Chap 3

The Golden Horseshoe Ranch, Sherman, TX

Harm stood there in front of the open door looking at Meg who was dressed in a blouse and a pair of jean shorts that showed off her long legs. Any shorter and those things would have been Daisy Dukes. Meg was sure that his jaw had slammed to the ground. "What's wrong?" Meg asked as Harm continued to stare at her.

"Uh…um…you look fantastic." Harm said as he stood on her doorstep. "Mind if I come in. The admiral said that there was a case that needed taking care of in Fort Worth and I need my partner with me."

"But…I'm on leave." Meg objected, her tone rather perturbed. Harm watched her reaction, she seemed reluctant to allow him in and that confused the heck out of him. She was normally open and friendly, but this time she seemed rather guarded. She hadn't cracked a smile since opening the door and her gesture was brief and towards the kitchen rather than the living room.

When they had arranged the chairs to the kitchen table, Meg levelled a look at Harm. "So…what was so important that required you coming down and disrupting my leave?" she asked, her tone flat.

"AJ handed me a case." Leaning over and pulling a file from his leather briefcase, he handed it over. "Five days ago, a little girl went missing off the base near their quarters. Her father, a Master Chief Greg Waters, took compassionate leave for three days, expecting that he would be able to find his daughter within that time. When he couldn't he refused to report back for duty. The CO has filed an AWOL case with the base JAG which bumped the file up to us owing to its seriousness. I want to know what happened to the girl." Harm said.

"I thought we were to investigate the Away With-Out Leave. Investigating the girl's disappearance isn't in our mandate." Meg opined as she looked at Harm. "That's NCIS' job."

"There are no marks on the front lawn which would have meant that the girl was abducted without a scuffle." Harm continued; ignoring Meg's attempt to pass the case off to NCIS - his face impassive as he related the information and his thoughts. "…and it had to have been someone that she knew, probably another serviceman who was serving with her dad."

"So what do you want to do?" Meg asked. Harm looked at her. She still wasn't convinced, Harm thought. It had been a while since Meg had seen her parents and from what vibes Harm could pick up she wasn't too happy evidently with him being there disrupting her leave, the time that she was able to spend with her family. Harm was slowly starting to get the idea that he wasn't too welcome over there. His thoughts were confirmed with her next statement. "If I lose the rest of my leave, is it banked so that I can take it later?"

"I want to find that girl…" Harm said. "The admiral said that he'll give you the rest of your leave when it is convenient, but he really needs you for this case."

The look on Meg's face was not happy. "You're damned right, it's not convenient, but since when is the Judge Advocate convenient. Since I'm back on duty…sir." The last 'sir' was almost spat out. "You will have to wait for a while, while I get my uniforms back together so that I can accompany you out to NAS Fort Worth." Harm knew that he was in really hot water with his partner for disrupting her leave.

"Fine, Lieutenant Junior Grade." Harm said as he sat back against the chair. "I can wait."

Living Room

Animal looked up to see Meg come back into the living room. The look on her face was not that of a very happy camper. In fact it looked as if steam was coming out of her ears. "Meg?" he asked softly, "What's wrong."

Meg looked at him with a devastated countenance. "Everything!" She exclaimed. "I just got called back on duty for an investigation. I've lost the rest of my leave to this. And here I was hoping that I could spend my leave with you." She looked about ready to kick a cushion across the living room. "…and not only that, that irritating partner of mine is sitting in the kitchen with a smug expression on his face."

"I've got my uniforms." Animal grinned. "How about I come with you?"

"But what about the therapy on your shoulder? You need to get that done or your shoulder won't heal." Meg gave him a look of concern. "The rifle rounds that went through your shoulder did a lot of damage. And the muscles keep binding."

"I don't think a few delays are going to matter too much. Besides, three heads are better than one, right?" Animal convinced her. "And then we still get time together." He grinned, leaning in to capture her lips with his.

"Devil." She grinned against his lips.

"I know." He whispered softly as they rested their foreheads against each other's. "You go change, sweetie, I'll change into my khakis."

Meg winked at him. "You sure you can do it with that arm of yours? You're not going to need help?" she volunteered saucily.

"Minx." He laughed as Meg sashayed off to her room to change, but not before she left with a little wiggle of her butt. Animal groaned.

Kitchen

"Good morning, Commander." Ollie said as he came over to the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. "So what brings you to this part of town."

"Just had to pick up my partner due to an investigation." Harm replied.

"Uh-huh?" Ollie grunted. It seemed to be like Ollie was slightly less friendly than he was at Meg's bedside when he was present after Meg got shot. Almost as if he was guarding something. This was Meg Austin's turf and her private sanctuary. And not many people were allowed in. "You understand that Meg's personal time is hers?"

"Yes, sir." Harm said. "I wouldn't be here if the admiral hadn't directed me to get his best investigators out to take care of the case that we're on."

"Really now…" Ollie raised an eyebrow as he levelled a look at the lieutenant commander. "I'm surprised Admiral Chegwidden has so few investigators that he considers competent enough to handle a case, that he would have to pull one from personal leave to get this matter dealt with. Is he that short of competent investigators, that he couldn't have seconded one off another case?"

"It's not my pay-grade to ask him that, sir." Harm replied.

"Meg is happy…for the first time in a long time. Commander Rabb." Ollie replied as he leaned over to look Harm square on. "I trust that you won't do anything to change that, will you?" That was a dire warning if Harm ever heard one and he wondered what he had done to warrant that from Uncle Ollie.

"I understand you protect your own, sir." Harm said, his voice dropping several degrees.

Meg returned to the room. "Well, Harm, I'm ready."

Harm said, nodding to Ollie and to Meg. "OK…Lieutenant. We should really be getting going."

"Hold on a minute, Harm." Meg said. "I have someone who'll be tagging along with us."

Harm looked at Meg. "You know civilians can't get on military bases. Ollie may not be a civilian but even he's not allowed to march on base and off base without adequate clearance."

"He may not be allowed, Commander…" Harm's head shot up to hear a familiar voice. "…but I am."

Harm's jaw nearly hit the floor as Animal stood there dressed in US Navy khakis, replete with ribbons and naval aviator wings.