For the last month at JAG, Senior Chief Jennifer Coates had been a veritable member of the walking dead. She was mechanical, cold, unfeeling and very un-Coates as Bud had taken to putting it. She would normally just sit at her desk in Admiral Turner's outer office and perform a few errands here and there without saying anything at all to anyone and on the off chance that she did respond, her responses were dispassionate and mono-syllabic. That had worked well for a month and into what was a rolling, temperate September. Until one day, to be particular, the first day of school for most kids when the one key to her resolve walked into JAG.
"Admiral on deck!" Bud shouted as he saw the three star get off the elevator and walk through the big doors into the JAG bullpen. Jen came to attention, expecting to see Admiral Rabb come walking through the bullpen on his way in to see Admiral Turner. When she heard an all too familiar voice give the 'at ease' order, she immediately threw herself down in her chair and vowed not to let him get to her. When she saw Ethan……Admiral Baxter, she had to correct herself, she noticed that he didn't seem phased at all. It had to be that damn SEAL disposition, she had noticed that Admiral Chegwidden could and often would act the same way when something had been bugging him.
"Good Morning, Senior Chief, is Admiral Turner in?" Bax asked, his jaw squared and his demeanour generally pleasant. Was it really that easy for him? Could he really be so cold, so unfeeling. Could he really be the way he was right now, while his mere presence tore open wounds and memories of that night.
"Yes, sir." She nodded as he stood there. His summer white uniform pinned tightly against his chest. She was no longer thinking about the last memory that they had shared, but the many ones that they had shared before, tangled in the cream coloured sheets on his bed. She made note of the six rows of ribbons pinned to his chest and the trident insignia above them. She did her best to avoid his shoulder-boards or the laurels on his cover or anything that could remind her that he was an officer.
That tactic worked well, it allowed her to maintain some element of composure until she could intercom Admiral Turner who of course said he'd love to see his old friend and superior officer. As Admiral Baxter was walking into Turner's office, she caught a glimpse of the one symbol she had forgotten, his Academy ring. The second she saw it, it was as if that one little token was enough to break her resolve. After the door to Admiral Turner's office had closed, she made a mad dash for the bathroom, she needed to get it all off her chest.
1936 ZULU
ROSCOE'S CHICKEN & WAFFLES
WESTERN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
The 'Ross for President' campaign bus had made a lunch stop at Roscoe's in LA. Nate was on a tour of the west coast that had started in Washington State at the end of August; their goal was to be in San Diego in time for the seventh anniversary remembrance of September 11th. Tomorrow, they were due to arrive at Camp Pendleton, home of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, which Nate had served with during the Gulf. Today, they were just shoring up support in what was usually a safe Democratic state.
Nate shook hands with the crowd and swapped stories about the Major League baseball season. The Dodgers fans and he got into a few very contentious conversations about whether it would be the Dodgers or the Pirates (both were teams having very good seasons) could take the pennant this year. Nate, Charlie and the Ross family had eaten with a table full of city workers who had been given an extended lunch due to unsafe conditions, largely hot asphalt on a day where the temperature was well over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
After lunch, Nate had shaken hands with the workers. Two of his sons had been given hard-hats as gifts from the guys and the other child had been given an orange and yellow road safety vest. Nate got each of his kids to shake hands with the workers and thank them for the little tokens before heading to the bus. Nate shook hands with the guys one more time before climbing on to the bus himself.
He rarely wore a jacket in the heat, he preferred to role up the cuffs on an Oxford shirt, throw his tie into the back of the bus and look about as informal as a politician could manage while on the campaign trail. Slowly, the bus pulled away from the crowd in West LA and made its way back toward the highway. He was going to meet up with the Mayor of LA today but the mayor had a budget crisis at the last moment and Nate assured him that it was alright, he'd probably see him before election night anyway.
As they drove through the streets of LA, Nate scribbled down a few notes on defence policy as he prepared for a two day swing through Marine-Navy country with back to back stops at Camp Pendleton tomorrow and then on board the Stennis which was in port in San Diego. They were going to take the long way through LA, the construction was murder and the long way was surprisingly the shortest way back to the Interstate was through the city. Once again, Nate was doing three things at once, trying to write a few speeches, taking policies briefings from his staff and trying to help his boy's co-ordinate their latest game of war. His kids were pretty even handed with how they handled their games, one always had the air advantage, the other had the armour advantage and the last one had an infantry advantage.
He kissed his wife on the cheek as he watched his boys play their little war games. Even at age five, he could see his sons following him and indeed most of the men in their family, into the Marine Corps. His son Jack had always been the tank strategist of the three, well, as much as possible for a five year-old; Brad was the infantry commander, fittingly, being as he was named after General Bradley known as the 'soldier's general'; his son Tim had obviously thought ahead because he had asked for the airplane toys for Christmas. Nate shook his head, who said kids didn't have a clear grasp of the world?
"You have your BDU ready for tomorrow?" Peach asked as she sat next to her husband who had his head pressed up against the bus window. He was going to have to put his reserve hours in when they got to Pendleton tomorrow, so when they had embarked on this tour, he'd made sure that he had his BDU and his rifle packed. He was going to have to qualify long range for what he assumed was the last time tomorrow.
"Yeah." He nodded as he tapped his pen on the legal pad in front of him. The campaign was running well, of course, the Democrats had a more then three month head start on the Republicans. The Wayne/Adams ticket was easily building steam in the Deep South and the Midwest though. This campaign was going to be fought over a handful of states through the southwest and Midwest and everyone knew it. As they were driving through the city, Nate saw a construction project taking place in the neighbourhood. He got up from the couch and walked through the front part of the bus toward the driver. "Pull this boat over." Nate told him and the driver brought the bus to the side of the road.
"Mr. Ross, what do you think you're doing?" One of Nate's Secret Service agents asked.
"I think I'm making an impromptu stop so that I can get to know a few American people in this neighbourhood." Nate gave the agent a pat on the shoulder. "Some times you just have to reach out to people, Pete."
"I've got to agree with Secret Service, Nate; we want to make San Diego in enough time for you to get some rest in a hotel room tonight." Charlie suggested.
"Charlie, we're Democrats, this is exactly the kind of thing we should be stopping for." Nate rubbed his friend's head and then he moved to the middle aisle and cleared his throat to get the attention of his campaign staff. "Alright, we've got two months left in this campaign and so far, there's very little that differentiates this campaign from any other national campaign. So, here's what I'm proposing, we go out there and we help those people build a school for this neighbourhood."
There was a round of applause for their boss and all the staffers got up out of their seats. Nate led the group off the bus and they walked over to the community volunteer site. "What would you say to twenty-two new and willing volunteers?" Nate smiled widely and the community leader had to laugh, this was certainly something he hadn't expected.
1627 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
Vice Admiral Ethan Baxter walked out of his meeting with Rear Admiral Sturgis Turner a little later then he expected. The two men shook hands in the outer office before Bax headed across the bullpen toward the elevator. Both men had noticed that Coates wasn't at her desk. Bax had assumed that she had momentarily just stepped away. Sturgis on the other hand knew, based on her behaviour over the last month that something was up.
Sturgis walked out into the bullpen where he came across his Chief of Staff, Commander Bud Roberts. "Bud!" Sturgis called and Bud stopped just outside his office.
"Yes, sir." Bud raised his head from the folder he had been reading to address his commanding officer.
"Commander Roberts, have you seen Senior Chief Coates?" Sturgis was using a tone that carried with it no levity, so there was no mistaking him.
"Yes, sir, she's been in the ladies' room for the better part of an hour sobbing, sir. Commander Manetti is in there with her." Bud replied almost mechanically.
"What!" Sturgis had executed his best Chegwidden impression. "Why the hell didn't anyone think to call me, Commander?"
"Well, sir, you were in a meeting with a three star and by consensus, Commander Manetti and I decided it would be better to not interrupt you." Bud explained quickly in an attempt to save his own hide from the Admiral's wrath.
"Commander, if one of my people is having a crisis, at work, I want to be notified of it immediately from now on, do you understand me?" Sturgis had calmed but he was still speaking through gritted teeth. Sturgis remembered a cryptic remark that Harm had made a week earlier when Sturgis had brought up Coates demeanour over a dinner that he and Bobbi were having the Rabbs'. Suddenly some thing seemed all to clear in his head. "Commander Roberts, call Admiral Rabb over at the Pentagon, tell him I'm on my way over and to hold Admiral Baxter in the office until I get there."
"Aye, aye, sir." Bud nodded. His experience in the Navy and in the courtroom meant that Admiral Turner's order raised a bunch of flags but none were too serious to warrant his mind drifting to the place it had immediately gone to. After all, what he was considering would have meant that one of the Navy's most respected and highly decorated officers was guilty of fraternization but that suspicion was ludicrous; wasn't it?
Sturgis walked over to the ladies' room door and tapped on it lightly. "Commander Manetti!" He shouted loud enough to ensure that he had been heard.
"Yes, sir!" Commander Tracy Manetti answered from inside the restroom.
"Commander, is the Senior Chief physically injured in anyway?" Sturgis was just going to cover all his bases to be sure.
"No, sir, at this point I don't really know what else is going on, but I know she's not injured." Manetti assured her CO. "What should I do, sir?"
"Get back to work, Commander. Tell the Senior Chief that she has my permission – scratch that – tell her that I'm ordering her to take the rest of the day to get herself together." He was back to doing his best Chegwidden impression.
"Aye, aye, sir." Manetti answered and with that assurance, Sturgis headed for the elevator.
"Sir!" Bud called after his commanding officer. "Admiral Rabb said he's sure like to know what's going on, but he thinks he can wait until you get there."
"Thank you, Commander." Sturgis nodded and the door closed between him and the JAG Ops floor. Sturgis steadied his breathing in the elevator. Damn it! How could he have been so stupid? He had known Bax for twenty-seven years; his friend had some eccentricities and a penchant for bending the rules but never cleanly breaking them like this. He remembered a line from a made for TV movie from a couple of years back; "I hate to cross the old man, Brad, he's been like a father to us", it became clear what he needed to do. He opened up his cell and dialled the familiar number to the house in McLean.
"Chegwidden." The Admiral answered.
"Sir, Admiral Rabb and I could use your assistance for a few hours this afternoon. There's a matter of a particular sensitivity that we need your help with." Sturgis normally would have tried to get Keeter but a hop from Pearl wasn't something he wanted to wait for.
"What did Rabb do now and how much trouble is he in?" Chegwidden asked almost out of habit.
"This isn't about Admiral Rabb, sir. It's about Admiral Baxter." Sturgis felt the other end of the line go silent as he navigated his way out to the parking lot. "Sir?"
"I'm here, Mr. Turner. You do realize that you're talking about and appointed and confirmed Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and a three star Admiral, right?" Chegwidden obviously needed to check to be sure.
"Yes, sir." Sturgis nodded.
"What has he done, Admiral?" Chegwidden asked.
"There's no concrete proof, sir, or if there is, we just haven't found it yet. But we suspect fraternization." Sturgis explained.
"With someone in his command? Is this going to show up in the Washington Post tomorrow and he needs council?" The Admiral asked, he had never served with Baxter but he knew his reputation as a good officer and one of the most qualified flags in the Navy.
"No, sir, it's not with someone in his command. It's an enlisted person and if it hadn't been for some very keen observation on the part of Harm and myself, I don't suspect anyone would have found out." Sturgis pulled his car out of the parking lot and drove toward Arlington.
"Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that I know the enlisted person?" Chegwidden questioned.
"Senior Chief Coates, sir." Sturgis answered.
"Damn!" Chegwidden cursed lowly. "Alright, Admiral, my wife and son are visiting her mother up in Leesburg today. Bring Rabb and Baxter by the house once you've collected them and let's see if we can't sort this mess out."
"Thank you, sir." Sturgis closed his cell and continued the drive to Arlington.
0830 PST
CAMP PENDLETON
OUTSIDE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Nate was dressed in the new MARPAT uniform. Though many still called it a BDU, the differences seemed subtle but were magnified if placed in context. He'd never seen three kids more enthused then when his boys first saw him in his uniform, complete with Colonel's eagles on his shoulders and his M40A1 rifle slung over his shoulder. Nate's promotion had come almost special order from the President the previous summer. The Marine reserve unit to which he was attached had lost its bird to colon cancer and the task had fallen to the boys at Marine HQ to find a replacement. Being as the unit was largely composed of reservists from Pennsylvania, with a few from New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, two million Pennsylvanians had petitioned the Commandant of the Marine Corps on the behalf of their Governor to have him take command of the unit and he was so granted the command.
Nate wore the standard MARPAT cap and combat boots for his qualification period today. The shots of him in uniform were being eaten up by the press. After that stunt by a Democratic Senatorial candidate in North Carolina last month, the Dems had come under fire for being weak on defence. ZNN had called it a replay of the famed Dukakis Tank Incident from '88. These shots of an experienced Marine, in a new uniform, with the insignia of a senior officer emblazoned in black on his collar and a sniper rifle on his shoulder were likely going to go a long way to rectify that image.
"Alright, Colonel, you know the rules for long range qualification." The Gunnery Sergeant addressed Nate. "I'll take you out to the range and we'll qualify you on the stationary targets from the standard prone position at six hundred, eight hundred and one thousand yards."
"What about fifteen hundred, Gunny?" Nate asked.
"Sir, fifteen hundred is only necessary for combat readiness examinations not for basic long range qualification." The Gunny informed him.
"I'm well aware of that, Gunny; I was requesting that a fifteen hundred yard target be set up." Nate grinned slightly. The Gunny nodded.
"If he thinks he can hit a fifteen hundred yard target at age forty-two with an A1, he's got my vote." A young Lieutenant commented sarcastically and Nate walked over to him.
"Did you say something, Lieutenant?" Nate asked in his best superior officer tone.
"Yes, sir, I implied that you might be somewhat out of practice, sir." The Lieutenant answered. "No offence was intended, sir, it's just that a lot of Marine snipers have problems with their eyesight at your age."
"Do you think I could beat you at a basic qualification, Lieutenant?" Nate asked, baiting the young man.
"It's possible, sir, but just about anything is." The Lieutenant answered.
"Good, get your rifle, let's see if you're as good as you think you are." Nate chuckled as he saw the Lieutenant jog over to the arms locker to retrieve his rifle.
"Alright, gentlemen, the two of you are aware of the rules of basic long range rifle qualification?" The Gunny asked and both of the officers nodded in the affirmative. The Gunny stepped aside. "Gentlemen, step up to the firing line." The two Marines walked out on to the range and laid down on the firing line hunched over their rifles. "Bringing up six hundred yards!" The Gunny shouted and two targets on the range popped out of the ground six hundred yards out. Both Marines were fast off the draw and plugged one shot dead centre before ejecting a shell and loading another bullet into the gun. "Bringing up eight hundred yards!" The Gunny shouted and two more targets appeared on the range eight hundred yards out. Once again both Marines were right on the money within milliseconds. Once again, the Marines loaded another bullet into the gun. Knowing what was coming next Nate adjusted his sights so that he wouldn't have to do so between either of the next two shots. "Bringing up a thousand yards!" This time, Nate was noticeably faster then Lieutenant, plugging off his shot at least four seconds before the Lieutenant got his shot off at the target. Once again, both of them loaded another shot into the rifle. The Gunny looked slightly amused, he was personally cheering for Colonel Ross, the Lieutenant who had challenged him was known to have a big ego and it could probably benefit from being punctured. "Bringing up fifteen hundred yards!" The transition didn't even faze Nate; he got the last shot off within nanoseconds. "Colonel, step off the firing line!" The Gunny directed as he raised a pair of binoculars and looked out into the range. Nate slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked back from the firing line.
Everyone stood behind the firing line waiting to hear the Lieutenant to get his shot off. After about two minutes, the younger man retreated from the firing line and over to the Gunny's watchtower. "Alright, I can't find it." He was exasperated. "I guess you win this round, Colonel."
"There's still a target on the range, Gunny, is there any thing saying I can't take the target out from here?" Nate looked up at the Gunnery Sergeant.
"No, sir." The Gunny nodded. "Make a hole!" He shouted to get people out of the way of the shot.
"What's the distance from here to the target, Gunny?" Nate asked as he stood there with the rifle raised to his eye. The Gunny took out his range finder.
"One thousand seven hundred and seventy-one yards, sir." The Gunny nodded at Nate who adjusted the sights on his rifle.
"Over a mile? Standing up? Never happen." The Lieutenant scoffed. Nate just chuckled sarcastically. "You ever heard of the 'Coyote shot', Lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir, it's a legend out of the Gulf War. Says that a troop of Canadian Airborne soldiers were pinned down behind one of their Coyote Recon vehicles by a contingent of Republican Guard troops. The only back up in the area was supposedly a Marine scout-sniper pairing who was more then a mile away and stuck up in some Minaret outside of Kuwait city. They saw this firefight in the desert and legend says that the sniper was able to make seven kills." The Lieutenant answered. This was followed by the sound of a shot and the ping of the bullet hitting the metal target out on the range.
"It's no legend, boy." Nate turned to face the Lieutenant. "That's how I won my Silver Star."
"Clean shot, sir. Straight through." The Gunny confirmed as he hopped down off the tower.
"We still have two more rounds, Colonel." The Lieutenant taunted.
"And if memory serves, one is a jungle combat sim, is that right?" Nate chuckled. "Words to the wise, Lieutenant, before you challenge a superior, make sure you know who you're challenging."
2024 ZULU
THE PENTAGON
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Harm had gotten the call from Bud, he had an idea what had happened today at JAG. He'd warned Bax about this kind of thing, damn it! Then again, the whole thing was speculation; there was no concrete evidence of anything. But Harm had been a JAG long enough to know that enough speculation normally amounted to something. When Bax came through the door, Harm kept him busy talking about the war game manoeuvres in the Pacific and the increasing tensions in the Middle East.
The John Stennis was on liberty this week at NAS Wilson in Cyprus. Patrols of the Eastern Med had gotten more intense, the whole Roosevelt Battle Group usually spent up to three months from March to June patrolling the Eastern Med before returning home, this year, the Vinson would relieve it by patrolling the Eastern Med from September to December. It had become the job of the Atlantic fleet to patrol the Med, which was how it usually worked, the Atlantic fleet controlled the Med and the Pacific fleet patrolled the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
Sturgis came through the door to Harm's office without any advance notice from Harm's yeoman. "What the hell is this?" Bax looked from on to the other. "Did I leave something in your office, Sturgis?"
"Bax, we need to talk to you." Harm started, looking to Sturgis for backup.
"What is this, an intervention?" Bax looked at Sturgis. "Smells like an intervention to me."
"Bax, you're going to need to come with us." Harm took his friend by the shoulder.
"Harm, what the hell are you doing?" Bax looked his friend in the eye.
"I gave you the option of telling me a few weeks ago and we could have headed this whole thing off at the pass but now that it's blown up, you're going to have to talk with us." Harm answered, not looking at his friend. "Sturgis is the JAG, Bax I'm guessing you know the rules, we'll do this discreetly."
The three of them left the OpNavs office and walked together through the corridors of the Pentagon toward Sturgis' car. Harm and Sturgis took the front seat and Bax sat in the back twiddling his thumbs and trying hard not to raise his head. The car made it's way from the Pentagon out into the Virginia countryside toward McLean. Bax knew some of these roads, they were the same ones that you took if you wanted to get from the Pentagon to Langley; another trip he hated making. Harm and Sturgis didn't know what to make of this. It was an intervention of sorts, if what they thought was true, it could be a career ender.
"I'm enlisting the two of you as council." Bax stated lowly without looking up. He wasn't an idiot, you didn't get three stars by being one. He had worked up a feasible strategy, his friends were both lawyers, anything he told them was privileged.
"We figured." Sturgis answered. The rest of the drive was had in complete silence. Bax tried to keep his emotions in check, he was going to have to make as level headed an explanation as possible in order to get out of this one without a brawl. He knew that Harm saw Jen as a little sister and over time Sturgis had come to see her the same way. There was no good way out of this situation but he had made his bed – wait, beds and Jen – better think of a better metaphor, Bax considered. He shook his head again when he felt the car stop.
He looked out the window and saw a familiar house. This is where Harm and Mac had their engagement party. It was Admiral Chegwidden's house. He was in a lot of trouble now. Harm and Sturgis might have seen Jen as a little sister but the Admiral viewed her as a daughter and that combined with the Admiral's SEAL training was enough to make the three star nervous. Sturgis and Harm climbed out of the car and Bax decided to get out and follow them. Chegwidden was waiting at the door for them. The closer the confrontation got, the more the three men who had known each other since plebe year began to feel the knots in their stomach.
The door opened and they walked through it. This was how things were done in the Navy that AJ Chegwidden had grown up with. He didn't particularly condone the activity and Congress sure as hell didn't, but he felt the same international tremors that everyone else in Washington was feeling and he sure as hell wasn't going to put one of the country's best Naval minds out of commission because of one stupid mistake when they might need him in the near future.
The door was locked behind them and Bax was seated on a simple wooden chair in the middle of the living room. "Bax, we're not going to lie to you. What we've got is nothing but speculation, but speculation adds up." Sturgis started.
"Son, if you've got something to say in your defence, now's the time because there's still a chance to head this thing off at the pass." AJ crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It all started about a month ago." Bax began. "It wasn't intentional, at least not at the time. We'd been hanging out, just like friends, you know? I hadn't told her what my job was, we were just friends. I didn't see the need to. One day, I felt I needed to level with her and be honest?"
"Why, if you were only friends, you weren't breaking any rules?" Harm questioned, very curious.
"Because it was subtly becoming a lot more then friendship and I knew that telling her would stop that progression. Or at least it should have." Bax explained. "She got angry at me and I tried to explain but in doing so, I had to explain the whole thing which for me included falling over my feelings."
"And apparently right into bed with Coates." AJ added, slightly perturbed. "Do you realize the damage you might have done?"
"I considered it. We weren't in the same command and we had only twice been in the same room together with any amount of witnesses. Both times occurred before anything happened between us." Bax was anguishing over his explanation. "We probably would never have been caught."
"Then how do you explain what happened at JAG today?" Sturgis pressed.
"I couldn't do it any more, it needed to end." Bax's teeth came out and but hard into his lip. "I hated myself for doing it, I still do, but as the three of you were so quick to point out, it was risking a lot of damage. That wasn't why I broke it off though. I ended it because I couldn't keep doing it to her. I couldn't keep making her think there was some future for us when I logically knew that there wasn't and there couldn't be." When Bax finished, he'd realized that he'd bitten down on his lip so hard that it was bleeding.
"You used her Bax!" Harm practically shouted. "Goddamn it! I expected better from you, you're above juvenile shit like that. We all heard how depressed you were and you used to Coates to alleviate that, you son of a bitch!"
"Harm, you've got to know that wasn't my intention!" Bax got up out of the chair.
"That doesn't change the fact that you did it!" Now it was Sturgis' turn to lose his temper. "The arguments against fraternization still stand, Baxter! Disruption of decorum and undermining the chain of command which is exactly what happened after your visit to JAG today. What did you say to Coates when you were in the outer office?"
"Nothing! I just asked if you were in the office." Bax protested.
"Well, something set her off." Sturgis pursed his lips. "She spent the better part of an hour in the head crying, Manetti was trying to coax her into saying what was wrong and for your sake, and I hope Coates kept her mouth shut."
"The real question here is why the hell Coates would cry just from you asking whether or not Sturgis was in the office." Harm pondered aloud.
"There doesn't necessarily need to be a reason, she's a woman, he's an idiot who probably didn't explain the situation properly and she's probably still trying to understand what happened." The Admiral rubbed his temples. He almost shouted for Tiner to get him an aspirin merely out of instinct. "Besides, you Coates' history with men."
Oh shit! Bax practically threw his head into his hands, how had he let that slip his memory. She had trusted him and he had abused that trust badly. He got up from the seat. "I owe Jen an apology and a much better explanation then the one I gave her."
"I'll say you do." Harm spat at his friend. Bax walked over to the door. "One of you is going to have to give me a lift back to my car a the Pentagon."
"I'll drive." Sturgis grabbed his cover and once again the two of them were out the door.
1030 PST
USS JOHN STENNIS
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
"Permission to come aboard, Skipper?" Nate called on his way up the gangplank. Yesterday, he had not only qualified long range, he had also aced a combat readiness evaluation and beat that smart mouth Lieutenant in the process. When Nate had painted him with his scope on the jungle combat simulation range, he had one the best two out of three. He had won the head-to-head in the jungle and the actual target shooting but he had lost the cloaking test, granted he had only lost by two seconds and sixteen yards but a loss was still a loss.
"Permission granted, Colonel." The Skipper shook his hand as Nate stepped on to the flight deck of the carrier.
"The last time I was onboard a carrier was the Eisenhower on February 4th, 1991." Nate looked around. "Gipper is a hell of a lot bigger then I remember Ike being."
"You were on Ike during the Gulf?" The Skipper looked surprised. "I flew Tomcats off of Ike during the Gulf. I seem to remember a small group of Recon Marines onboard during that hitch. One surly Captain and his squad with a company XO who was a First Lieutenant." The Skipper paused for a second and then cracked a smile. "Jesus, you don't look anything like you did back then."
"Well, we all get a little older, Skipper." Nate chuckled and the two men headed for the island. "When do you get underway, Skipper?"
"Bright and early Saturday morning." The Skipper answered. "XO!" He shouted for his second in command who came running. "XO, get some USS John Stennis caps for Colonel Ross' kids."
"Aye, aye, skipper." The XO smiled and headed back for the island.
"I want to thank you for letting me address your men, Captain." Nate and his kids walked with the skipper.
"Not at all, Colonel Ross, the way most of my men have it figured, you'll be the Commander in Chief soon anyway." The Skipper answered. "Your address is at noon, right, Colonel?"
"Certainly is, Skipper." Nate nodded in the affirmative. "Boys, what do you think of the aircraft carrier?"
"Dad, this is soooo cool!" Tim burst out. "Dad are we going to get to see a Hornet take off."
"It's the last day of carrier quals, young man, would you like to go up to the bridge and see a hornet launch?" The Skipper crouched down to speak with Tim.
"Will we get to see one trap, too?" This time Brad decided to speak up.
"Well, if it's going to go up, it's going to have to come down, sailor." The Captain answered.
"Sailor? We're no squids, we're jarheads." That one was fittingly, from Little Jack.
"They're Ross's." Nate added.
"No doubting that." The Skipper laughed. "In fact, we've got a Hornet qual due to begin any moment." The group of six entered the bridge and Nate lifted two of the boys up so they could see the Hornet be launched off the deck. Charlie lifted the other child. Nate had never seen three people so happy to watch a plane launch off a carrier deck.
"I want to do that, when I grow up!" Tim pointed to the Hornet.
"Son, don't let your aunt hear that, I'll never hear the end of it." Nate gave his son a pat on the head. He wasn't entirely surprised, Tim have found the sniper competition of the previous day very boring. Brad on the other hand had found it completely entertaining. After watching his dad take down targets he could barely see and evade detection in a ghillie suit, he was dead set on becoming a Marine Corps Scout-Sniper just like his old man. Something which Nate was none too fond of. Snipers were highly trained but they were also among the first called into action and he would never wish the mental burden on to one of his children.
"Alright, Cap, how long before the Hornet traps?" Nate asked.
"We've got a couple of minutes yet." The Captain answered.
"Charlie, can you watch the kids?" Nate chuckled slightly. "I just don't feel at home on a carrier in a suit." Charlie nodded and Nate headed off toward the head with his sea-bag. Nate shook hands with officers and enlisted alike on his way to the head to change. A few seconds later he was walking back to the bridge with his MARPAT uniform on including the cover. He re-entered the bridge and saluted the Captain.
"Presidential Candidate on the bridge!" The Master at Arms called out for lack of a better way to announce Nate. The two men exchanged salutes and for a second, Nate just thought of where he would have been had he never taken the uniform off the to join the State Department.
"Daddy, daddy, up!" Tim reached for his dad who lifted him up to watch the Hornet land. "What about you, Jack?" Jack nodded and his dad picked him up too so that he could see. "How about you, Brad?" The child just shook his head from side to side.
"Planes are cooler taking off, dad." Brad answered simply. The child seemed content to just sit on the bridge of the carrier. The Captain, Nate and two of his boys watched the Hornet come down along the glide-path and catch the number two wire.
"That was cool." Tim chuckled.
"It's 1150, Colonel, let's head down to the flight deck." The Captain, the XO, Nate, Charlie and the kids navigated the inner part of the island and eventually they were out on the flight deck where the crew had assembled.
"272 words." Charlie said as they walk to the makeshift stand.
"What?" Nate looked at his friend.
"That's the length of the Gettysburg Address, a short and simple 272 words to describe the Civil War. Keep it short and keep it heartfelt." Charlie suggested as he gave Nate a pat on the back. The deck was silent as Nate approached the microphone and looked out into the waiting faces of the five thousand plus sailors, members of the press and campaign staffers.
"We are gathered here today, on a ship of war, with a heavy heart. In our life we have fought our many struggles as Americans and we have lost many among our brethren. There is no more just cause for our current conflict then that one to which we bore witness on September 11th, 2001. There is no more pressing matter to which the free world must dedicate its attention then the war on terrorism. We owe our respect and our remembrance to our fallen, that we might be able to honour their sacrifice and preserve that very freedom which was attacked that day. We honour them and we dedicate this day of our lives to their memory.
It is the duty of the United States to preserve the freedoms which are the very foundation of our nation. It is the love of every American citizen for this country which emanates our vision unto the world. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, these are the rocks upon which we have built our democracy and they may strike at us and they may call us every despicable term under the sun but they will notshake those rocks and they will not crack that foundation. That our stalwart lighthouse of democracy has weathered the storms of fascism and communism is no coincidence and we will weather this storm as well. And we will continue to serve as that lighthouse of democracy for the world. I ask all of you to observe a moment of silence with me to remember those we lost." Nate bowed his head and so did everyone else on the carrier. Once the minute was up, Nate raised his head. "Thank you." Then he stepped down from the podium to massive applause from the sailors on the ship. Nate shook hands with the Captain and he saluted him and his sailors, all of whom returned the salute.
"He's good, damn it." Charlie heard a reporter from ZNN say to one from the New York Times.
"He's the future, Stuart, get used to him." The New York Times reporter replied. Charlie and the boys were there when Nate came walking over.
"Two hundred sixty-four words." Nate said to Charlie.
"Yeah well, your war is smaller then Lincoln's." Charlie tossed at him.
2346 ZULU
COATES' APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN
Bax stood at the door with a lump in his throat and his hands at his sides. He had switched out of his uniform before coming and so was dressed in a dark blue suit. He had the sneaking feeling that Jen might kill him, he also knew that if she did, he earned it. Taking the last brave step forward he tapped on her door and waited for the other shoe to drop. When the door opened, Bax swallowed hard and tried not to focus on how beautiful she looked with her hair down. "Hey." He chanced.
"What are you doing here?" She took a heavy but shaky breath.
"I thought we could talk." He started.
"And I thought you did all your talking last month." Jen shot at him trying to hide the fact that she had been crying but he could tell. He saw the reddened eyes and the pouty, quivering bottom lip and he moved tentatively closer to her.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"You've been crying." He answered plainly.
"So? You all of a sudden care whether or not I've been crying?" There was a sharp edge of accusation in her voice.
"I never stopped caring, Jen." Bax answered as he reached up to wipe a stray tear from her face. "I never actually stopped loving you. The only thing that really changed about me in the last month was that I was more miserable and I drank more."
"You seemed fine when you came to JAG today." Her voice was still one of an accuser.
"I didn't feel fine." He responded. "We all put up walls, Jen, so no one sees when we're hurting, everyone does. There's no such thing as complete emotional honesty, just thin walls."
"Why couldn't you just be honest with me? You were so good at it before." She silently invited him in by stepping away from the door and opening it wider.
"I didn't think I could do it without it seeming out of place in a work atmosphere." He answered as he hung his jacket up on the rack.
"You could have slipped me a post-it note or something, or called me." She theorized as they walked over to the couch.
"Truth be told, Jen, I thought the only way I was ever going to be able to get over you was to go cold turkey." He hung his head. "Being near you, talking to you just reminds me of the effect you have on me. You're so warm and so beautiful and so kind."
"And so single?" She supplied. "If this is true, what happened last month?"
"Jen, can't you see? We can't have a future together. I'm not going to resign my commission this close to my fourth star." Or possibly fifth, Bax added in his mind. Harm was right, there were tremors coming out of the Middle East but it wasn't just the Middle East, there were tremors in the Pacific as well and he was in the position to be launched into a theatre command.
"Yeah, and if you'd let me talk before going off into your own self-righteous idiocy, you would have heard me tell you that I was considering not renewing my current enlistment contract. This would have meant that as of November 1st, I would no longer be a Senior Chief in the Navy and you would be off the hook." She replied.
"You have this fine habit of hanging me with my own words." Bax laughed nervously as he scratched his forehead.
"I just give you the rope, you're the one who jumps from the tree." She laughed. "Anything to say, Admiral?"
"Jen, I know I have no right to ask this. But is there anyway that we can pretend that the last month didn't happen?" Bax's eyes were now pleading. He comically sunk to his knees on the floor. "Please?"
"I don't know, Ethan, you hurt me really badly last time and I don't trust someone all that easily." Jen was sorely tempted to just say 'yes' and launch at him but she didn't want to look or feel like a doormat.
"I'll do anything, literally anything, I just know that if I walk out that door tonight with having made the best effort I know how to win you back, I'll be the worst fool on the face of the earth for having given up on true love." Silently Bax was thanking God for four years of English classes at the Academy. "I'll accept any punishment you deem necessary."
"Ethan, get off your knees, no woman likes to see her man beg no matter how positively damn cute you look." She took him by the elbow and seated him back on the couch.
"Your ma-, you mean?" His eyes were suddenly hopeful.
"Yes, I'll forgive you. On three conditions." She raised three fingers.
"Name it." Bax nodded.
"One, you apologize in full and take responsibility for what happened last month along with swearing to never even consider doing it again." Coates lowered one finger.
"Done." Nate answered simply.
"Two, we put everything off until November 4th, when my enlistment officially runs out." Jen eyed him carefully and he nodded. "And finally, you have to take me shoe shopping." She laughed when she saw him wince at this last stipulation.
"I'll go one better." Bax offered and Jen was intrigued. "I'll pay for the reminder of your schooling."
"Are you trying to be my sugar daddy, now?" She asked smiling.
"Just trying to make you happy." He smiled at her.
"Well, you make me very happy when you're on your best behaviour." She leaned in and quickly her lips met his. "Enjoy that, because it's all you get for two months." She tossed at him with a saucy wink. Bax had to get up off the couch and head for the door. She blew him one more kiss as he left and he caught it and stuck it in his pocket.
"I'll save it for some time next month." He joked as he closed the door behind him.
0120 ZULU
THE ANCHOR TAP & GRILL
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Bax walked into the Anchor to see Harm, AJ and Sturgis playing pool in the back corner with beer mugs sitting on the edges of the table. Bax motioned for four to the bartender and by the time the Vice Admiral had walked to the other end of the bar, the bartender had slid all four down to him. He walked over and handed out the beers.
"So, how did things go with Coates?" Harm asked as he lined up a shot.
"Surprisingly well." Bax replied. "Things will be better as of November 4th."
"Why's that?" AJ asked.
"It's the day her enlistment contract runs out." Bax explained as he took a sip from his beer.
"She took you back?" Sturgis sounded very surprised.
"Not officially until her contract runs out and there were a few other conditions." Bax grabbed a cue off the wall. "I'm guessing I'm teamed up with the bubblehead?"
"Yeah." Harm nodded. "What kind of conditions."
"I make a full apology and accept complete responsibility for what happened. We do nothing until her contract runs out and I have to pay for a shoe shopping trip." Bax explained as he pulled off his patented two balls in one shot.
"So, you're basically married." AJ joked.
"How do you figure that?" Sturgis asked.
"He's taking all the blame, getting no sex and paying for everything. Sounds like marriage to me." The four men shared another laugh at AJ's joke. "On a serious note if you hurt her again, I'll dismember you."
"Ditto." Harm and Sturgis said simultaneously.