"The Most Important Things"

Author: CdnJAGScribe

E-mail:

Rating: M

Classification: Animal/Meg; Harm/Mac

Spoilers:

Summary: During the holiday season, it is too easy to let the stress of every day life creep into the family. Add in the stress of holiday planning into that mix and it makes for a volatile cocktail of emotions.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of the author. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken


848 Holly Drive, Annapolis, MD. December 22, 2017 1750 hrs

"Dad's at another meeting at the Pentagon. He may be late coming home. I'll probably have to drive you to your game tonight." Meg Austin-Nakamura, RADM, JAGC, said as she got Katie ready for her hockey practice. At 12 years old, Katie was an aspiring second year Peewee hockey player playing for the Navy Youth Hockey Association Navy Rams Rep A1 squad in Annapolis, Maryland. A C adorned her jersey as she was the Captain of the team. The look of disappointment on Katie's face caused a hint of anger to run through Meg's mind directed at her constantly busy husband; it seemed that only Meg was getting out to her daughter's ice hockey games as of late. As a full four-star admiral on his last duty assignment before retirement, after a long and distinguished career and a term as the Navy's top four-star admiral (Chief of Naval Operations), it was highly unusual that her husband was stationed to the Pentagon as a staff officer to another four-star (a junior four-star at that); a job which kept him extremely busy. If that wasn't enough, he conducted visits to the various squadrons and ships within the fleet command. Which left barely enough time to eat dinner with his family let alone attending his daughter's hockey games. He tried but honestly it was starting to vex Meg.

"But he never seems to be able to make it to any of my games. Does he even care that we're facing the Kettler team tonight and Baltimore beat us 6-3 last game." Katie had tears in her eyes and Meg knew that despite the fact that Katie knew what her dad had to do in protecting the national security of the nation, there were times that she just wanted her dad with her.

"I'm sure Dad will try to make it to see your game. Come on Katie, we need to make it to the rink in Ballston Common." Meg tried to reassure her daughter wondering yet again if she would end up lying to protect Katie's feelings from being hurt. There had been too many disappointments since her husband had become DCOMSECONDFLEET in terms of his failing to fulfill the hopes of their daughter that he would at least try to make it out to see her games. Picking up Katie's heavy hockey bag filled with her gear, Meg hauled the bag out to the car, feeling the flakes of snow brushing by her cheeks.

The Pentagon, Washington DC 1755 hrs

ADM (four stars) Toshio Animal Nakamura looked at his watch noting the time. A vibrating buzz notified him of an email message and he pulled his iPhone 6s from his pocket. Chocking his text app he saw: Katie's game is at 1955hrs. Try to make it this time, will you. Game is at Ballston Common Mall Arena. Katie's distraught. 3 Meg. Sighing he looked up again at the clock. Damn. He thought to himself Bennett is going to keep me overtime if I let him. ADM (four stars) Charles Edwin Bennett was a ball-buster when it came to his command and Animal was starting to feel the beginnings of stress and dissatisfaction with his post. Whenever there was an inspection to be done at one of the various commands under the umbrella of Bennett's fleet flag, guess who got picked to do the job no matter if there were others just as suitable for the job. Bennett was a report and form commander and every dotted i and crossed t had to be accounted for. Animal looked down at his rack on his service blues and dourly regarded that ribbon that adorned the top of his rack. He glared at it for a long moment and then picked up the phone. As DCOMSECONDFLEET he was positioned to think about retirement in a few years. As long as that martinet in the Commanding officer's chair didn't piss him off to the point of retiring early.

"Admiral Bennett's office US 2nd Fleet, how may I help you." Evidently the YNCM was still at her post diligently working.

"Master Chief. This is ADM Nakamura, I wonder if ADM Bennett has a few moments in which I could speak to him."

"Sir, I'll see if his itinerary is clear and I may be able to get you a few moments."

"Thank you, Master Chief" Animal replied perfunctorily and hung up the phone opting to make his presence known to the Master Chief Yeoman in person. Perhaps that damned ribbon could be of some use.

About five minutes later he walked into COMSECONDFLT's office, the YNMC snapping to attention as her eyesight fell upon the blue ribbon with five stars adorning the topmost position on his rack. "Sir, I was able to get you five minutes. ADM Bennett is extremely busy..."

Animal cut her off. "That's fine. Master Chief. Five minutes is all I will need." Since Bennett took command he had dealt with his underlings by phone telling them what they needed to do to please his high exaltedness. As far as back as Animal could recollect; where the COMSECONDFLT was concerned, Bennett had never seen a single person out of his command in person. Walking towards Bennett's door, he pounded the pine and stood there for a moment before he heard...

"Enter."

Animal summoned up his initiative and opened the door. ADM Bennett was short, barrel of a man. Measuring only 5'6", he looked up at Animal standing in front of his desk at the position of attention. Animal ignored the insult to the Medal. Even the CNO stood to greet him but evidently this admiral felt he didn't have to. "Admiral Toshio Nakamura requesting to secure." Animal stated succinctly.

The little barrel of a man had a high-pitched voice as well which could only be assumed the reason why Animal was the front man for this admiral in front of the US Second Fleet. "The report is finished, collated with sixteen copies? I have a meeting with the Joint Chiefs." Hang the man. That meeting with the JCS was not until Tuesday.

"The report is done, however I've noted the meeting is on Tuesday afternoon so barring any problems I can get the copies to you on Monday morning, sir. I have missed several of my daughter's events as a result of the report, with all due respect, sir, I would like to get to at least one of her events this year." As equal rank, Animal only used the sir out of respect for Bennett's position as COMSECONDFLT. As a former CNO, Animal had more time in rank than Bennett and was senior in four-star position to Bennett.

A slight flush of the jowls and cheeks noted that Admiral Bennett considered what Animal had said an insult. But before he could say anything, the door was flung open and the current Chief of Naval Operations walked in; stalked in was a more apt description. "Charlie!" She growled "you and I need to have a talk!" Bennett looked at Animal dismissively but the CNO said "you stay put, Admiral." Admiral Joanna Pruette glared at Admiral Charlie Bennett. "I've looked at all your reports. Charlie. From the Navy boarding manifests on the various ships and aircraft that you've been purporting to use to get to certain events you were expected to show your face for, the only four-star who has consistently been at these events is Admiral Nakamura." The fear on Admiral Bennett's face was palpable as he realized that the CNO knew. "You've been hiding behind Admiral Nakamura's Medal of Honor, haven't you?" His silence told Admiral Pruette all she needed to know. "You're nothing but a cardboard commander and ADM Nakamura has been doing all your work for you. And you had the guts to tell me in our meeting, Charlie, that in your personal opinion you found that the units under your command were fully operational. That actually wasn't true, was it? It was Admiral Nakamura who certified those units operational and inspected the readiness of said units, wrote the reports and made the recommendations and you just signed your name to it, didn't you? In essence you hid while Admiral Nakamura was the face of US Second Fleet to the men and women who serve this country. That is a gross disservice when the Commander US Second Fleet cannot even make a token effort to appear for Fleet functions and perpetually delegates his authority to his XO." Admiral Bennett turned sheet white, quivering with fear and rage as CNO Pruette snapped, "Admiral Charles Edwin Bennett, you are hereby relieved of duty as Commander US Second Fleet pending a Judge Advocate General investigation. Be aware that charges may be pending. A report will be going to Vice-Admiral Rabb, Judge Advocate General to investigate the matter." Turning to Animal she said. "Meet with me privately in my office on Monday, Tosh, and enjoy the holidays. But tonight, secure and go see your little girl play ice hockey, I hear they're playing Kettler and the Capitals been pretty good this season; my daughter's got a boy in Squirt".". She said in a more amiable tone. Animal thanked her and beat feet all the while feeling the rage coming off Admiral Bennett.

Kettler, Ballston Common Mall Arena, Arlington, VA 1855 hrs

Meg turned her 2016 Chevy Trax into the parking lot at 627 North Glebe Rd searching for a parking space. The snow was coming down hard and she had taken her time driving. It was a long drive and the roads were treacherous but the drive had given her some time to collect her thoughts. Finding a parking space open she plugged her Trax into it. Turning off the ignition, she popped the hatch and put her hat on to protect her hair from the falling snow. Her thoughts turned towards her husband as she wrestled her daughter's hockey bag from the car. Where is he; he never even responded to the text I sent him and a fresh flash of anger went through her as she and her daughter headed into the arena. Restraining herself admirably from sending an irate text message she resolved that she would have an honest to goodness talk about his absences hurting his daughter and in turn hurting Meg as well.

During the hour warmup and dressing up she didn't see her husband anywhere. Even at the concession stand which was his usual favorite place to be. And her ire rose in direct proportion.

She went to sit in the stands as the clock started to indicate 1940hrs or 7:40 PM. Peewee games were usually only an hour long but she wasn't sure what the Kettler Capitals would be doing. There was a decent sized crowd of Kettler and Annapolis parents waiting to see their kids play. She looked up as the announcer stated before the game: "We have a special guest representing our United States Navy which is fitting since the Kettler Capitals are playing the Navy Rams tonight." Meg's jaw dropped open as a familiar figure in United States Navy blues and admiral's stripes stepped on to the carpet and paused for a moment to salute the United States flag. "From the Pentagon our current Deputy Commander, United States Second Fleet and Medal of Honor recipient Admiral Tosh Nakamura!" Thunderous applause from the audience caused Meg's eyes to fill with tears of gratitude for the crowd standing and honoring her husband's accomplishments. "Admiral Nakamura was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions above and beyond the call of duty in North Korea in 1997. And he is here today to conduct the ceremonial puck drop after the United States National Anthem is played. Would every one rise for our national anthem." Everyone in the audience stood as one as the first notes of the Star-Spangled Banner filled the auditorium. The players on the Navy Rams stood lined up on one blue line sticks in their right hands helmets under the crooks of their left arm and the Kettler Capitals lined up on the other blue line. Meg could see Animal standing at attention, his right arm held up in a military salute, his fingers to the brim of his Navy admiral's cap. As the final stirring notes of the national anthem faded the announcer stated: "For the ceremonial puck drop, would the captains of both the Kettler Capitals and the Navy Rams please approach center ice. The Captain of the Kettler Capitals is Christopher Davis and the Captain of the Navy Rams is Katie Nakamura and I'm told now that Katie Nakamura is the admiral's daughter." Cheers and laughter went up from the audience as the announcer stated this. Meg watched proudly as her husband walked along the carpet to center ice and stood for a portrait with the two team Captains. "In the audience is Katie Nakamura's mother, also an admiral. Actually a rear admiral upper half and the Deputy Judge Advocate General with the United States Navy Judge Advocate General Corps." On the jumbotron the image of Meg sitting in her seat flushed with embarrassment briefly popped up before the cameras turned back to center ice. "Admiral Nakamura will be joining his wife in the stands after the puck drop."

Kettler, Ballston Common Mall Arena; center-ice, Arlington, VA 1955hrs

The two Captains faced off at center ice in the face off circle and Animal looked at each Captain. Animal aimed to drop the puck directly on the center red dot. The puck was dropped and etiquette stated that the home team would win the face-off. The young Kettler Capitals captain gathered in the puck and both captains shook hands. Then both captains shook hands with the ceremonial puck dropper. Katie looked at her dad with gleaming eyes and said "how?"

"I'll tell you later..." Animal replied as he gathered his daughter in for a close hug as the audience in the stands cheered. "You have a good game tonight. Go get'em tiger!" He grinned. "I'm going up to the stands to be with Mom."

That must have sparked Katie and her team because from the official opening face-off the Rams controlled puck possession not giving the Capitals any chance to generate any offense. As Animal slipped into the seat beside Meg, she leaned in and gave him a loving kiss, murmured softly "I'm glad you were able to make it." and they settled in as a coupe of hockey parents to watch the game.

"Rams have possession in the offensive zone keeping the Capitals on their heels. Nakamura providing the offense for a very strong Rams team this game. Up the middle to Hensley who chips it off the boards and deep in the Capitals zone. The Rams chase after it and the Capitals are stuck in their own zone as the Rams come up with it along the boards. Up on the point to Dickerson; winds up; slapshot: just wide of the net. Oakley of the Capitals picks it up and fires it out past the blue line. Ram's Dickerson chasing after it but the puck slides all the way down for an icing call. And the referees call it and take the puck back down to the Capitals zone for a face off."

Animal thought Meg looked absolutely adorable as she was on the edge of the seat eagerly cheering anytime a Rams player got hold of the puck.

"Rams win the face-off. Rams with their second line out. Liu with the puck wraps it around to Ronalds who passes to Paschinsky. Paschinsky winds up...slapshot and a pad save by Yakov, as the Rams close in for the rebound. Rams puck possession is too strong for the Capitals defense to check and the passes are clean and crisp...and another shot on net; save by Yakov. Ronalds called back to the bench as Burel substitutes Nakamura on the point. Paschinsky to Liu to Kennedy to Nakamura ONE TIMER! Glove save by Yakov. And the ref calls stoppage of play as Yakov hangs on to the puck."

Meg looked at Animal "ohhhh. That was sooo close!" She said as she crossed her fingers and yelled out "GO KATIE!" A flow of players headed back to the bench as both teams changed up players. 15 minutes into the first period and Katie and the first line was back out on the ice.

"Bradford, Hensley and Nakamura on a three on one as Capital's Johnstone gets caught up in the neutral zone as Hensley blows right by him. Hensley snapshot on the move just glances off Yakov's mask and deflects off the boards. Nakamura picks it up. Hensley is in front of the net Johnstone now back to try to shove him out. Pass to Bradford who shoots on net; blocker save and the puck bounces out; skips past Johnstone who tries to clear it. Nakamura in to get it SCORES! A beautiful off-balance wrister on one leg as #16 Katie Nakamura gets her tenth goal of the season. That was a beauty. You see Yakov stretch with his blocker hand just catching the puck on the bottom edge of the blocker which causes the puck to deflect downwards hitting the ice and bounce. Kudos to Nakamura who instantly settles the puck while off balance and wristing the puck just to the right of Yakov's descending glove and in the net. Rams up 1-0 with 4:46 to go in the first."

Meg was out of her seat cheering wildly as Katie skated past the bench fist-bumping her team-mates. This goal was 100% her goal as the last player who touched the puck was the Capitals' goalie; no assists tallied. Meg turned around and hugged Animal who just grinned at her as she wrapped her arms around him.

"How did you get out of the meeting?" Meg was curious as to how Animal had made it to the game as he had sounded as though the meeting was important.

"With a little help from Admiral Pruette." Animal replied enigmatically as the game resumed and Meg leaned in to her husband's embrace and they settled in to watch the game. It was a close game and after two periods tied at the third.

"Coach Yates of the Kettler Capitals has got his checking line out as Coach Burel has the Navy Rams first line out. With Bradford, Hensley, Nakamura on forward. Dickerson and Kelly on defence. With three minutes left in the third period. The Rams and Caps are tied 3-3. Face-off in the Rams zone; Hensley wins the face off. Back to Kelly. Kelly skates back to give some room and dishes off to Dickerson, Caps now playing with a bit more offense. Caps goals having come from Daly, Randall and Weise; the goals from the Rams from Nakamura, Hensley and Dickerson. Puck all the way in the Caps zone. Picked up by Daly and wrapped around the boards. Stopped by Kelly at the blue line who takes a shot. Blocker save by Yakov, rebound cleared by Fraser and it's whistled by the ref for icing. With a minute fifty left in the game the face-off is in the Caps zone. Face off won by Santala of the Caps. No line changes. Daly with the puck up over the blue line up thru the middle over the Rams' blue line with Santala, Kresge and Smith. Daly winds up and shoots. Missed the net as the puck bounces off the boards and out front. 1 min 20 to go. Goal mouth scramble as the Rams try to keep the puck out of their net."

Meg groaned " oh God. I can't look".

"Glove save by Robertson on a puck that was screened. Face off in the Rams zone. Yates pulls Yakov for the extra attacker. Nakamura behind the Rams net. Looks for an open team-mate to pass it to to clear the puck."

"LAST MINUTE OF PLAY IN THE THIRD PERIOD" automatic announcement signaling the last minute of the game.

"Nakamura skates out from behind the net as Kresge covers, Morrison, the sixth attacker in to help as the puck is batted back in around the boards intercepted by Hensley who moves out stopped by Smith who just misses the pass tape to tape to Nakamura who ices the puck down the length of the rink and it looks like it's headed...for the net... AND SHE SCORES!" Just as the buzzer went off to signal the end of the game "The Rams win it 4-3 with an empty-netter by #16 Katie Nakamura with an assist by #24 Todd Hensley." Animal looked at his watch 2100 hrs.

"We need to get some dinner on the way home." Meg said as the parents emptied from the stands as Animal collected his bridgecoat and put it on. He really didn't want to display his ribbons as it was only the puck-drop ceremony where he had the full panoply of the ribbons on his blues in full display. The Navy 4-star admiral uniform itself was a mass of officer's braid.

Kettler Arena or otherwise known as Kettler Capitals Iceplex wasn't an NHL arena with concession stands but still a rather nice arena though with seating for about five hundred which was really all one needed for a minor game. Animal guided her, hand to the small of her back as they went to stand with the rest of the parents.

"We need more scoring from the second and third lines." A Rams parent was saying. "We're relying too much on the first line. Nakamura's scoring but what happens if she gets injured or goes cold."

Animal replied "You do understand they're playing for fun. They're not the Washington Capitals franchise, right?"

"Well it would be nice if the kids were playing for the league championship." The parent said. "We've lost three games in a row."

"...and we won one. A win streak has to start from somewhere." Meg retorted. "Maybe this win will give them a confidence boost and get them winning."

"Gotta play a full sixty minutes." Commented another parent.

"They're getting there." Said another. "Daryl, you're just not patient enough."

"Good game." a parent cheered as one of the players exited the dressing room.

As a girl on an all-boys team, Katie had to use a separate dressing room to put on and take off her gear. And soon enough Katie appeared out of her dressing room changed out of her gear and dressed in her everyday wear. She dropped her bag on the ground and hugged her Dad. "You made it to the game." She said happily.

"Admiral Pruette got daddy out of the doghouse." Animal explained as Meg raised a curious eyebrow and gave him a look as if to say, you'd better explain it all when you get back home. After a quick dinner at Beltway Burgers they drove home to Annapolis forty five minutes east of the Beltway.

848 Holly Drive, Annapolis, MD. December 22, 2017 2345hrs

"Are Uncle Harm and Auntie Mac still coming over? How about Uncle Bud and Aunt Harriet?" Katie asked as Animal drove Katie home. Meg pulled in not five minutes later as snowflakes came down pelting them lightly in the face while Animal and his daughter unloaded Katie's hockey bag from Animal's 2014 Chevy Impala.

"Hey honey." Animal leaned in for a tender kiss on his wife's cheek as Meg reciprocated and admonished him.

"Let's get inside..." Meg laughingly complained. "I'm freezing." The wind off the waterfront was cutting through their winter clothing. The last time Animal had visited the joint base at Elmendorf, Alaska, he'd picked up some winter clothes. He'd had to track down some subzero arctic winter wear which was greatly appreciated by his wife, son and daughter as their home on the waterfront was subject to chilling weather during the winter. The official reason he'd had to go there was because that was where some Navy squadrons were rotating up for Operation Arctic Spear; a joint RCAF/USAF/USN war game for the aerial defense of North America right at the doorstep of Russia;. That didn't sit too well with Putin but the JCS went right ahead anyway. The defense of North America was important enough to risk a few ruffled international feathers.

The warmth of their home hit them with a heat that almost seemed too hot after the freezer they had just walked out of. It was just cold enough to snow and Animal flicked on the Christmas lights; a little late in the night but it would only be on for about twenty minutes. When the house was designed, Animal wanted a master turn-off switch for the electrical plugs outside. That way he was able to shut off anything connected to the outside plugs without having to venture outside to do it.

As Meg shed her winter outerwear by the entrance coat closet, she asked, "So who is showing up at our Christmas gathering on Christmas Eve?" She hung up her coat and Katie's then sat down by the stairs to take her winter boots off. Animal was removing his bridge-coat to hang it up where two other bridge-coats hung to be worn in alternate during the week; each spelling the other off so that they could drip dry.

"According to your guest-list, I'm sure it was the entirety of your office, RADM AJ Chegwidden (ret.), LGEN Gordon M. Cresswell and spouse. The entirety of the Roberts family up to and including Lieutenant Michael Roberts and his spouse Marine Corps Captain Camie Cresswell-Roberts, as well as Chief Bud Roberts. Commander Phil Burrows and his spouse Captain Kimberly Benton-Burrows (USN) as well as CNO Pruette. RADM Tom Boone and I'm sure half the Pentagon is coming." Meg smacked him on the arm as Animal said the last with a mischievous grin on his face. It stung. "You sure I don't have to call into Valley Turkey Farms for a bulk order on turkeys? Anything I still have to get from the grocery store?" Meg threw her sock at him as Animal laughed.

"I could send you out for eggnog." Animal paled at Meg's quip as Annapolis Valley Dairy had milk and created their own eggnog; but that dairy was a one and a half hour drive; a nightmare with winding roads and blind spots that created it's own set of hazards even in dry conditions; wet and snowy made it an absolute terror to drive.

This year Harriet had decided to take the year off throwing a Christmas party and Meg had stepped up to the plate to host the Christmas party for the JAG office. Animal, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent about having a whole herd of people trampling through their home.

Meg prided herself on making sure that her pantry was stocked and ready for the creation of feasts for dinner parties. Christmas was a special time for her as she had grown up without a father and wanted to make sure her daughter and son didn't have to go through that. Dan Austin having died in Vietnam in 1973 which meant that a five year old Meg could barely remember her father. She wanted Jamie and Katie to remember family Christmases as a fun family gathering. And for the most part she had succeeded.

Animal was a senior officer in an operational squadron (he had been battlefield promoted to commander for his actions that had nominated him) when the two had first met on the assignment of investigating his Medal of Honor nomination actions. They had become intimately involved on his convalescent leave. But as she had to go back to JAG and he had to rehabilitate to go back to active duty; their relationship had to be placed on the shelf for a while as Animal's Medal nomination wound it's way through the myriad levels of Pentagon bureaucracy. Their paths crossed again when she met him at the White House Rose Garden where he was about to receive his Medal of Honor as Harm was given his Distinguished Flying Cross, both awarded by President William Jefferson Clinton. Meg seized the opportunity with both hands and had never looked back. Of course it had spurred some jealousy from her JAG partner at first but he had eventually established a relationship with a vivacious and stunning Marine Corps officer; a Major back then, but now a Marine Corps Brigadier General in supply, after freaking out then JAG RADM AJ Chegwidden after notifying him of their relationship when Meg and her newly married husband ended up in Fallon, NV after Animal was assigned by the then-CNO to head the Naval Strike Air Warfare Centre (NSAWC). Harm soon followed as an assigned Dissimilar Fighter Tactics instructor to NSAWC serving under Meg's husband and Harm's girlfriend was assigned to the JAG RLSO SW adjunct office at NAS Fallon. After coming back to JAG after a three year stint at JAG Adjunct Office NAS Fallon alongside her husband CO NSAWC, Meg promptly went back into investigations with Harm, who had transferred back to JAG, and Mac with no delay was sent into judiciary and paired with Harm only sporadically where it wouldn't raise suspicions that the two investigators were actually closer in relationship than they appeared. Animal didn't just follow Meg back to the East Coast, his change of command ceremony preceded a subsequent promotion to vice-admiral and his initial tenure as DCOMSECONDFLEET under a well-respected Admiral named Robert "Tank" Hayes (who got his call sign for ripping off a drogue off an KA-6D tanker during one rather windy air-to-air refueling evolution)

That need served to give the then-JAG, RADM Albert Jethro Chegwidden, even more of a headache and the ever-present urge to tell the commander (Harm) to go wrestle alligators anytime Harm annoyed him, which AJ admirably bit down. It was twelve years and a stint in judiciary as a judge that got Meg her RADM stripes and a post as DJAG when Harm came back from his Fleet JAG post in London and ended up receiving his rear admiral upper half promotion, as DJAG to the new VADM who took over after Cresswell. Once that VADM retired Harm was posted as the new JAG. The two-star position had become a three-star position half-way through Cresswell's posting as JAG and thus MGEN Gordon M. (don't call me Biff unless you're wearing Marine greens) Cresswell became the first Lieutenant General JAG.

Meg and Animal moved to Annapolis in 2012 into their current place as Animal rose through the ranks and hit four-star and was appointed CNO. After his stint as CNO he was shuffled into a "wait-for-retirement" four-star post and then ended up having to deal with a no-load, limp-wienered, mealy-mouthed putz of a COMSECONDFLT which had him at about his wits end.

As they gravitated from the entrance hallway to the living room, Katie yawned deeply and said "I'm tired. I'm gonna head for bed. Love you, Mom, Dad." She gave each of them a hug as Jamie appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Mom, Dad. You're home? Cooked my own dinner." He said. At five years older than his sibling, he was getting ready for college. He was more of a bookworm and opted to stay home rather than go out to his sister's games unless the Navy Rams were in the playoffs; then he went to support his sister.

Meg looked up the stairs and asked "Did you put the dishes in the dishwasher and clean up after you were finished?"

"Yeah, Mom. I was building a scale model upstairs in my room after dinner...while waiting for you guys to get home. I'm heading for bed." Jamie's comment was interrupted by a huge yawn and he turned on his heels after his comment. Meg and Animal knew that he had stayed up to make sure that they were home before turning in for bed.

"OK, Jamie." Meg replied "Don't forget to clean up your modeling table. OK?"

"Yeah, I'll do that before I go to bed, Mom." Both disappeared upstairs as Meg sighed happily. She could have the rest of the evening to spend with her beloved husband. Chores had been completed before having to run out to the hockey game so the only thing that had to be done was put away the dishes and after Animal changed into some Navy sweats, they both set to the task of getting that done before bed.

"Hey, hon," Meg stated as she looked over at Animal, "you were saying that Admiral Pruette wanted a meeting on Tuesday. Any idea what she wants?"

"Nary a clue..." Animal shrugged his shoulders as he wiped a plate and put it up in the cupboard. "All I could tell was that she was hot under the collar with Bennett's antics. You may be getting a SITREP fired past your bow in the next few weeks once she sets her NAVINSGEN bloodhounds after him."

Meg raised her eyebrows in question and said. "Well it's about time since he was working you into the ground. I'll wait on giving Harm a heads-up until the papers come through official channels but just from what you told me it's not looking good for Admiral Bennett." As they put the last of the dishes up, she leaned in to give him a kiss. "I can think of three things to charge him with, Undue influence, dereliction of duty, and disrespect of a fellow officer. Not the least of which is undue influence since his making you his errand boy..." Meg wrapped her arms around Animal and purred softly in his ear, "...kept you away from me for far too long. He should get life in prison just for that alone..." She thought his laughter was the most beautiful sound she had heard in a long time. During the ordeal with the DCOMSECONDFLEET position, Animal's sense of humor was practically non-existent due to the stresses of the job and she missed it; it had been far too long since he'd last laughed.

"I love you so much, Meg..." Animal said softly as he looked deeply into her blue eyes.

"I love you too." Meg smiled impishly, "Care to give me my Christmas present early?" Animal made a move to go towards their secret present hiding spot but Meg shook her head. "Not that one, honey," she said in an amorously throaty voice looking him up and down showing him overtly exactly what present she wanted to unwrap as she coaxed him up the stairs into their master bedroom and shut the door.

Ronald Reagan International Airport; Washington, DC December 23 0730 hrs.

To say the passenger terminal at Ronald Reagan International was extremely busy was an understatement. The arrivals flooded through the terminal as Harm stood waiting for the one arrival that meant something to his lonely personage standing there in civilian clothes so as to not create a spectacle. Harm knew that the plane's arrival was imminent. She had stated that her flight quite possibly would not be in until 0815 so he had to sit and wait. But for Harmon Rabb Jr.; sitting and waiting was not incorporated into his DNA so he stood and paced periodically peering out into the early morning December gloom watching the flakes coming down and wondering when her plane was coming in.

Contemplating their relationship since Cresswell had dropped the bomb on him almost twelve years ago with an assignment to Fleet Force JAG in London, Harm and Mac had decided that they needed to seriously talk about their relationship. Living together while assigned to separate commands (Harm to NSAWC and Mac as JAG was all fine, well and good but when Harm came back to JAG and promptly got the assignment to Europe, Mac had known their relationship had come to a fork in the road. Talking to Cresswell, who was noticeably reluctant to have Mac give up a career she had worked hard for, Mac had managed to grab a juicy posting as a public affairs officer for MARFORCESCOMEUROPE which worked out of the same office as Harm but reported to the COMMARFORCESEUROPE. It had allowed him to carry on a relationship with Mac and for that; he was grateful to the taciturn former Marine JAG. Now as JAG he was aware of the tightrope of relationship fostering as Lieutenant Commander Jason Tiner, JAGC, was in a serious relationship with former Legalman and now Lieutenant Jennifer Coates; a Navy psychiatrist. Now he realized just how much of a headache he had given his former commanding officers.

He had almost worn a hole in the carpet when the announcement of her flight debarking passengers brought him out of the almost mind numbing induced coma that he had entered into. However it was still almost fifteen minutes before her welcome form came through the sliding doors of the arrivals lounge.

"Hey flyboy..." Mac embraced her husband.

"Hey, Ninja-girl..." Harm responded pulling her into a hug that they both didn't want to disengage from. "I missed you."

"Missed you too...Harm" Mac replied stealing a kiss and maneuvering him towards the luggage retrieval carousel as they dodged the holiday travelers who were retrieving their own luggage. They made small-talk as they waited for Mac's luggage to come down the chute. "That's the one." Harm reached over a small asian man and his wife with a hasty apology and grabbed Mac's bag or they would have had to wait for another circuit of the baggage carousel.

As they walked away from the carousel, Harm commented, "Meg stepped up to do the JAG Christmas dinner. Harriet has done the Christmas get-togethers before but it's stressful with the twins growing up and all sorts of commitments weighing down on them. So Harriet wanted to take a break and Meg said she'd cover it. It'll probably be a slightly bigger Christmas party as Animal decided to include his friends in the mix to kill two birds with one stone."

Mac laughed, "Poor Admiral Nakamura. Are you sure he doesn't mind having half the JAG office invading his house on Christmas Eve?"

Harm snickered. "He got outranked by Meg." At Mac's look of confusion Harm explained. "He calls her the Fleet Admiral at home and Meg put a stop to any complaints." Tom Boone was also coming as Animal had served under Boone as a squadron commander and it just so happened that Harm's dad had known Boone as a friend and wingman prior to going down over Vietnam.

Mac burst out laughing. There were going to be so many stars at that Christmas party and poor Bud despite his recently received eagles was going to have his head spin seeing that many flag officers in closer proximity than he was used to; hers and Harm's stars included. "Party is on the 24th?" Mac asked as Harm nodded. "Do I have enough time to go shopping before then?" Harm's eyes widened in alarm as Mac grinned evilly. "Well...I do need a dress. Not much call for evening gowns on a base full of Marines and you do know that Meg wears her dresses well considering she is three inches taller than me."

Harm sighed as he rolled his eyes. Even though Mac had won his heart, she still felt like second fiddle when it came to the tall Texas tomboy who married Harm's RAG instructor. Women may be friends with each other but they were still rivals in the age-old custom of mating rituals. It was confusing to males how females, even when they'd landed a mate, still were competitive with each other. "Yeah. Mall's open today. I'm sure you could find something to wear there." Harm replied casually. He didn't bother answering the second part of Mac's reasoning. There was no need to play into her insecurity about her figure which to Harm; her incredible body was the next best thing next to Mac's brains and heaven knew that Harm missed Mac a great deal while she was at her post at MARLOGCOM. Too many miles separated the couple and he lived for the days that she was with him. Is that a side effect of getting married? He thought to himself.

"We're going to have fun shopping, sweetheart." Mac grinned at him as Harm started to look like he was being led to an execution. For males; shopping meant researching prices beforehand and executing a well-timed strike with a quick trip to the mall, head towards their target store, locate item and a quick egress of the target area, just like executing a tactical mission plan. For females; shopping meant long hours grazing the offerings, comparing prices, casually scouting the other shoppers and a return to the store should another female be wearing the same item they just bought.

To Harm, the latter form of shopping trip was on the same level as being tortured by an ISIS terrorist. By this time they had exited the passenger terminal and had arrived at Harm's SUV which he was considering upgrading as the "damned mom-mobile", as he called it, was getting over ten years old. Maybe I can still get something for this hunk of junk as a trade-in. Make that a Christmas present to myself. Mac never liked it either. He sighed like a condemned man and asked resignedly, "Mall; now or later."

"Feed me and give me a Starbucks latte and I'll be able to hit the malls running." Mac said with more energy than she felt; the fatigue from the flight being nothing that a Starbucks mocha latte with three shots of espresso couldn't fix. Harm restrained himself admirably from rolling his eyes and saved his arm from a potentially stinging smack. Malls were an addiction to women and Harm hated shopping with a passion but he'd bear the sheer agonizing torture with a stiff spine and gritted teeth for the sake of his beloved wife.

"Well, off to Beltway Burgers and Starbucks." Harm said with a long-suffering sigh prompting a hug from his wife. "...then to the mall..."

"You're so sweet, Harm." Mac gave him a winsome smile. That made it worthwhile.

Bud and Harriet's House 0930 hrs

"Bud!" Harriet's voice rang through the house, "who ate one of the Christmas cookies we were planning on taking to the admiral's?"

"Not me, honey." Bud cringed as he figured that Harriet was going to go on a warpath. Despite the fact that Harriet had stepped away from planning and executing a Christmas dinner, she'd just had to bake cookies. After all it wouldn't be Christmas without Harriet's sugar cookies with green and red sprinkles.

"There were one hundred cookies in a sealed bowl and now there are only ninety nine!" Harriet's tone was strident. "AJ ROBERTS?! Did you touch those cookies?!" Eighteen year old AJ Roberts knew better than to go near Mom's holiday baking.

"No, Mom..." AJ raised his hands in mock-alarm. "After that paddling I got seven years ago from touching your Christmas baking. No way."

"Where are the twins?!" the twins were fifteen and should have also known better but they were mischievous and often managed to outsmart their parents however they were also well aware that the cookies were being counted every day and the nuclear eruption from their mother would have sent the twins into hiding. "Well since no-one is going to 'fess up...I'm just going to replace the cookie with fifty one of ours. So now the admiral's party gets one hundred fifty and we only get twenty-five. And if you think I'm baking cookies again till after Christmas, you got another thing coming..." Her tirade was cutoff mid-shriek as the family dog staggered into the kitchen, heaved, then threw up a watery white mass on the floor with half-digested green sprinkles liberally on display, then looked up at Harriet with a woebegone face as all bloodhounds were wont to display.

"JINGLES!" Harriet's shriek rattled the windows as she turned pale, rushed to clean up the mess, then promptly threw all the cookies including the ones reserved for the Roberts' family into the trash; threw the plates that used to hold the cookies in the dishwasher and hoped there was a dishwasher setting for sterilize She sighed as she locked Jingles in the laundry room with water and some food fit for canine consumption then pulled the sugar cookie recipe out of the drawer and resignedly set to baking again.

"So did you find the culprit, Mom?" AJ wandered into the kitchen looking for something cold to drink. Harriet gave him a baleful look and gestured sharply with her thumb towards the laundry room.

"Go do something constructive!" grumbled Harriet as she resumed mixing ingredients for another batch of sugar cookies as AJ staggered out of the kitchen suppressing hysterical fits of laughter. Harriet glared at the exiting teen and tossed towards his retreating back a supplication. "Go take Jingles out for a walk...please?!"

"...but it's snowing..." protested AJ.

Harriet glowered at him and growled enunciating her command request in separated syllables. "...if you want any cookies...that haven't been licked by the dog... Go...take...the...dog...for a walk... NOW!" AJ got the message. Removing himself from his irritated mother's presence, he shook his head as he walked to Jingles' place of confinement.

Once there he waved his finger at the dog saying "BAD DOG!" Jingles gave him another mournful look and wagged his tail. The damned dog was expecting a walk AJ thought as he resignedly grabbed the leash. "C'mon. Jingles. Maybe Mom will be in a better mood when we get back."

Brookswood Mall, Arlington, VA, 0955 hrs

"Doesn't this look like a nice dress, Harm?" After about the third dress shop in the mall Mac had dragged him to and countless viewings of dresses, Harm was starting to tune out mentally and tire physically. At fifty-four, his stamina for wandering around malls in tow by a younger wife was starting to wane severely. His piteous looks of "please rescue me!" had no effect on the general populace rushing about trying to get their last-minute shopping done. The couples in the halls barely spared him a glance; too engrossed in their shopping to care. The single males smirked giving him sucks to be you looks while the single females gave Mac a look of commiseration and female solidarity while silently congratulating her on the invisible leash and his well-behaved appearance. His contemplation of his dire situation was interrupted by a rather perturbed "Harm, are you listening?"

Harm wondered if the stereotypical "hmmmm" would do but looking up and judging from the glare on one Sarah Mackenzie-Rabb's face, he knew that response would not go over well. Gulping, he said, "Yes, dear...that's a very nice dress..."; took one look at the price tag and nearly fainted. $639.99 for THAT?! Sure as hell wish the price was more palatable. Harm thought to himself as he was surprised that his wallet hadn't leapt out of his pocket in abject fear and ran screaming down the street carrying his credit cards along with it. But then he realized that Mrs. Rabb had exact copies of those credit cards and he looked up at her with what looked like a look of horror.

"What?" Mac asked in a hushed tone meant for Harm's ears only. "Are you seriously thinking I'm going to buy that over-priced thing?" She snorted biting down laughter "You have got to be kidding me. I could get something cheaper, matching shoes, handbag, purse and some low-cost jewelry to round out the outfit for that price." Her eyes twinkled knowing she'd gotten the response out of her husband she'd wanted; it freaked him out. She let him breathe a sigh of relief and then said, "We've shopped the boutique stores and they've got nothing I'm interested in. There's a store on the other side of the mall which has better prices than this and a better selection. Let's head there..." She said taking him by the hand and coaxing him out of his comfortable chair as Harm sighed inaudibly in mute protest as he was pulled down the shopping mall towards yet another five hours of inexorably excruciating boredom. Yes, sometimes Life truly sucked.

At least if he made an attempt to look semi-interested in Mac's attempts to find the perfect Christmas party dress, perhaps he wouldn't have to endure the annual Ugly Christmas Sweater contest which would be transferred to the Nakamura residence this year. It was a Pentagon Christmas Party tradition started by none other than Admiral Toshio Animal Nakamura, former Chief of Naval Operations which involved all four services in a contest on who could find and wear the most hideous Christmas Sweater available.

As a New York Ranger fan, Animal decided to wear the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey as a Christmas ugly sweater one year and pissed off half the Canadians working at the Pentagon. The other half, being Habs and Canucks fans; just grinned and gave him a thumbs up every time the Chief of Naval Operations walked by dressed in the sweater. They didn't bother trying to poll Flames, Jets and Oilers fans in the contingent. There were too few to even make an appreciable dent in the ratings as to the hideousness of that Leafs jersey. Harm was sure that if Animal wore his Mark Messier number 11 New York Rangers jersey, he would have pissed off all the Canucks fans. Harm had heard scuttlebutt from a Royal Canadian Air Force major that hailed from Vancouver: Messier was persona non grata in that city.

Harm's thoughts turned back to this year's potential entries in the contest that could win the prize for being the holiday season's ugliest sweater and considering how disgusting some of those sweaters were, they could easily match up for the Ugliest Christmas Sweater of All Time award. But he sure as hell wasn't going to buy an ugly sweater just to enter the contest.

"Oh look, I found you the perfect sweater! Admiral Nakamura did mention an ugly Christmas sweater contest. This is perfect." Harm turned to the sound of his wife's voice and nearly recoiled in horror at the sight: rows of dancing Santas and Christmas trees alternating with wreaths and reindeer in green, brown, red and white. It was a work of absolute festive repulsiveness with the major color of that sweater being the color of reindeer scat.

Harm sighed, "If that doesn't take first place, can I light a bonfire with it?"

Mac laughed uproariously causing several shoppers to stop, look and point at the sweater and cover their mouths in mirth.

Harm groaned, "Honey, that isn't helping..." Which caused more laughter from Mac every time she saw his looks of dismay.

When she could breathe again she gasped,"I was going to frame it with a brass plaque if it does win..." And resumed laughing when Harm rolled his eyes. When her laughter reduced to giggles, she asked with a look of mischief on her face,"Should I use cash or credit?" And snickered at his look of supplication that she spare him from the humiliation. Nope, when they walked away from the store she had the bag containing the sweater in hand gripped tightly to her body with a satisfied smile on her face and a resigned husband in tow.

When she did find the dress that she wanted to wear to the Christmas party at the Nakamura's six stores later, Harm was more than ready to fall asleep on his feet. And when Mac lightly brushed his jacket-covered arm, he more than knew what he wanted; thus they both made a beeline out of the mall and headed home.

848 Holly Drive, Annapolis, MD. December 23 1030hrs

"Mommy! What's that yummy smell?" Katie called out from the couch in the rec room.

"That's the mashed potatoes, sweetie." Meg replied busily stirring the pot with the ladle. "I melted some cheddar cheese in the butter to thicken the potatoes up. You're probably smelling the cheese."

"Where's Dad?" Jamie poked his head into the kitchen. "The staircase railing is decorated with the garland." The Nakamura household owing to the Christmas party organized by Meg was going all-out on decorations.

"He said he was going out to Omiura's for some kaki. Your dad doesn't find himself in the Christmas spirit unless he has Japanese persimmons at the dinner table. That and eggnog. Thank you, Jamie for putting in the effort to fix up the staircase railing so it looks nice." Meg replied and acknowledged her son's hard work at decorating the staircase.

"No sweat, Mom..." Jamie grinned at his mother, "Know when he's going to get back?"

"He left two hours ago so barring any traffic problems, he should be back soon. Lunch will be ready in an hour and a half. Will you or Katie help me wipe down the table?" Meg queried her offspring.

"I will!" called out Katie.

"Keener..." Jamie teased his sister.

"Shut up, bender." Katie sniped.

"Knock it off, you two! One of you can clean, the other can set the table." Meg admonished. Both children looked at their mother with identical innocent expressions. Meg didn't believe it at all. She raised an eyebrow with a jaundiced glare at both of them.

"OK Mom!" They chimed in unison. Meg shook her head wondering if the two of them had gotten together and colluded to give their poor mother a headache.

Shoving a damp dishrag at one, and gesturing at the dish cabinet to the other, she said shortly, "OK...git on it! Now. Scoot!" and turned back to the rest of her holiday recipes.

The two little fiends shot each other identical grins and chimed "Yes, Mother...dear." with teeth-achingly saccharine sweetness.

"Quit bugging your mother and do what you're told!" A familiar baritone voice caused the two of them to cease being annoying incredibly quickly and hop to their tasks, as their father came through the door stopping briefly with several bags in his hands. He placed one bag on the large U-shaped kitchen counter and another bag on the island and then briefly, left hand encircling his wife's slim waist; two large bags still in his right, pulled her close and gave her a tenderly loving kiss, causing Katie to...

...gag audibly, "Ugh...old people kissing..."

And Jamie to pretend to wretch. "Awwww Dad. I think I'm going to throw up. Yuck, you're scarring me for life."

Animal smirked at his son,"Just wait till you bring your girlfriend over, son!" He grinned evilly. "I'll make faces like this:" he demonstrated by crossing his eyes, shaking his head, sticking out his tongue and waggling it and making slurping sounds..."every time you two kiss..." He smirked at Jamie's disgusted reaction. Meg was looking at him with a how the hell did I marry him look on her face as she shook her head and tried not to laugh...

...finally resorting to muttering. "Good heavens, I have to deal with three immature children." And turning back to her holiday cooking.

"What have you got in the bag?" asked Jamie.

"Nothing you need to know about until Christmas morning. Do your chores." Animal said as he headed out the kitchen headed for the stairs...

Brother shot sister a knowing look and stage-whispered "Sneak in to take a..." ...and clammed up when Dad poked his head back in the kitchen doorway.

"...and NO sneaking into Mom and Dad's bedroom either!" He smirked. "I still have the receipt and they can go back, you know..." then disappeared again.

"Drats" the kids chorused.

Dad's voice echoed down the hallway. "Get busy with your chores!"

Mommy answered "Dad can see through walls..." as the two children looked at each other with identical silent questions of "How the..." written plainly on their faces.

In the meantime, Animal headed with the remaining two bags into the screening room; the home they had bought was big enough to own a home theatre with a projection screen large enough to take up most of the end wall. Having a comfortable four-star's six digit salary made it possible. Being an admiral was akin to being one of the directors of a fairly large national corporation and drew a comparable salary per annum. Right now, the screening room was being used as Christmas Wrapping Station and Present Central and was kept locked with only access to Mom and Dad. Animal closed the door behind him and drew out the presents that he had bought.

Taking the one that was meant for Jamie, he looked at it. It had taken a quick out of the way trip to a hobby shop that catered to the type of scale models that Jamie liked to build. Animal had built scale models in his youth and Grandpa (Animal's Dad), though practical; having grown up through the lean war years in an internment camp, had wanted a better childhood for his own son started Animal out on the model-building hobby. Having selected three of the scale models Jamie had been talking about, he'd picked them out and purchased them. It certainly wasn't the fifty cent kits of his day. These buggers were over seventy dollars apiece. They certainly weren't cheap and his wallet was smarting after parting with over two hundred dollars just on Jamie's gifts alone.

Katie was a lot easier to buy for but her present was just as expensive. She'd been needing a new helmet for a while so having coordinated with her team's minor hockey coach to get the new helmet in her team's home colors. It was expensive but worth it in terms of safety. Plus he'd gotten a few more cheap figures related to hockey to round out the presents for Katie and some stocking stuffers for both of the children. All of those were laboriously wrapped and set so that the presents were ready to place under the tree and in their Christmas stockings late Christmas Eve, while the children were asleep. When he finished, he heard the key in the door and quickly stacked the now wrapped presents in a neat stack. The door opened and closed, was locked behind the entering person who wrapped her arms around him and kissed him thoroughly on the mouth, whispering "Hey, sweetheart, lunch is ready."

"I love you." He whispered against Meg's lips as they kissed again.

Meg smiled and said, "I love you too. Now come and eat, lunch is on the table and the kids are probably wondering where we took off to...probably making old folks jokes."

"I'm not that old..." Animal grumbled. "I'm only fifty-nine"

"Darling, to young teenagers, thirty-five is considered ancient." Meg replied with a smirk.

"Well...at least you're only in your forties yet." Animal said. "And a gorgeous looking forty at that."

"I'm forty-nine...did you forget?" Meg complained, her eyes twinkling impishly as Animal leaned in and kissed her again silencing her half-hearted protests. "Now come on or lunch will get cold..."