Puzzle Pieces
...
For the third time in less than a half an hour, Kensi Blye decided that the outfit she currently had on, wasn't the one she should wear for her night out as Julie's wing-woman. She spun away from the full length mirror that hung on the door to her master bath and tramped over to the closet that seemed bound and determined to be another cause of frustration for the brunette this evening. She kicked off the heels that accentuated her calves, long legs and firm buttocks, snatched over her head the soft, cotton blouse that hugged the swells of her breasts , and shimmied out of the skirt that had once been her 'go-to' garment that drew every male eye in the area to her lithe form.
For a woman who knew how to dress to kill ... the opposite was true at that moment ... the dresses were killing her.
Because tonight was different.
Tonight was not about catching some man's eye or causing a ruckus so that a bug could be placed under a table to listen to some weapons deal. It was not about attracting a man and possibly snagging his phone number. No, tonight was about playing a back-up escape plan for a woman she would barely describe as a friend in case the blind-date turned out to be some meathead with only one thing on his mind. While Julie was a nice woman and Kensi did actually enjoy her sense of humor from time to time, the fact that the agent was giving up a relaxing evening on her couch with a tub of Rocky Road to go out to meet some total strangers and act like Kayla Benson, art curator extraordinaire ... well, the meal had better be a damn good one.
It also reminded Kensi to skip the gym that the two of them shared for at least a month.
"Ugghhhh ... " Her frustration found a voice in the low growl that escaped as she frantically flipped through the endless hangers that held a myriad of clothing options in the back of her closet. Kensi glanced over her shoulder to the digital clock on the nightstand by her unmade bed and the time indicated on the display caused another groan to escape.
No ... make that two months.
"Arrgghh ... I am going to kill Julie." At this point, she could have cared less that she was now talking to herself. "It's just that simple. I ... am ... going ... to ... kill ... her." Each word was punctuated by the scrape of a hanger across the closet rod and she ended it with a frustrated sigh as she ran her hands through her hair. The time ticking away in blue LEDs on the face of the clock seemed to accelerate with each passing moment ... and she hadn't even done her hair yet.
For a brief second, she actually thought about calling Julie and bowing out at the last second or just not showing up at all, but then the pleading look that Julie had given her back in the gym popped into her head. And who knows, maybe this would just be a good way to unwind after the week she'd had, share some small talk, maybe even some laughs. The cases had turned boring, with nothing but mountains of paperwork and endless hours of coffee and stale donuts in the break area.
Then there was the fact that the person she actually did want to see was busy tonight as well and apparently wouldn't be available until after tomorrow at the earliest. Kensi continued to flip through her clothes as the messages the two of them had exchanged late on Wednesday afternoon played over in her head.
Hey. Finally got back n town. -D
What? u were gone? Really? I had no idea! -K
Cut it out. -D
Don't know what youre talkn about. Didn't even miss u. How long were u away? -K
u knew I was going to that seminar on Criminal Psychology n San Diego the 1st of the wk. -D
Nope. Must have slipped my mind. Totally missed it. -K
There had been a longer than necessary pause, and Kensi had feared he misunderstood her joking around. Just as she started to type her apology, her phone pinged with a new text message.
u r so mean. ): -D
Haha ... got u! (: And the wrd u r looking for is BADASS. -K
Thought that was 2 words. -D
Nope. -K
But then it would be pronounced Ba-dass ... doesn't really work for u. -D
She was glad he couldn't hear her chuckle as she read that one.
u knucklehead. -K
Made u laugh didn't it? -D
Damn. He knew her so well. Even after all these years, he knew what she was thinking and feeling when he wasn't even in the same neighborhood.
Damn.
No it didn't. -K
Liar. -D
Am not. -K
Am 2. -D
Not. -K
2. -D
What does that even mean? -K
Uhhhh ... actually, I have no idea. (: -D
Kensi almost laughed again but thought better of it. He beat her too it before she could respond.
u stopped urself that time, didn't u? -D
Damn.
Before she could come up with some type of witty response, her phone pinged again.
So, busy wk? -D
It SUCKED. -K
Did u have 2 sit through 2 - 8 hour sessions on the Interconnected Discrepancies Between the Cognitive Adhesion of Prolific Similarities in Repeat Offenders and Parole Violators? -D
Im not even sure any of that made any sense. -K
That's what me and the folks at my table thought as well. -D
Did u actually learn anything? -K
The draft n the auditorium made paper airplanes fly really far. -D
u didn't! -K
Until 1 hit the speaker ... in the head. -D
What did your boss say? -K
He said that I should have aimed higher. -D
He was there? -K
He made the plane. -D
If he had asked, there was no way she would have been able to deny that didn't make her laugh out loud, earning a strange look from Callen who had just strolled through the back of the bullpen.
So ... what r ur plans for the wk? -K
Tomorrow, Ive got to type up a report detailing why the seminar was essential 4 the team to attend and that the department didn't waste taxpayer $ sending the entire squad. Then present it to the commissioner on Fri. -D
How did u get picked 4 that? -K
I was the only 1 whose notes hadnt all been turned into paper airplanes by the end of the snoozefest. -D
Now there were tears in her eyes and her side was beginning to hurt.
What about u? -D
Paperwork ... then more paperwork ... repeat. ): -K
Sounds like fun. -D
Ya think? -K
Not really. ); -D
What r u doing this wknd? -K
Tied up Fri nite ... Sat - Anna has a birthday prty 2 go 2 ... Sun - still open - maybe take the munchkin 2 the beach for surfing. -D
Tied up Fri nite myself ... Sat n Sun - ? -K
Sounds kinky. -D
? -K
Fri nite ... u ... tied up. -D
Now she just wanted to hit him.
Doofus. -K
ROTFLMAO! wish I could have seen your face! -D
Why am I doing this? I have more important things to do than waste my time txtn with u! -K
Yeah ... right. -D
Seriously ... G.s giving me the evil eye. -K
Just poke him with a pencil. -D
Youre not right in the head. -K
What was your 1st clue? -D
Again ... Doofus. Sorry but gotta run. -K
Me 2. -D
Have fun. Tell munchkin hey 4 me -K
Will do. Be safe. -D
That had been the last they had messaged to each other, the rest of her week flying by until it was suddenly Friday night and she was destroying the organized mess that was her bedroom closet looking for the right outfit. She was seriously considering the 'Murder Julie' option when she spotted it. The top was hiding way in the back and it caught her eye almost instantly. She slipped it off the hanger, glad that it wasn't wrinkled or creased. It was a simple top that would compliment her body without giving off any type of indication that she was 'on the prowl' but it would still make her look good. The color was a deep blue that Deeks had always said made her eyes shine and her hair stand out.
As she held it in her hands, it struck her as odd that a memory of the compliment from her old partner would suddenly pop into her head like that. But, it seemed simple memories of him had been shooting through her mind at an increasing rate over the past weeks.
It wasn't lost on her why she hadn't worn it in ages and the reason it was hidden in the back of the closet. For some reason, Jack hadn't liked her in blue ... said it 'wasn't really her color'. It wasn't a big deal but blue just happened to be her favorite, almost any shade would do and it seemed that little fact about her was lost on her husband.
There were lots of small things like that fact that became more and more indicative that she and Jack were not the people they once were. For a time after their return from Afghanistan, she had felt like that young, twenty-something woman who was madly in love with the tall, hunky Marine ... but as time slowly proved to the both of them, they were more like two puzzle pieces that simply didn't go together anymore. All the best intentions and hard work trying to force those opposing parts together only caused frustration and eventual hurt. It was great testament to their mutual respect for one another that they were able to at least part as friends and not enemies.
That thought should have made her sad, but it didn't. Kensi smiled to herself as she realized that she was really over that part of her life and now, it was only a distant memory, lost in the past. Turning back to the mirror, she held up the blue top in front of her chest and found that Deeks had been right ... it made her eyes seem mysterious and her hair darker and more vibrant.
That's what she would shoot for tonight. Vibrant.
An hour and a half later, Kensi walked across the living room of her bungalow. Her long hair bounced down over her shoulders, the curls loose and natural. She had the blue top tucked into a pair of black jeans that were tight but not tight enough to cause a ruckus and her feet were tucked inside a set of Jane Frye strap black leather boots. A set of wire-thin silver bracelets adorned her right wrist, they matched the rope necklace hanging from her neck. She paused for a moment at the mirror by the front door, checked her makeup once more, and grabbed her keys on her way out.
Time to get this over with so she could get back home to her Rocky Road.
...
The building that housed The Grill had been something other than one of the town's best beer and burger joints at some point in its history. From the dark, red-brick that made up the walls and the large, exposed wooden beams that held up its metal roof, and its huge wooden doors, it appeared to have been some type of depot or maybe even a hardware store. The current owners had stayed with that motif, leaving the naturally worn look of an old building, along with the various antique tools and equipment displayed on the walls and even hanging from the rafters. There was even an enormous saw blade suspended by steel cables above the main entrance.
Kensi Blye was looking up at the massive piece of hardened steel while she waited for the hostess to find Julie's name on the list for the tables. Customers usually didn't need to make a reservation, but it was a Friday night and the place was already getting pretty busy and having to wait on a table was a gamble at best. The hostess, a young college-aged woman, dressed in a sharp pinstripe pant suit had just turned to lead her further into the restaurant when a distinct female voice called out to her over the din of soft music and conversation.
"Kayla!" Julie came barreling around a couple of young adults as she weaved her way toward the front desk. When she was within arms reach, she suddenly reached out and snagged one of Kensi's hands. "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to make it."
Kensi gave her some-what friend a tight-lipped smile. "If I could have come up with some excuse that I thought you would buy ... I would have already used it."
The other woman just laughed, sounding a lot more nervous than she was letting on. "Oh, come on silly ... our table's this way."
Julie practically drug Kensi through the mass of tables until they were in the far back corner where the lights were slightly dimmer than the rest of the building. Kensi scanned the area quickly, taking note of all the nearby exits as she sat in one of the two chairs facing the front of the room. She might be play acting as Kayla Benson tonight, but she still maintained her normal level of situational awareness in case something bad happened. It was apparent that her friend wasn't really worried about such things, since she dropped into the chair across from the brunette, her back to the majority of the crowded tables.
"I'm still a little shocked that you showed up." Julie looked up at Kensi as she sipped from her glass of water.
Kensi smiled warmly, hoping to keep up the appearance that she was actually excited about being away from her DVR and ice cream tonight. "Well, I figured if the guys are total douches, I'd be the only hope you have."
"From what my sister tells me ... the guy I'm supposed to meet is anything but a douche."
Kensi let out a small humph of disapproval. "Things have a way of sounding better than they actually are, you know that right?"
Julie sighed a little heavier than was necessary. "If anyone does girlfriend ... I do."
The sad look on the other woman's face let Kensi know that this first date since Julie's divorce was a lot more important than just going out and having a good time. "Sorry Jules ... I'm being a spoilsport ... just ignore me."
"I can't ... you're my wingman ... wingwoman tonight ... I might need you to save my ass later."
A small smile crept in as she finished and Kensi nodded back. "I got you back ... no worries."
Their server introduced himself as 'Todd' and quickly disappeared after taking their drink orders, their conversation drifted into simple small talk about work, the weather, and basically anything that popped into their heads. It was just after their drinks arrived that Julie asked a question that almost caused Kensi to spit out the first sip she took.
"So, Kayla, you ever been married?"
After pulling her tongue out of her throat, Kensi took a moment to decide which path to take with her reply. As she pondered her response, her old partner's voice filled her head as he had once given her pointers about covers and aliases and the lies that they would have to tell. He had told her that the best covers always have a bit of truth in them, it gives the lie something solid to form the foundation and then it's easier to build a better story.
"Yeah ... I was ... once."
Julie gently slapped the wood table with the palm of her hand. "I knew it! There was no way on this earth that you haven't been hitched, not looking as good as you do."
Kensi gave her friend a soft nod of her head, hoping that she could defer the line of questioning before it started, but she hesitated a second too long.
"So, what happened? He turn out to be a cheating bastard like my ex?"
"No ... no, nothing like that." Kensi shook her head to emphasize her words. "It was ... well, it just didn't work, that's all."
"Did you, at least, love him?"
Kensi smiled, remembering the happy times with Jack, before their slow slide into oblivion that ended with lawyers and official papers to be signed. Thinking that it was best to continue with the honesty that seemed to always be the best policy in matters of the heart, she answered. "It feels like a long time ago ... but yeah, I did."
"What?" Julie looked like she was about to hit something. "Sounds like you actually still love your ex-husband." The words 'love' and 'ex-husband' came out of her mouth like there was no way they should have been in the same sentence.
"I know it may seem hard for you to believe Julie, but while I don't love him like I once did, I will always care about him." When a look of disgust crossed over her friend's face, Kensi continued. "He's a good man and even though you may not believe it and I know it sounds cliché, we actually parted as friends."
"Please, at least tell me that you aren't still in touch with him?"
Kensi shook her head again. "Noooo ... I haven't seen him in a few years and I don't really want to. What we had is in the past and that's where it needs to stay."
Julie sat back in her chair for a moment, mulling over what she'd just been told. After taking a deep breath, she cocked her head to the side, giving Kensi a hard but sincere look. "Okay ... I'll let you have it that your ex isn't the lowdown, skirt chasing son of a bitch that I was married to ... " She took another breath, letting her anger go when she blew it back out. " ... but if he wasn't that ... why did you two split up?"
For a moment, Kensi thought about saying something to turn the conversation to a less serious topic. Just as she started to speak, the memory of standing on the beach with Deeks popped into her mind and she thought about how much better she had felt after that night. All the confessions and tears from that night reminded her that truth was always better than lies and she really only wanted to help her friend understand that not all men are jerks. "We had been together when we were much younger ... and, for various reasons, it didn't work back then ... years later, we had another shot at being a couple ... but it just didn't work that time either."
The look on Julie's face indicated that she was going to need a little more than that before she let it go. Kensi leaned forward so she wouldn't have to speak so loudly. "We'd been apart for so long, that when we tried again ... it took us a while to figure out that we were two very different people ... that we wanted ... needed ... different things. We didn't compliment each other, which was surprising because we looked so good on paper."
"Ahhh ... " But for all her years, knowledge and experience as an attorney, Julie still felt like she hadn't ever figured out why her husband had began an affair that eventually cost them their marriage. " ... but what do you mean ... we didn't compliment each other?"
Kensi glanced down at the dark, amber fluid in the glass in front of her on the table, as if the answers were floating in the light reflected there. It was something their marriage counselor had tried to get them understand, but by that time, the die had been cast and the fact of their separate futures was a given. "It took me a long time to figure it out for myself but it's almost like the cogs in a set of gears." She held up her hands, her fingers curled into a fist. "When two people are too much alike ... they have the same strengths and the same weaknesses ... they don't fit together."
Julie watched as Kensi brought her fists together, bumping her knuckles gently against each other. "See, they just butt up against the other. Now, yes ... there's friction, heat, passion ... love even ... but there's nothing really holding them together. When the challenges of life hit them, they get turned, twisted and eventually, they just come apart." She mimicked that by sliding her fists over and across each other, until they slid away, no longer touching.
Then she spread her fingers apart, curling her fingers over until there were small gaps between them. She slowly fit the digits in the openings, meshing her hands together. "But when two people compliment one another ... where one is strong, the other is weak ... where one is cautious, the other brave ... where one is rough, the other is soft." She folded the tips of her fingers over on the inside, interlocking them. When she tried to pull them apart, they remained clamped together, almost like they were one entity. "See?"
Julie watched as Kensi held up her entangle hands over the table, letting the visual settle in to her mind and she had to begrudgingly admit, it did make a lot of sense. "I guess that's why they say 'opposites attract'."
Kensi slipped her fingers apart, letting her hands drop to the top of the table as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah ... I suppose it is."
But in her own mind, she knew that this little lesson was no longer about Julie's search for a companion. No, this had been about a shaggy haired cop who had been the exact opposite of the type of man that had always caught the female agent's attention. From almost the very first moment she had met him in that MMA gym, Marty Deeks epitomized everything that she thought she didn't need or want. Unkempt hair, irreverent sense of humor, an attitude that was as far from her serious one as one could get ... yet, even in the early days of their partnership, she had found herself constantly drawn closer and closer into orbit around him. The sheer force of the gravitational pull emanating from him was far more than she'd ever been able to resist.
As those thoughts echoed through her head and heart, Kensi knew that what she had tried to explain to Julie was actually directed right at herself. She let herself smile in gratitude, that for some reason, whether the planets had come into alignment or if there indeed was a God Who cared about her ... that very same irreverent cop was, once again, a part of her life. The friendship that had slowly been rebuilt over the past two years, had regrown from the dormant roots of their partnership that had turned into so much more than either one had planned during his days at NCIS.
Julie took a small sip of her drink before she glanced over, catching the wistful expression on Kensi's face. "Since you seem to have it all figured out, let me ask you another question."
Kensi knew that was never a good thing, especially coming from a woman like Julie, but some part of her was at least curious what she would ask. "Yeah, go ahead ... shoot."
"If you know all of this ... " Julie gestured crudely with her fingers, mimicking what Kensi had done just a few minutes earlier. " ... girl, why in the world are you still single?"
The brunette let out a quick huff. "It may have looked like I know how it all works, but having the patience to actually let it happen naturally is something totally different."
The other woman nodded. "Yeah, it all makes sense until you try to find the right guy."
What if you met the right guy ... fell in love with him ... broke his heart and married someone else ... ugh. "We tend to mess things up ... a lot."
"You can say that again ... you end up married to a man who beds your best friend ... "
Kensi held up a hand to stop her friend's descent into another series of husband bashing. "Come on, Jules ... not every man is a cheater ... some are faithful ... even faithful to a fault."
Even though the interruption had stopped her rant, Kensi's words caught Julie's attention. "Sounds like the voice of experience?" It was both a statement and a question. "Your ex-husband, by chance?"
Kensi didn't hesitate long. "No ... I mean ... yes, Jack was faithful ... but I've known other men that were steadfast and sure as well." One in particular ... one with golden, wavy hair that tickled my neck when he kissed me just under my ear ...
"Well, colored me tickled ... my husband basically trades me for a two-timing slut ... my father abandons my mother for a secretary less than half his age and you spout off about ... "
"Jules!"
Julie fought the urge to continue to castigate all the men in her life that had let her down, but the serious and imploring look her friend was giving her, caused the words to die on her lips. "Yeah ... sorry ... no more male bashing tonight."
"Not if you want to have even a slight chance with your blind date ... you don't want to have a grudge against a man you don't even know yet, do you?"
Julie dropped her head slightly. "No ... guess not." Her mind drifted back to the real reason she was out tonight, and she buried all of her repressed anger deep so that it wouldn't pop up again anytime soon. Knowing that she would drift back to those waters if she didn't have something to occupy her mind, she instead, set her sights on the other single woman at the table. "Since we need something else to talk about, why don't you tell me your plans."
Kensi's eyes flew up and she stared at her companion from under her eyelashes. "Plans ... plans for what?"
"You ... your future ... " Julie sipped from her glass. " ... where do you see yourself in five years?"
There was a flash of a fantasy through her mind before she realized it was happening ... a fantasy that had been haunting her for the past few weeks ... a flash of a blonde man walking along the beach, the hand of a little girl in one hand and Kensi's in his other ...
As if destined by the fates themselves, out of the corner of her eye, Kensi spotted rather tall, and not unattractive man approaching their table, his eyes dancing between both her and Julie. He stopped a few steps beside them, displaying the bearing of years in either the military or law enforcement, and when they looked up at him, he gave them what appeared to be a genuinely sweet smile as his eyes settled on Julie.
"Julie?" He asked and it came across as both hesitant and hopeful, his right hand coming up slowly between them.
The auburn haired woman spun quickly out of her seat, Kensi following along right behind her. Julie reached up to accept his hand when he held it out, his long fingers wrapping around hers. "Yes ... and you must be Jordan."
"Yes ma'am ... " He held on for just the right amount of time and both women were glad that he didn't try anything as ridiculous and trying to kiss the back of Julie's hand before he let it go. He turned his head toward Kensi and gave her another smile.
"Oh ... sorry ... this is my friend, Kayla."
Jordan exchanged the same handshake as he had with Julie. "Ma'am ... pleasure to meet you both." He allowed both to sit, stepping over to help Julie pull hers underneath herself. When he stepped over beside her to sit in his own chair, she gave Kensi a knowing smirk before he glanced between the two of them. "I hope you two haven't been waiting long ... sorry about being a little late, my friend got held up a little at his place."
Julie gave him a quick dismissive wave of her hand. "No ... no problem, we're fine ... gave us a chance to talk about you before you got here."
Jordan blushed slightly, displaying a modesty that was a rare thing in the singles circuit. "Yes ma'am ... I'm sure you were."
"And please ... stop using ma'am ... makes me feel like I'm my mother." Julie was a fiercely independent female and most men who use "ma'am" on her quickly discovered that she didn't really like the overuse of the title. But the look she was giving Jordan, told both he and Kensi that for the sake of the evening and the little boy smile he kept giving her, she was willing to cut him a bit of slack.
"Yes mmm ... sorry... Julie, old habits die hard."
"No worries." Julie smiled over at Kensi, eyes dancing at the polite manners of the man sitting next to her, a part of her daring to think that maybe all men weren't as bad as she had feared. Their server appeared as if on cue and while Jordan gave both his and his friend's drink order, the two women exchanged a quick look of hope and surprise. When the waiter retreated to the bar, Julie looked around as if something was off. "So, where is your friend?"
"Oh, yeah ... my apologies. He rushed out of his place so fast that as soon as we got here, he had to make a run to the head." Jordan gestured toward the back of the restaurant with his hand.
"The head? What in the world is that?" Julie's face was twisted at the unfamiliar term.
Jordan was taking a sip of water from his glass when she asked and he tried to swallow quickly so he could answer, but Kensi beat him to it. "Julie, the 'head' is a Navy term for the restroom."
The blonde gave her a confirming nod as he finished his water. "Most people don't know that."
Kensi gave him a small shrug of her shoulders. "I'm a Marine brat ... my dad was a Devil Dog."
"Well then, Semper Fidelis Kayla." He gave her the greeting that all Marines say when they meet a brother or sister Marine, and it was usually extended to their families in gratitude for their sacrifices as well.
"Semper Fi to you."
Julie quickly cleared her throat, a sliver of jealousy creeping in at the camaraderie displayed between her friend and the man who was supposed to be her date. Jordan quickly noticed his misstep and turned to the woman he came to meet, hoping that he hadn't shot himself in the foot before the night ever really got started. While Kayla was an attractive woman, he'd always had a thing for redheads and Julie's hair was just the right shade to keep his attention. Her soft green eyes didn't hurt anything either.
He angled his body toward her in a deliberate attempt to display that he wasn't the kind of guy to be swayed away from the real reason he was there. "So Julie, your sister told me that you're a cut throat attorney that likes to kick ass and take names, is that true?"
Julie chuckled at his bravado and direct attitude, giving him a sly look. "That depends ... can you handle a woman who kicks ass?"
"Ma'm ... Julie ... I'm a Marine and a cop ... I'm pretty sure I can handle anything that comes my way."
Just when he thought he'd said the wrong thing, she let out a soft laugh that put him further at ease, her hand coming to land on his forearm. "That may be true ... but you know what they say about lawyers and cops?"
"I don't know who 'they' are ... and I don't care." His look was serious and it let her know he meant exactly what he said and he held her eyes when he continued. "What I do know is that the more she told me about you ... I knew that I had to meet you face to face ... and I'm so very glad I did."
Julie's momentary flash of jealousy from a moment ago disappeared in a flash of heat that shot straight across her shoulders, putting a tinge of pink on her cheeks. "So am I Jordan ... so am I." She gave his arm a firm squeeze before pulling her hand away.
Kensi wasn't sure where the conversation was headed next but movement just behind her caught her attention. A man was coming up on their table from the rear and when Jordan looked up, he nodded in acknowledgement, indicating that his mysterious friend and wingman had finally arrived.
From her position, Kensi saw Julie look up and give the approaching figure a warm and friendly smile as she start to rise along with Jordan. The agent pushed her chair back so she could stand as well, turning to her right so she could make a courteous and formal greeting to the man who had stopped just a step or two away.
When Kensi's gaze found his face, the brunette let out a sharp gasp, totally unprepared for the familiar eyes and the surprised expression that matched hers.
"Kensi?"
...
A/N: Just in case you aren't familiar with it - ROTFLMAO is text speak for Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off. Also, I wrote their text messages the way I write my own ... very few capital letters, no correct punctuation, shortened words, etc.
I would apologize for the emotional cliff-hanger that most of you probably want to kill me over ... but since I REALLY enjoyed leaving it hanging like that, I can't actually say that I'm sorry. It was just too good to pass up. I wish I could have seen your faces though ... ROTFLMAO!
Leave a note if you're not going to threaten my life and limbs ... let me know what you thought about it.
Semper Fi
JS