car. First he gave his beloved grandmother a huge hug and a loving kiss on her cheek. Next he grabbed Cat up in a hug and swung her around before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and setting her back on the ground.
And now his dad looked at his mom. JR couldn't see his dad's face but if his mother's face was anything to go by, he was sure there was love and desire shining in his dad's eyes. His mother blushed a little and stepped into his father's arms. JR saw his father's head dip toward his mother's ear and she giggled. Then before he could blink, his father kissed his mother, gently, tenderly but with barely controlled passion.
Mom and dad walked slowly toward the house, each with an arm around the other's waist. They were talking and laughing and looking lovingly at each other.
JR looked over at Cat and smiled. They both rolled their eyes. They both knew that mom and dad would be busy with each other for awhile.
"Hey, Grandma." JR walked over to his great grandmother and gave her a big hug. "Let's go pick some apples for one of those pies."
He reached out and took his sister by the hand as they went in search of apples leaving their parents to say hello in peace and quiet.
~*~
Part Three ~ The Birds and the Bees
1833 Zulu (1333 EST)
Sarah Rabb's Farm
Pennsylvania
Harm pulled into the driveway of his grandmother's farm. As good as it was to see his grandmother he could hardly wait to get his wife into his arms.
While he got out of the car he was aware of his son's watchful gaze. First, he lovingly hugged and kissed his grandmother. His precious daughter was next with a greeting reminiscent of younger days.
He turned toward his wife and took in her large brown eyes and supple body. She was still hot for being his wife of eighteen years and he made her giggle by whispering that exact thought into her ear. He was eager to taste her lips and quickly took advantage of his rights as her husband.
Not that she minded. He could turn her to mush with a look. His kisses definitely made her tingly and warm all over. She wanted him. His blue eyes told her he returned her desire. She wrapped her arm around his waist.
"You won't believe the conversation Cat and I had on the way here," she said softly, for his ears alone. She didn't want to embarrass Cat, but as her father, Harm had a right to know.
"JR and I had an interesting chat as well." Harm waggled his eyebrows at her and she looked into his eyes and laughed again. Harm was still feeling the weight of his son's eyes hoping that he was able to show his son that he practiced what he preached.
"She was asking about my first time," Mac said. "I didn't lie to her." She felt Harm pull her closer in sympathy. He knew it was still hard for her talk about that time in her life.
"I made sure JR knew about condoms." Harm chuckled. "He wasn't really thrilled with my line of questioning but he had the right answers."
They had just stepped into the house, out of sight of inquiring minds.
"Cat wanted to know if I felt all tingly and warm when you kiss and touch me." Mac turned into Harm's embrace and pulled his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. "E-gads, how I want you, Harm."
"Let's go my love. I think I heard JR say something about apples." Harm took Mac by the hand and led her up the stairs to the room they shared whenever they visited the farm. He closed the door behind them with a soft click.
~*~
Harm heard the kids before he saw them. Cat was squealing with laughter at JR to stay away from her. JR replied that he owed her one. They came bursting in through the kitchen door, each carrying a basket of apples, followed shortly by their great grandmother.
"Hey, Mom." JR walked over to where his mother sat at the table snapping beans and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. He looked at her for a moment. He could have sworn they would have indulged if left alone for any length of time. "Man, I'm starved. We've been here for how long...and you haven't offered me any food yet, Grandma?"
"One hour, nine minutes, and twenty one seconds," Mac said as she looked up to smile at her son.
Yep, plenty of time… JR thought to himself. As he returned her smile he noticed how her neck looked a little irritated. He looked over at his dad. Yep, they sure did… Dad hadn't shaved this morning since it was Saturday and he now had bare feet.
~Fin~
My sincere apologies for any whiplash you may have contracted from the head-hopping.