Part 2
Quantico. It seemed weird going there dressed in fatigues. In the last few years I had been there for a variety of reasons, but training wasn't one of them. I walked into the army entrance and then headed immediately to section posts. I found the post I was looking for and then asked the clerk for Special Forces.
"Down the corridor to the left. Your barracks are as yet not posted. You'll be told where you'll be." The Colonel said.
"Yes, Sir, thank you." Saluted him and then went to the room.
I opened the door to find one man in the room. He sat behind a desk reading. He looked up as I entered. "If you're lost then you'll have to go back to the posts." His Chicago accent was strong, and I automatically picked him for a man's man. Typical. ' No trouble,' I thought, 'he'll learn soon that balls aren't needed to fight a war.'
"Is this Special Forces?" I asked.
"Yup."
"Then I'm in the right place. Luitenant colonel Mackenzie." I said dropping her things next to her.
"Oh, great… the colonel is really going to love this… a woman." He said as if he were the only one in the room.
"Oh, go fuck yourself." I said absently.
"I'd rather fuck you." He said.
"If I'm in need for a fuck you'll be the first one to know." I said and sat down. I had photocopies of a couple cases with me. I needed to keep my mind stimulated while I was here. Otherwise I might never get back to JAG and I might be stuck with a regular military position. All those years of studying and getting the bar exam would be out the window. I reread the first case. Halfway I stopped. Harm's handwriting.
"What are you doing?" Came the marine's voice. I looked up and found him getting up.
"What's it to you?" I asked.
"We got off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry. My name's Charlie Scully, but people call me Slit. That's because when I'm at war I am so quiet, that you can only hear the slit of my knife going across the neck of the enemy."
"Mac." I said, shaking his hand.
"You wanna get some coffee and bug some FBI agents?" He asked.
"Sure." I said. I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
"You can leave that here."
"I'm not stupid Slit. I don't need any men looking through my things for what I have. I'm a lawyer, so I'm not stupid." They exited the door and walked down the hall towards the cafeteria.
"You're a lawyer?"
"Yeah," I said, "I've been part of JAG for the last three years."
"What made you want to go to war? Do you want to kill some Afghans?"
"I'm being forced. They told me that I either had to become Navy, or I had to go back to Special Forces for the duration of the war."
"Super Fi."
"Super Fi." It was more of an explanation that they would both understand. Sub-consciously there were many other reasons, but that had definitely been my turning point. "I couldn't go through navy training. I couldn't be on a ship for a tour, though my partner would have told me to do otherwise."
"Would have, doesn't he know that you're going out to war?" Slit asked.
"No, he had a date last night that he couldn't get out of, though I told him I needed him." I explained. "So, I still have a loose end."
"You're not the only one. I still haven't told my sister that I'm being shipped out either. But I'm going to soon."
"When?"
"Well, my sister's an FBI agent, and she's here in Quantico. She got married to her partner, so they were split up."
"Oh."
"Come on. You'd like her." Charlie held the door to the FBI section of Quantico. Then with little talk they walked towards the morgue. He looked around and then with a quiet Eureka he entered an autopsy bay where a short redhead talked with a taller handsome man. They walked in quietly.
"Mulder, he's been dead six days." The redhead told him.
"But Dana, I saw him yesterday." Mulder reasoned.
"Well, what do you want me to tell you?"
"He wants you to tell him it's an alien, Dana." Slit inserted.
The two FBI agents looked at us, and when Dana saw whom it was she smiled and ran towards Slit.
"Charlie!" She ran into his arms.
"Hey. I need to talk to the two of you. I'm being shipped out soon to Afghanistan. I'm part of a Special Forces group going after Osama Bin Laden."
Dana's reaction was one of shock. "Oh, my goodness, Charlie. Will you be careful?"
"I promise, Dana. Anyway, if something happens we have a lawyer to get us out of trouble." He said pointing to me.
"Luitenant colonel Sarah Mackenzie." I introduced myself.
"Special Agent Dana Scully-Mulder." She said, and then presenting the tall dark-haired man, "and this is my husband Special Agent Fox Mulder."
"Pleased to meet you." I shook Mulder's hand.
"We're going to be on Bill's ship." Slit told his sister.
"Bill's going to Afghanistan too?!" Dana replied.
Mulder leaned towards me and said: "Bill's the other Scully brother, He's in the navy."
"Oh." I replied.
"He's just bringing us there, that's all." Slit said.
"Scully, what time is it?" Mulder asked.
"Oh, that's right, I have to pick up Will from school."
"It's 1320." I offered.
"You can do that too?" Mulder said.
"All Special Forces can do that Mulder." Slit gave his brother-in-law a sly grin.
"I really hate to leave Charlie, but I have to pick Will up." Dana told him.
"No problem sis. Mac and I were going to get some dinner, before we meet our colonel. Take care sis."
"You too, Charlie." Dana hugged Slit tightly to her. A tear fell from her eye. "And you better come home before I get another little gremlin." She smiled.
"You're pregnant again! That makes four. Goodness Mulder you starting up a factory."
"I'm pumping out uber-Mulders… Take care Charlie, and good luck."
"Thanks Mulder, take care of her." Slit said.
"You got it." Mulder promised.
Then both Slit and I turned to leave the room. "Hey Mac," he turned to me, "would you wait outside the door for me?"
"Yeah, sure, Slit."
"Be there in a minute. I just need to talk to Mulder for a sec."
I went outside and waited. I wished I had had a family like that. I missed Uncle Matt. He was the only real family I had. But then now I had Bud and Harriet. I missed them too. I smiled at the thought of how they seemed to call me ma'am no matter how many times I told them not to.
"You okay?" Slit had come out of the room.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about how I wish I was with my family."
"They know you're leaving right?"
"Yeah, they all do except Harm. I'll survive though."
"Hmmm." Slit answered. "Come on, let's have some dinner."
At eight o'clock they returned to the room, to find five other men. They were all well build and in their early thirties. They were also typical.
"Hey, Slit," One of them said. He seemed to be the 'leader' of the group. "You'd better say goodbye to your girlfriend before the colonel gets in. Where'd you pick up such a scrumptious piece of meat?"
"Slit didn't pick me up from anywhere. As a matter of fact you could say I picked him up, cause I walked in on him."
"Damn, Slit, the bitch can talk." A Latino said. He stood to the right of the other man, and had a smirk on his face.
I walked up to him slowly, and stood in front of him. There I quickly grasped his crotch and squeezed hard. Very hard. "If I were you Captain Jena," I read his tag, "I would stop thinking with this head, and start using the other." Then I let go, and let the heavy build man fall to the floor.
Just then the door opened and a lean man in his late thirties entered. "Good evening gentlemen, lady. It's good to see you all. For those who don't know me, I'm colonel Essman. I trust that you have made Luitenant colonel Mackenzie feel at home?" He walked past everyone admiring their salutes. "Now, I had the luitenant colonel assigned into this unit. She's actually going to do some undercover work. We're all supposed to back her up. The project is top secret, and it won't get muttered outside this room. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes sir." They all said in unity.
"Good. We'll all be sleeping in here tonight. Colonel, do you need a separate room?"
"No sir." I bellowed.
"Fine. Then you are released until eight o'clock, and then everyone must be in here and be accounted for. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Dismissed." Some of the men went back to what they were doing. "Oh, Slit, Mac, there's an Agent Mulder to see you in the cafeteria."
I was confused. Agent Mulder had only met me for a short while, why would he request me? It made no sense, but I dutifully followed Slit to his brother-in-law. "What does he need me for?" I asked Slit on the way.
"I asked him to do me a favor that concerns you." He answered.
Could he have gotten Uncle Matt here? No. I hadn't told him about Uncle Matt. But I had told him about Harm. Oh, God, he got Agent Mulder to get Harm here. I stopped walking.
"I can't see him, Slit." I said.
"You have to. You can't have any loose ends when you go out to war. You know that. I can't have you panicking and risking your own life, much less the whole squad. If we're supposed to protect you on this mission, we can't do that if you have a death wish. So, soldier up, Marine, go in there and get it over it. Okay?"
"But, Slit, you don't understand." I protested.
"Then you can explain it to me on the flight out." Slit said. "It's not a request, it's an order."
"Fine." I said and then entered the cafeteria. Slit followed me in and pointed Agent Mulder out to me. We walked towards him slowly. I looked around but could not find Harm.
"Where is he, Mulder?"
"He's waiting outside. He didn't want to talk to her with everyone else around, so he told me to tell you to go to the parking lot and look for his car." Agent Mulder told me.
Then as if my heart had been restarted it started to speed. I turned on my heals and ran as fast as I could to the other end of the building. I burst out of the doors and ran along the side of the cars. In the far corner I spotted his car, and leaning against the hood was Harm, in his dress whites looking at his feet. He looked really good: handsome, and so boyish looking down at the ground as if he didn't know how to compose himself, or as if he was in trouble. I slowed down. I didn't want him to catch me out of breath, so I walked towards him.
When I was close enough I said: "You'd better get off the car before your uniform gets dirty."
He looked up at me and smiled.
I took a seat on the hood and then looked out at the other cars. "Who told you?" I asked. I was curious if the Admiral, Bud, or Harriet had broken down.
"Actually it was Renйe. She broke up with me last night and then this morning she called me up and told me." He told me.
"How did she know?" I asked.
"No idea," he answered.
There was a moment of silence where both of us didn't know what to say. However unspoken words are the most deadly I have learned being a lawyer. "She broke up with you on her birthday?" I asked bewildered trying to keep both of us talking.
"Yeah, a triumph for her I guess… she broke up with me because of you."
"Because of me? But I thought she only knew about it this morning?"
"Oh, she did. She broke up with me because she says that I'm in love with you."
"Is that what you meant with the inevitable when Mic left?" I said softly.
"Yeah. That's what I meant."
"Oh."
"Mac, why are you going?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"I have to Harm. I don't want to, but something in me tells me that I have to. But I don't want to if it means I'm going to loose you. I will go through Navy training if that is what you want."
"Would you, Mac?" Harm was now standing in front of me, and in between my legs.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I love you. Because I've always loved you: and just didn't know how to cope with it." I said. Once again tears were falling. I had never had enough reason to cry this much. I loved him so much.
I looked into his eyes and noticed a look that I had never seen in him before. Dalton and Mark had had that same look. It was desire. Then before I knew it I felt his lips on mine, and his tongue massaging mine: he was kissing me. I instinctively reached up and put my arms around his neck pulling him closer to me. I wanted him so much, I always had. Eventually we released. I still had my eyes closed as his face moved away from mine.
"I love you too, Sarah."
My eyes opened.
"I do, honestly." He said with an innocent face. "All my girlfriends have broken up with me because of you, and after the second one I reexamined myself, and I discovered that I loved. It was amazing to me. I was dumbfounded, but at the same time I wasn't sensing anything from you besides for friendship and it's against regulations, so I didn't want to take my chances. I love working with you so much; the thought of you getting moved because of a relationship would tear me."
My cheeks were once again wet, and he raised my face with his hands and then kissed each cheek collecting the tears.
"I am so proud of you, Mac. You're my hero. I love you so much." He still held my head in both of his hands. "I know I don't have long. I've got the forwarding address, so be sure to get mail, okay?"
I looked at his face and smiled. "Tell me about it, mail from you, and from Bud and Harriet, even Uncle Matt. I may never get to fight with all this mail." I joked.
"Oh, I'll be sure you do," came a low male voice from behind Harm, he turned and I saw Slit standing there. "I'm sorry, Mac, but we have to start heading in. It's almost lock-in."
I nodded. "Okay, give me a couple more minutes and I'll be ready to leave." I said to him. I then turned back to Harm, "Harm, you heard him, I have to go."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself, Marine."
"You too sailor, and I don't want to hear from Harriet how you got yourself into danger or trouble while I'm gone."
"Yes ma'am." Harm jokingly said.
I smiled. "Do you want me to go into the Navy, Harm?"
His smile was gentle, "As much as I would love that, no. I don't. I love you for who you are ninja-girl, and if that means that you have to go off and hunt a mass murderer in a country full of terrorists then so be it."
My smile was radiant. I knew it. I loved Harm all the more at that moment. The fact that he respected my choices and decisions meant a lot to me. I kissed him one last time and then got off the hood. It was time to go. My new assignment lay ahead of me in enemy territory, and I had to go and do it.
"I love you, Harm." I told him.
"I love you too. Come home to me, Sarah." He said.
"I will." I promised him. I had now promised Harm, Chloe, Harriet, Bud, the Admiral, and Uncle Matt that I would come home. Therefore it was no longer a request, I would be back.
I turned to Slit and smiled at him. "Slit, I want you to meet my partner, Harmon Rabb. Harm this is Charlie Scully, a member of my squad."
Slit walked forward and shook Harm's hand. "Pleased to meet you sir."
"Pleased to meet you too." He said taking Slit's hand. "You're going to make sure she comes back to me right?"
"You bet, commander."
"Good. I'm placing her in your trust." Harm said.
"I can take care of myself, Harm." I protested.
"Oh, that I know, ninja-girl, I Need the colonel to protect the others from you." Both Harm and Slit seemed to have a good laugh at that.
"Ha ha." I said sarcastically.
"No, really, knowing you you've already beaten up one of your squad members." Harm pointed out.
"Well, actually…" Slit began.
"I knew it. You go, ninja-girl, before I change my mind and force you to join to Navy." He lightly pushed me towards the building.
I looked up at him with a sad smile. "I love you."
"I love you too." He answered.
"Mac, it's two to eight." Slit said.
"I know, Slit." I turned around and headed to the building, and then with one more glance we both ran to the holding room.
Quantico. It seemed weird going there dressed in fatigues. In the last few years I had been there for a variety of reasons, but training wasn't one of them. I walked into the army entrance and then headed immediately to section posts. I found the post I was looking for and then asked the clerk for Special Forces.
"Down the corridor to the left. Your barracks are as yet not posted. You'll be told where you'll be." The Colonel said.
"Yes, Sir, thank you." Saluted him and then went to the room.
I opened the door to find one man in the room. He sat behind a desk reading. He looked up as I entered. "If you're lost then you'll have to go back to the posts." His Chicago accent was strong, and I automatically picked him for a man's man. Typical. ' No trouble,' I thought, 'he'll learn soon that balls aren't needed to fight a war.'
"Is this Special Forces?" I asked.
"Yup."
"Then I'm in the right place. Luitenant colonel Mackenzie." I said dropping her things next to her.
"Oh, great… the colonel is really going to love this… a woman." He said as if he were the only one in the room.
"Oh, go fuck yourself." I said absently.
"I'd rather fuck you." He said.
"If I'm in need for a fuck you'll be the first one to know." I said and sat down. I had photocopies of a couple cases with me. I needed to keep my mind stimulated while I was here. Otherwise I might never get back to JAG and I might be stuck with a regular military position. All those years of studying and getting the bar exam would be out the window. I reread the first case. Halfway I stopped. Harm's handwriting.
"What are you doing?" Came the marine's voice. I looked up and found him getting up.
"What's it to you?" I asked.
"We got off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry. My name's Charlie Scully, but people call me Slit. That's because when I'm at war I am so quiet, that you can only hear the slit of my knife going across the neck of the enemy."
"Mac." I said, shaking his hand.
"You wanna get some coffee and bug some FBI agents?" He asked.
"Sure." I said. I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
"You can leave that here."
"I'm not stupid Slit. I don't need any men looking through my things for what I have. I'm a lawyer, so I'm not stupid." They exited the door and walked down the hall towards the cafeteria.
"You're a lawyer?"
"Yeah," I said, "I've been part of JAG for the last three years."
"What made you want to go to war? Do you want to kill some Afghans?"
"I'm being forced. They told me that I either had to become Navy, or I had to go back to Special Forces for the duration of the war."
"Super Fi."
"Super Fi." It was more of an explanation that they would both understand. Sub-consciously there were many other reasons, but that had definitely been my turning point. "I couldn't go through navy training. I couldn't be on a ship for a tour, though my partner would have told me to do otherwise."
"Would have, doesn't he know that you're going out to war?" Slit asked.
"No, he had a date last night that he couldn't get out of, though I told him I needed him." I explained. "So, I still have a loose end."
"You're not the only one. I still haven't told my sister that I'm being shipped out either. But I'm going to soon."
"When?"
"Well, my sister's an FBI agent, and she's here in Quantico. She got married to her partner, so they were split up."
"Oh."
"Come on. You'd like her." Charlie held the door to the FBI section of Quantico. Then with little talk they walked towards the morgue. He looked around and then with a quiet Eureka he entered an autopsy bay where a short redhead talked with a taller handsome man. They walked in quietly.
"Mulder, he's been dead six days." The redhead told him.
"But Dana, I saw him yesterday." Mulder reasoned.
"Well, what do you want me to tell you?"
"He wants you to tell him it's an alien, Dana." Slit inserted.
The two FBI agents looked at us, and when Dana saw whom it was she smiled and ran towards Slit.
"Charlie!" She ran into his arms.
"Hey. I need to talk to the two of you. I'm being shipped out soon to Afghanistan. I'm part of a Special Forces group going after Osama Bin Laden."
Dana's reaction was one of shock. "Oh, my goodness, Charlie. Will you be careful?"
"I promise, Dana. Anyway, if something happens we have a lawyer to get us out of trouble." He said pointing to me.
"Luitenant colonel Sarah Mackenzie." I introduced myself.
"Special Agent Dana Scully-Mulder." She said, and then presenting the tall dark-haired man, "and this is my husband Special Agent Fox Mulder."
"Pleased to meet you." I shook Mulder's hand.
"We're going to be on Bill's ship." Slit told his sister.
"Bill's going to Afghanistan too?!" Dana replied.
Mulder leaned towards me and said: "Bill's the other Scully brother, He's in the navy."
"Oh." I replied.
"He's just bringing us there, that's all." Slit said.
"Scully, what time is it?" Mulder asked.
"Oh, that's right, I have to pick up Will from school."
"It's 1320." I offered.
"You can do that too?" Mulder said.
"All Special Forces can do that Mulder." Slit gave his brother-in-law a sly grin.
"I really hate to leave Charlie, but I have to pick Will up." Dana told him.
"No problem sis. Mac and I were going to get some dinner, before we meet our colonel. Take care sis."
"You too, Charlie." Dana hugged Slit tightly to her. A tear fell from her eye. "And you better come home before I get another little gremlin." She smiled.
"You're pregnant again! That makes four. Goodness Mulder you starting up a factory."
"I'm pumping out uber-Mulders… Take care Charlie, and good luck."
"Thanks Mulder, take care of her." Slit said.
"You got it." Mulder promised.
Then both Slit and I turned to leave the room. "Hey Mac," he turned to me, "would you wait outside the door for me?"
"Yeah, sure, Slit."
"Be there in a minute. I just need to talk to Mulder for a sec."
I went outside and waited. I wished I had had a family like that. I missed Uncle Matt. He was the only real family I had. But then now I had Bud and Harriet. I missed them too. I smiled at the thought of how they seemed to call me ma'am no matter how many times I told them not to.
"You okay?" Slit had come out of the room.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about how I wish I was with my family."
"They know you're leaving right?"
"Yeah, they all do except Harm. I'll survive though."
"Hmmm." Slit answered. "Come on, let's have some dinner."
At eight o'clock they returned to the room, to find five other men. They were all well build and in their early thirties. They were also typical.
"Hey, Slit," One of them said. He seemed to be the 'leader' of the group. "You'd better say goodbye to your girlfriend before the colonel gets in. Where'd you pick up such a scrumptious piece of meat?"
"Slit didn't pick me up from anywhere. As a matter of fact you could say I picked him up, cause I walked in on him."
"Damn, Slit, the bitch can talk." A Latino said. He stood to the right of the other man, and had a smirk on his face.
I walked up to him slowly, and stood in front of him. There I quickly grasped his crotch and squeezed hard. Very hard. "If I were you Captain Jena," I read his tag, "I would stop thinking with this head, and start using the other." Then I let go, and let the heavy build man fall to the floor.
Just then the door opened and a lean man in his late thirties entered. "Good evening gentlemen, lady. It's good to see you all. For those who don't know me, I'm colonel Essman. I trust that you have made Luitenant colonel Mackenzie feel at home?" He walked past everyone admiring their salutes. "Now, I had the luitenant colonel assigned into this unit. She's actually going to do some undercover work. We're all supposed to back her up. The project is top secret, and it won't get muttered outside this room. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes sir." They all said in unity.
"Good. We'll all be sleeping in here tonight. Colonel, do you need a separate room?"
"No sir." I bellowed.
"Fine. Then you are released until eight o'clock, and then everyone must be in here and be accounted for. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Dismissed." Some of the men went back to what they were doing. "Oh, Slit, Mac, there's an Agent Mulder to see you in the cafeteria."
I was confused. Agent Mulder had only met me for a short while, why would he request me? It made no sense, but I dutifully followed Slit to his brother-in-law. "What does he need me for?" I asked Slit on the way.
"I asked him to do me a favor that concerns you." He answered.
Could he have gotten Uncle Matt here? No. I hadn't told him about Uncle Matt. But I had told him about Harm. Oh, God, he got Agent Mulder to get Harm here. I stopped walking.
"I can't see him, Slit." I said.
"You have to. You can't have any loose ends when you go out to war. You know that. I can't have you panicking and risking your own life, much less the whole squad. If we're supposed to protect you on this mission, we can't do that if you have a death wish. So, soldier up, Marine, go in there and get it over it. Okay?"
"But, Slit, you don't understand." I protested.
"Then you can explain it to me on the flight out." Slit said. "It's not a request, it's an order."
"Fine." I said and then entered the cafeteria. Slit followed me in and pointed Agent Mulder out to me. We walked towards him slowly. I looked around but could not find Harm.
"Where is he, Mulder?"
"He's waiting outside. He didn't want to talk to her with everyone else around, so he told me to tell you to go to the parking lot and look for his car." Agent Mulder told me.
Then as if my heart had been restarted it started to speed. I turned on my heals and ran as fast as I could to the other end of the building. I burst out of the doors and ran along the side of the cars. In the far corner I spotted his car, and leaning against the hood was Harm, in his dress whites looking at his feet. He looked really good: handsome, and so boyish looking down at the ground as if he didn't know how to compose himself, or as if he was in trouble. I slowed down. I didn't want him to catch me out of breath, so I walked towards him.
When I was close enough I said: "You'd better get off the car before your uniform gets dirty."
He looked up at me and smiled.
I took a seat on the hood and then looked out at the other cars. "Who told you?" I asked. I was curious if the Admiral, Bud, or Harriet had broken down.
"Actually it was Renйe. She broke up with me last night and then this morning she called me up and told me." He told me.
"How did she know?" I asked.
"No idea," he answered.
There was a moment of silence where both of us didn't know what to say. However unspoken words are the most deadly I have learned being a lawyer. "She broke up with you on her birthday?" I asked bewildered trying to keep both of us talking.
"Yeah, a triumph for her I guess… she broke up with me because of you."
"Because of me? But I thought she only knew about it this morning?"
"Oh, she did. She broke up with me because she says that I'm in love with you."
"Is that what you meant with the inevitable when Mic left?" I said softly.
"Yeah. That's what I meant."
"Oh."
"Mac, why are you going?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"I have to Harm. I don't want to, but something in me tells me that I have to. But I don't want to if it means I'm going to loose you. I will go through Navy training if that is what you want."
"Would you, Mac?" Harm was now standing in front of me, and in between my legs.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I love you. Because I've always loved you: and just didn't know how to cope with it." I said. Once again tears were falling. I had never had enough reason to cry this much. I loved him so much.
I looked into his eyes and noticed a look that I had never seen in him before. Dalton and Mark had had that same look. It was desire. Then before I knew it I felt his lips on mine, and his tongue massaging mine: he was kissing me. I instinctively reached up and put my arms around his neck pulling him closer to me. I wanted him so much, I always had. Eventually we released. I still had my eyes closed as his face moved away from mine.
"I love you too, Sarah."
My eyes opened.
"I do, honestly." He said with an innocent face. "All my girlfriends have broken up with me because of you, and after the second one I reexamined myself, and I discovered that I loved. It was amazing to me. I was dumbfounded, but at the same time I wasn't sensing anything from you besides for friendship and it's against regulations, so I didn't want to take my chances. I love working with you so much; the thought of you getting moved because of a relationship would tear me."
My cheeks were once again wet, and he raised my face with his hands and then kissed each cheek collecting the tears.
"I am so proud of you, Mac. You're my hero. I love you so much." He still held my head in both of his hands. "I know I don't have long. I've got the forwarding address, so be sure to get mail, okay?"
I looked at his face and smiled. "Tell me about it, mail from you, and from Bud and Harriet, even Uncle Matt. I may never get to fight with all this mail." I joked.
"Oh, I'll be sure you do," came a low male voice from behind Harm, he turned and I saw Slit standing there. "I'm sorry, Mac, but we have to start heading in. It's almost lock-in."
I nodded. "Okay, give me a couple more minutes and I'll be ready to leave." I said to him. I then turned back to Harm, "Harm, you heard him, I have to go."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself, Marine."
"You too sailor, and I don't want to hear from Harriet how you got yourself into danger or trouble while I'm gone."
"Yes ma'am." Harm jokingly said.
I smiled. "Do you want me to go into the Navy, Harm?"
His smile was gentle, "As much as I would love that, no. I don't. I love you for who you are ninja-girl, and if that means that you have to go off and hunt a mass murderer in a country full of terrorists then so be it."
My smile was radiant. I knew it. I loved Harm all the more at that moment. The fact that he respected my choices and decisions meant a lot to me. I kissed him one last time and then got off the hood. It was time to go. My new assignment lay ahead of me in enemy territory, and I had to go and do it.
"I love you, Harm." I told him.
"I love you too. Come home to me, Sarah." He said.
"I will." I promised him. I had now promised Harm, Chloe, Harriet, Bud, the Admiral, and Uncle Matt that I would come home. Therefore it was no longer a request, I would be back.
I turned to Slit and smiled at him. "Slit, I want you to meet my partner, Harmon Rabb. Harm this is Charlie Scully, a member of my squad."
Slit walked forward and shook Harm's hand. "Pleased to meet you sir."
"Pleased to meet you too." He said taking Slit's hand. "You're going to make sure she comes back to me right?"
"You bet, commander."
"Good. I'm placing her in your trust." Harm said.
"I can take care of myself, Harm." I protested.
"Oh, that I know, ninja-girl, I Need the colonel to protect the others from you." Both Harm and Slit seemed to have a good laugh at that.
"Ha ha." I said sarcastically.
"No, really, knowing you you've already beaten up one of your squad members." Harm pointed out.
"Well, actually…" Slit began.
"I knew it. You go, ninja-girl, before I change my mind and force you to join to Navy." He lightly pushed me towards the building.
I looked up at him with a sad smile. "I love you."
"I love you too." He answered.
"Mac, it's two to eight." Slit said.
"I know, Slit." I turned around and headed to the building, and then with one more glance we both ran to the holding room.