"Are you sulking, Ensign Chegwidden?"
AJ jumped to his feet and snapped to attention. "No sir."
The Commander looked the young Ensign up and down. "It sure looks like you're sulking."
"I'm not, sir." AJ answered, quite clearly sulking.
"What's the problem, Ensign?" demanded the Commander. AJ shifted uncomfortably as much as he dared, since he was still standing at attention. "Answer me, Ensign!"
"You put me on restriction, sir," AJ answered quietly.
"You disobeyed a direct order, Chegwidden. What the hell did you expect?" the Commander shouted back just inches from AJ's face. He looked at the young officer carefully as a plan formulated in his head. "At ease, Ensign." AJ relaxed, but just barely. He was suddenly rather concerned about the look on his CO's face. It was a dangerous look. "So, you don't think you should be punished for your defiance?"
"I…I didn't say that. Sir," AJ answered hesitantly.
"Then how, may I ask, should I have punished you?" the Commander asked, still glaring dangerously.
"Forget it, sir. It's fine," AJ said, trying to backpedal.
"Ohhhh, no, Ensign. You questioned my decision so you're going to see this through to the end."
AJ's heart was beating wildly. This was not going well at all. He was pretty sure he was about to be put on work duty and maybe even given extra PT in addition to his restriction. He should have kept his mouth shut.
The Commander was still glaring, and AJ wished he could look away for just a moment. "Well, Ensign? Do you have a better idea or not? Because if you don't, I certainly do."
"Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to question you. Can we please just forget it?"
The Commander shook his head as a small grin spread across his lips. "Not a chance, Chegwidden. If you don't like the punishment I chose, perhaps you'll like a different one." With one last hard look at AJ, the Commander turned and walked around to the far side of his desk, leaned over and pulled something out of his desk drawer. AJ's eyes followed the Commander's every move and grew very wide when he saw the object in his CO's hand.
"Sir, you can't be serious!" AJ cried. The Commander responded with nothing more than a motion indicating that AJ should bend over the desk. "Sir, please!"
"Ensign, you made the decision to disobey me. Then you made the decision to be mad at me for punishing you. It sounds to me like you're not all that good at making decisions. So, I think this one's up to me. Now bend over before I make you drop those trousers."
With one last pleading look, AJ complied and within seconds, the Commander was standing next to him swinging the paddle that was making repeated, hard contact with AJ's backside. It had only been about five years since the last time AJ was paddled, but he had forgotten how much it hurt. After the third spank, he was choking back tears. After five, his attempts proved to be unsuccessful. By number ten, he could barely breathe. Ten more and the Commander decided that he'd made his point. He put the paddle down on the desk and pulled AJ gently back to standing.
"Next time I give you an order, I expect it to be obeyed. And if it's not, I expect you to take whatever punishment I decide is appropriate. Is that clear, Chegwidden?" It was a few seconds before AJ could get enough breath to choke out a weak "yes sir". "Good. Now get yourself together. You're on guard duty at 16:00."
"Sir?" AJ asked, still choking on tears of pain and humiliation. "Am I still on restriction?"
The Commander laughed. "No, son. I think you've learned your lesson."
"Thank you, sir," AJ answered with a weak smile.
The Commander started to leave the room then turned back to AJ. "Welcome to the club, Chegwidden," he said with a grin and a quick rub of his own backside. AJ's eyes almost popped out of his head as he realized what the CO was telling him.
* * * * * * * * * *
A knock on the door interrupted the Admiral's reminiscences. "Enter!" he called gruffly. The door opened and Commander Rabb and Major MacKenzie entered the room.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" Harm asked. It was a pretty dumb question considering the decibel level of the order they had received over the phone twenty minutes earlier. Harm and Mac had been out getting lunch when Harm's phone rang. It was a short, one-sided conversation ordering him and Mac to report the Admiral's office immediately, if not sooner. Neither Harm nor Mac had to ask why they were there.
"Close the hatch, Major," the Admiral ordered and Mac shot Harm a look as she turned to obey. When she was standing at attention next to Harm, he launched into the scathing lecture they were both expecting. "Where the hell did you two learn how to behave in a courtroom? That display I saw today makes me wish I hadn't hired either one of you."
"Sir…"
"Don't you dare interrupt me, Commander! Especially not when that is exactly why you're in the position you're in right now!" The Admiral moved around his desk and planted himself directly in front of the two miscreants. "The judge suggested in his report to me that I suspend both of you for a week. Unfortunately for you, that's not a practical option. Both of you are loaded with cases and I don't have enough people here to take over your assignments – not to mention the fact that I'm pretty sure all that would do is punish your co-workers while the two of you get a nice week-long vacation."
He stopped and looked between Harm and Mac. Mac was upset to find herself being reamed out. Harm, on the other hand, had exactly the grin Chegwidden was expecting to see. The young man was incorrigible! "Something funny, Commander?"
"No sir," Rabb answered, glancing sideways at his CO.
"Then wipe that grin off your face." Harm obeyed as best he could. Chegwidden turned to Mac to keep himself from smiling. "Major, do you have any suggestions for how I should handle this latest display of unprofessionalism from you and your colleague over here?"
"Um, no sir," Mac answered safely.
"Commander?"
Harm shrugged. "You could just chalk it up to the heat of battle and let it go with the reprimand the Admiral has already issued," he said hopefully, that boyish grin returning to his face. It left just as quickly when Chegwidden took an abrupt step to the right and pushed his face just inches from Harm's.
"Is that really what you think I should do?" he asked in a dangerous whisper.
Harm sighed. "No sir."
"I didn't think so," Chegwidden said as he moved away and walked to his own side of the desk. Harm's face contorted briefly as the Admiral opened the lower right desk drawer. "Rabb, go post yourself outside."
"Aye aye sir," Harm answered as he spun on his toe and made a hasty retreat from the office. He dared not look at Mac on the way out. As he took his place against the outside wall of the office, he immediately regretted his actions an hour earlier. He had baited Mac knowing that she was in the right mood to take that bait. They hadn't been working together long, but he already knew which buttons to push if he wanted to upset her in the courtroom. He also knew which buttons to avoid outside of it. As he heard the sound of the paddle hitting Mac on the other side of the solid wood door, his heart hurt. He'd never meant to get her in trouble – he just wanted to rattle her and win the case. He started to formulate a plan to make it up to her later, fully knowing that she would probably try to hold this grudge for as long as possible before she finally gave into his charm. There was one button he'd learned to reserve for when he really needed it – and this was probably going to be one of those times.
Before he could finish formulating, the muffled sounds from the office stopped and he heard Chegwidden offering a final admonition before dismissing Mac. Only fifteen spanks. Not too bad, and nothing Harm couldn't handle. He jumped as the door flew open and a clearly upset and angry Mac flew past him. He didn't even wait for the Admiral's order before he walked back into the office and shut the door. He didn't wait for the order to bend over either.
Chegwidden looked at Harm for a moment, bent over awaiting the punishment he so richly deserved. He debated a further lecture, but the look he'd seen on Harm's face before he'd bent over told him that one look at Mac had brought the message he was about to deliver home already. But that didn't mean he wasn't planning on hammering it home a little more. Without a word, he slammed the paddle into Harm who jumped up reflexively. With a look of amazement over his shoulder, Harm forced himself back into position for number two. Number two was just as hard, but Harm was ready this time and managed to keep his hands on the desk where they belonged.
He held in there as long as he could, but as the strike count passed the fifteen Mac had gotten, his cries became a little more desperate. He tried to take his mind off the growing pain by trying to reason out why he was getting more than Mac had. Perhaps the Admiral was holding him more responsible because he was the man and should be protecting Mac, not steering her towards trouble. Or maybe, he knew that Harm had done it on purpose. After a few more spanks, he had to give up and concentrate on not crying out too loudly. He'd lost count but knew for sure that the paddle had landed over twenty times – maybe even more than twenty-five.
When the Admiral finally stopped, neither man moved right away. Harm was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to stand right away (and positive he'd never sit again). The Admiral wasn't sure Harm would ever speak to him again after such a hard punishment. But he didn't know how else to get through to him. He wasn't even completely sure why he'd given Harm twice the punishment he'd given Mac, but when he closed his eyes, he saw the grin on the young man's face that reminded him.
He put his hand gently on Harm's shoulder. "It's over now, Son." Harm nodded, but still didn't move right away. Chegwidden began rubbing Harm's shoulder lightly, partly to comfort the young man, and partly to test that he hadn't permanently damaged their relationship. When Harm didn't pull away, he breathed a sigh of relief.
After a few minutes, Harm finally struggled to his feet. The Admiral turned him around so that they were face-to-face. Harm's head hung down until Chegwidden gently put his hand under his chin and brought his face up. "You ok?" he asked quietly. Harm nodded, but didn't trust his voice to answer. Chegwidden kept his hands on Harm's shoulders as he delivered the lecture he'd intended to deliver earlier, but in a quieter, gentler voice than he'd earlier intended.
"Harm, she's your partner. Your job is to protect her, to look out for her. You never do anything that will get her hurt. Never. Do you understand me?" Harm nodded again, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes again. "Answer me," Chegwidden prodded gently.
Harm choked back a sob. "Yes sir," he barely managed to answer.
"Good," Chegwidden said, dropping his hands to his sides. He looked over Harm to make sure he hadn't done any permanent damage. He was sure that the combination of a hard spanking and an equally gentle lecture had made his point. "That will be all," he said, still gently. It wasn't time yet for his normal heavy-handed orders. As Harm turned to leave, the Admiral stopped him. "Harm, if you ever do anything like that again, you'll lose the privilege of those trousers."
"Yes sir," Harm answered, his face turning impossibly red.
* * * * * * * * * * *
After Harm had washed his face and covertly checked the damage he headed off to find Mac so he could start the repair process. He found her in her office, sitting at her desk sifting roughly through files. He quietly closed the door and leaned against it carefully. "Mac," he said quietly.
"Leave me alone, Harm," she answered in a dangerously quiet voice. Harm was not at all surprised by the icy reception.
"I'm sorry…"
"I said, leave me alone," came the angry, and slightly louder reply. Mac still did not look up. Harm tried to speak again, but before he could get out a single syllable, Mac jumped up and flew at him. "You did that on purpose!" Harm sighed heavily and nodded. "What were you trying to prove? That you're better than me? You steamrolled me again and then you got me in trouble with the Admiral. Are you really that arrogant and immature that you can't just let me win a case once in a while? Do you really have that big a problem with letting a woman beat you?" She was going full steam, so Harm wisely said nothing and just let her yell herself out. When she did, she glared at him as if waiting for a response. But when he opened his mouth to answer her, she didn't give him the chance. "Get out!" she yelled. Harm knew better than to try again and reluctantly left, closing the door quietly behind him. This was going to be way harder than he'd thought.
Mac punched the door as it closed, then flopped back into her chair, buried her face in her hands and angrily fought back tears.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning, Harm stepped into the elevator just as the doors closed. Mac was already in there, but since they were also joined by a Petty Officer, he stayed quiet. He did, however, steal a quick glimpse at Mac in an effort to find out what kind of day it would be. It didn't look promising.
As Mac and Harm stepped off the elevator at their floor, they were met by Tiner. "The Admiral would like to see both of you in his office ASAP."
"Thanks, Tiner," Harm answered, then headed to his office to drop off his coat and his briefcase. He and Mac made it to the Admiral's door at the same time. Harm politely let Mac enter first.
The Admiral looked up. "Close the door and have a seat," he said, nonchalantly. Mac obeyed quickly, but Harm shot the Admiral a look before he gently lowered himself onto the chair. A small grin flitted across Chegwidden's face which was not lost on Harm, who shook his head ruefully. "Is there a problem, Commander?"
"No sir," Harm answered, hoping he wouldn't be called out for the obvious lie.
Chegwidden let the white lie go. He knew the truth anyway. It turned out, he knew a lot of things. "Yesterday was not a banner day here at JAG. Today, we move on. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," Harm answered quickly.
Chegwidden looked at Mac, who was working hard to avoid eye contact. "Major?"
Mac looked fleetingly at the Admiral, then past him out the window, her jaw set angrily.
"Commander, you are dismissed. I'll see you back here at 09:30 for the staff meeting."
"Yes sir," Harm replied. He stood up, looked down at Mac for a moment then slowly left the office.
When the door was closed, the Admiral walked around to the other side of the desk and leaned against it in front of Mac. "Mac, look at me," he said gently. Mac obeyed reluctantly. "I'm sorry for what I had to do yesterday, but you can't let him bait you like that. You have to keep that temper of yours under control." He looked at her for a long moment before he continued. Her head had dropped while he was talking and she was staring intently at the floor. "Mac, I spanked you so that if there is ever a next time, you'll think first before you lose your temper. That was all. You had every reason to be mad at him yesterday. But you had no right to behave the way you did in that courtroom. If someone gets under your skin, you are to maintain your composure. Take your anger out on that punching bag down in the gym later. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Mac answered, still clearly angry.
"Is there something you'd like to say to me, Mac?" Chegwidden prompted quietly.
Mac looked up, anger flashing in her eyes. "You spanked me because I got mad at Harm. But he got exactly the same punishment. Why?"
"Who told you that he got the same punishment? Him?"
"No sir."
"Then what makes you think he got the same punishment?" Mac stared at the floor again. "Answer me."
"I'd just assumed," she finally said sheepishly.
"Well, Major, you assumed wrong. He got twice as much as you did. And do you know why?" the Admiral asked, a little angry.
"No sir," Mac answered very quietly, knowing she'd been out of line.
"And you never will. That's between me and Harm. Is there anything else?"
"No sir."
"You're dismissed," he said gruffly. But as Mac got up to leave, he softened. "Mac," she turned to face him, "he was punished sufficiently. You need to forgive him. I can't have my two strongest lawyers unable to work together. Trust me that I took care of it, and I promised him that if he ever does that again, the punishment he got yesterday will feel like a few mosquito bites." He stared at her to make sure she understood what he was saying. He saw her soften just a little bit. "Go easy on him, Mac. He's still hurting." At that, Mac sighed and nodded. Chegwidden grinned at her. She returned it.
"Aye aye sir."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Mac knocked quietly on Harm's semi-opened door and stuck her head into the office. "Harm?" Harm looked up from the filing cabinet. "I forgive you."
"Thanks. Want to come in?" Mac walked through the door and leaned against the edge of it.
"So," she said, smiling wickedly, "still hurts to sit, huh?"
Harm nodded, blushing a little.
"Good," she said then ducked out the door as a file flew toward her. Harm grinned. They were going to be ok.