Cigars, Bones, Babies and Jimmy Blackhorse. (Chapter/Phase 11 - parts 18 and 19)
A/N: AU: "they aren't mine, I'm just playing with them - apart from any fictional character created by myself". See Phase One of this story for the whole disclaimer A/N. Feel free to PM me if you spot any typos - my goal is 100% error-free. Feedback and comments are also welcome; I see plenty of followers and visitors to this story..
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Phase Eleven of "Cigars, Bones, Babies and Jimmy Blackhorse" - "Family" and "Frozen Friendship"
A/N 30-07-2018: ...and now, on with Chapter Eleven. Warning - minor character death amongst the life events of 2001.
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Chapter 11 - Part 18 - "Family".
Tuesday 30th October 2001 - 18:02hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC:
Harm met the FBI creche worker on their doorstep as arranged; knowing that Terri was due back home today, he had arranged the handover meeting so that Terri would have one less task on the day of her return and could be instantly re-united with her daughter. He saw Terri's Saab parked safely on the driveway and his heart sang at the confirmation of the return of his wife and lover (and his daughter's mother) from the taskforce in New York.
Harm had found her on the couch when he entered their home and showed Ellie (emphasising the need for silence) that her Mommy was safely home before leading Ellie into the kitchen for tea. Overjoyed that his wife (and the mother of his daughter) was safely home from the disaster zone of NYC, he had simply brought a blanket downstairs to cover her, then closed the lounge door as he tended to little Ellen (now approaching her 34-month "birthday") in the kitchen. He and Ellie then watched cartoons on TV in the study until it was Ellen's bedtime. Ellen settled quickly; just knowing that Mommy had come home and was safely back in the house was sufficient to settle the three-year-old - which in turn helped to settle Harm.
Harm looked down at Terri as she slept peacefully on the settee, tired from her four-hour drive from NYC. He had toyed with the idea of lifting Terri from the couch and carrying her up to bed, but he knew that his spine, already weakened by the historic 1991 crash in the ramp strike plus a career of carrier landings, was no longer in the best of shape to accomplish such a romantic (yet physically stressful) gesture, so he had thrown a blanket over her and left her to continue sleeping. Additionally, he rationalised (as he had come to appreciate during the physical pleasures of their marriage) that Terri was no lightweight - a fact that he had been grateful to witness when she had stomped and thumped and kicked her assailant Charlie Lynch into submission on the USS Seabridge during the Dar-Lin case as well as the recent case of the bogus journalist, who had definitely come off second-best to Terri's "creative" techniques for her self-defence...
Picking up Terri's coat and boots, Harm hung up the coat, then retrieved his polishing kit and brought both his service shoes and her boots up to a lustrous shine. He noticed some damage to the front of the toecap on her left boot. Harm knew that Terri had a habit of tapping her left foot, toe first, on the ground when she was worried or stressed; Harm could only imagine what horrors his Terri had witnessed, almost continuously, during her posting to NYC for the "Ground Zero" cleanup and investigations. Getting that toecap back to a military shine took him almost 15 minutes - time which he used to relax as the evening drew on.
He checked on Terri one final time before bed, leaving her a "Welcome home darling - everything is ready for Hallowe'en" note on the coffee table with a night-light providing a glow-worm's level of illumination before he headed to bed, where he fell asleep instantly, somewhere between pulling back the sheets and his head landing on the pillow; his Teresa was home and all was well in the Coulter-Rabb world.
Very quickly, Harm sank into an even deeper, contented sleep; he had reluctantly adjusted to the weeks of sleeping alone during his wife's absence, but he knew that the separation was now at an end - the coming nights should be memorable once Terri actually made it upstairs to bed! Harm slept with a big, cheesy grin on his face. His wife was home, even if she was fast asleep downstairs on the settee. His family was complete once more - and family was very important to Harmon Rabb Jr.
Later in the night, Terri rolled over and fell off the couch, thereby waking herself in the near-total darkness. Fighting her way out of the blanket which had appeared - and cocooned her - whilst she slept, her eyes adjusted to the gloom and then she identified the night light. She read Harm's little note, smiled to herself and headed quietly upstairs, switching off the night light in the lounge. Dropping her remaining clothes in the corner of the bedroom (Terri was just too bone-tired to find the laundry basket in the bathroom), she slid under the covers alongside her Tomcat.
.
Wednesday 31st October 2001 - 06:41hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
Terri woke, after a good half-night's sleep in her own bed for the first time in about seven weeks. She knew that she had made the right decision - to come upstairs - after she had fallen off the couch just after midnight, so had taken the opportunity to head upstairs and get into bed without waking Harm - or so she thought. She woke up to find Harm's arms wrapped around her, one hand resting provocatively (and stimulatingly!) on her left breast as he continued to sleep soundly. This man obviously had a homing instinct when his wife was near - or at least one of his hands did!
Terri rolled onto her back, holding Harm's hand in place (well, it *WAS* a nice way to wake up!) and looked into the face of her sleeping husband, lover and father of her daughter. She was pleased to be home, but she still felt slightly queasy.
Harm opened one eye and looked lovingly at her; as he surfaced to full consciousness, he realised where his hand was resting. A teasing finger began to circulate over Terri's body; she felt a flush rising in her cheeks and ran a hand down Harm's body. She rapidly confirmed, from his body's reaction, that Harm was eager to welcome his wife home.
"Mmm, Tomcat, something tells me you are happy to have your Tennessee Bombshell back" she murmured as their tongues connected and she scooted across towards the centre-line of the bed, parting her legs to give him easier access to her body.
Then suddenly she started to feel really odd.
"Harm, hold up a minute". She placed a cautionary hand on his chest.
He paused, breathing heavily and evidently with a major blood-flow of excitement under way after seven weeks apart from his mate. "What is it, darling?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel as though I'm about to...…"
Terri got no further; with a look of horror on her face as she slid out from beneath Harm, she slipped off the bed, stood up straight and dashed to the bathroom. She just made it to the toilet where, kneeling down at the throne of the great god of porcelain, she began to retch.
Concerned, Harm knelt down beside her and comfortingly caressed her back - there was little else that he could do for his wife at that moment. He reached up and moistened a face cloth in warm water before handing it to her; she nodded her grateful thanks, before the retching started again.
Terri eventually drew breath. "Oh God, that was unpleasant" she said, squatting back onto her haunches. Then an idea occurred to her.
"Harm; bathroom cabinet please - look for the EPT box". She reached for her toothbrush and toothpaste. Harm smiled, stood up and within a minute he was back bearing an Emergency Pregnancy Test.
"Now, Tomcat, I need privacy for a few minutes".
He nodded and headed back into the bedroom, closing the bathroom door behind him.
Some minutes later, Terri emerged, with a mournful expression on her face.
As he looked, her facial expression blossomed into a look of extreme joy.
Harm raised an eyebrow - she nodded.
"Yes, darling Tomcat, you and I will be remembering September 2001 for all the right, positive reasons".
Harm thought back to the passionate weekend following September 11th; this meant that his wife was now approximately six or seven weeks along with their second child.
"Wow; Teresa Ellen, thank you so much; so, what does that do in terms of due dates?"
Terri thought for a moment, running the numbers. "Somewhere around mid-June; hopefully I'll avoid the worst of the hot weather next year" she replied.
She leaned in and kissed him passionately: "So, where were we, Tomcat? I reckon you were about to welcome your wife home?"
"Oh yeah, baby; let's continue - back to the bedroom!"
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Wednesday 31st October 2001 - 08:05hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
After showering, Harm and Terri donned their respective uniforms (Terri would be running a USN course that day) and, after breakfast, they headed out. Harm assisted Terri by buckling Ellen into the child-seat on the back of Terri's Saab. She placed her briefcase and cover on the front passenger seat of the Saab. Harm leaned in through the open car door.
"OK, Mommy Teresa; when do we start to go public with our news?" Harm's flyboy smile was back, in 500-watt radiance.
"Keep it quiet until week 13" admonished Terri. "I'll let my AD know as a courtesy (she shouldn't need to pull me from any investigations, but I reckon that she needs to be aware of my condition), but we're all in such turmoil since 9/11 that I don't believe that anyone else will notice so long as the 'morning sickness' is really confined to the first hour of wakefulness".
Harm nodded in agreement. He knew, from previous reading, that 13 weeks was normally the point at which one could set aside fears about a spontaneous miscarriage; after being kept in the dark for the first five months after Ellen's conception in '98, he intended to be fully involved from day one in this, their second pregnancy.
On leaving their home, Terri sat in her car and, before starting the engine, she looked down at the waistband of her "Peanut Butter" uniform skirt; she imagined the tiny life that was nestling there invisibly - yet was already upsetting the balance of her hormones. She smiled to herself: of course she knew that nothing was showing yet, but the miracle of life had taken root inside her once more - a sibling for Ellen and perhaps the long-awaited son for Harmon Rabb jr. It would, as she had said to Harm earlier, be a positive way to remember September of 2001.
Starting the car, she headed off, re-acquainting herself with the route to FBI headquarters after her weeks in New York.
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Thursday 1st November 2001 - 20:08hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
"Teresa, what would be your reaction to the idea that we invite your father over for Thanksgiving?"
Harm posed the question as he carried the dinner plates across to the dishwasher; Terri and Ellie were heading to the lounge, where they would - as usual - snuggle down on the settee for a quarter-hour before bed-time.
She sat down and looked at him. "Well, he and I have chatted every month. You have met up with him to help him setting up his home and those couple of legal enquiries (and he was grateful for that). He never pushes this and it is clear that he is beginning to explore and enjoy civilian life, a little more every month as the court cases and the prison recede in his memory."
She paused reflectively, stroking Ellen's hair. Finally, she looked up at Harm.
"So - Hell yeah Tomcat, I reckon that my father has earned a Thanksgiving dinner with us - we also want this year of 2001 to be about American families and our continuing way of life, after the attacks in September. Darling, would you mind making the call please, because he obviously respects you and you have that bond from the hearings and the trial; I still have a ways to go on this estranged father-daughter dynamic".
Harm leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead. "God, I know once more that I have married the right woman: kind, generous, giving, considerate - and brilliant in bed!" He paused: "But I do sometimes wish that we had met ten years ago darling!"
Terri shrugged. "Hmm, there would have been a couple of problems with that idea; first and foremost, I was wearing another man's wedding ring and I was fully committed to my marriage vows! Second of all, I was exhausted around that time, with med school and Mom and everything else going on at Norfolk, Then, we were in the throes of Mom's death. I was a very different woman then and you might just not have been attracted to me back then. Nope, I am grateful for what we have now in 2001, Tomcat. Oh one more thing: I agree with your idea - let's keep the new baby news to ourselves as agreed until week 13 - OK, Tomcat?"
"Yes ma'am, Mommy Teresa" - her husband dutifully replied to his pregnant, wonderful, fulfilling and supportive young wife as he gently rubbed her tummy.
They hugged, eliciting an excited gurgle from Ellie who lay between them; she always drew comfort from the close way that her mommy and daddy hugged and caressed each together. She was a lucky child, enjoying the close loving relationship between her two parents.
November 2001 was definitely looking up.
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Thursday 22nd November 2001 - 12:05hrs EST (Thanksgiving Day)
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
The taxi bringing Thomas Chaddock across from his new home arrived on the driveway just a few minutes behind schedule. Harm and and Terri were proud to welcome Teresa's father to their home for this Thanksgiving Day, following the momentous events (both worldwide and within the Chaddock/Coulter family). Thomas was quickly introduced to his grand-daughter, who had grown since the previous photograph had been taken, a mere six weeks previously. He spent quite a while bouncing his grand-daughter on his knee. Thomas Chaddock knew that he had missed so much of family life; he rejoiced that his daughter - and her husband - were reaching out to include him in this new millennium. The 18 months since his acquittal at the retrial had seen Thomas made significant steps towards building a new life which would see out his remaining days as a free man.
Harm and Terri took turns in the kitchen, whilst showing Thomas Chaddock through the photo albums which chronicled their lives.
By the end of the day when his taxi arrived to take him home, all three of them felt that his rehabilitation (and their re-integration of him into their family) had made good and solid progress. Things were definitely looking up: Harm had invited his "new" father-in-law to join him on Christmas Eve to meet Harm's father - a visit to the Vietnam Memorial beckoned. The retired Captain Thomas Chaddock USN had readily and eagerly agreed to join in with Harm's long-standing tradition - he was proud that his newly-discovered son-in-law trusted him sufficiently to honour him with an invitation to this important anniversary in the Rabb family calendar.
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Thursday 13th December 2001 - 19:46hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
As Christmas continued to draw nearer, Harm and Terri were relaxing on the sofa after their evening meal, with little Ellen cocooned between them, watching the NBC evening news and digesting the continued flow of troubling worldwide events; the news of the suicide attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi was being covered in some considerable detail. Ellen rolled over, pressing on Terri's waist. Terri reacted, aware of her three-month foetus, and caressed Ellie's hair as she settled the young girl comfortably into the gap between her parents' bodies. She rested a hand on her waist and looked at her husband.
"Harm, I reckon we can safely start telling people about our news - what do you think?"
"Good idea darling; I had intended to ask you on the 16th, which I reckon would be the three month anniversary of the C-O-N-C-E-P-T-I-O-N" he spelled out for the benefit of Ellie's hearing. "How about I let Harriet Sims know tomorrow and we call La Jolla now? Then, the next question is how we tell my father-in-law".
"Well, I've also been thinking about that. How about each of us tells his or her parents? You know that we need to confirm timings for Christmas dinner - oh, and I want an alcohol-free house for that day; Dad's lost enough of his life to the bottle and I'm not going to provide any temptation for him to slide back".
Harm caressed her cheek. "Terri, I reckon that the volunteer work he is doing at the homeless shelter (now that the Navy financial settlement has funded his purchase of a home and established his pension) is giving him a constant reminder of the damage that alcohol can do. He is a good man who got led astray, Terri - you and I both realise that. He'll probably spend the rest of his life making amends and, as his only remaining family, we can be proud of how we are assisting him to move forward".
Terri leaned over Ellie and kissed her husband, becoming aware of the slight limitation in her upper body's flexibility due to her pregnancy. "Wow, my lovely considerate Tomcat; thank you".
"My pleasure, darling. I *am* however planning to use a small cup of brandy to 'flame' the plum pudding - ok?"
Terri nodded in agreement, then kissed Ellie as Harm picked up their daughter to take her up to her bedroom. When he returned 15 minutes later, Terri reached for the phone and handed it to Harm.
The afternoon siesta in La Jolla was disturbed by the phone call, but Trish Burnett was - as always - pleased to hear from her son and the wonderful woman (in Tricia's opinion) who had tamed the wild Tomcat.
"Hi Mom, how's tricks on the West Coast?"
"Pretty good, son; we're both fine and, of course, wondering when you'll be back out this way".
"Well Mom, we've got a bit of a temporary limitation on flying coming up on that for the next six months or so beyond January. Is Frank around and can you get him on the phone please?"
With rising excitement, Trish summoned Frank Burnett to the other line; at the click, his voice joined the conversation; "Hello Harm, Terri and granddaughter; how are things in pre-Christmas DC?"
"Very good Dad" (since becoming a father himself, Harm had steadily developed his relationship with Frank further; he was now proud to acknowledge his step-father with the 'Dad' title). "We are all fine here, plus we have a little bit of family news". He hugged Terri and whispered "You tell them" in her ear. She giggled slightly and kissed his neck before she took over the 'phone.
"Hi Trish and Frank; well, 13 weeks in, we can now let you know that Ellen is going to have a brother or a sister in about six months from now". She instinctively held the handset away from her ear and was - as she expected - rewarded with the expected squeal of excitement from the California end of the conversation.
"Oh darlings, congratulations; have you told Ellie yet?"
"No, but once I tell Harriet Sims-Roberts tomorrow, I expect she'll be able to advise me on how she broke the news to her children when she was pregnant. Unfortunately she lost a baby - little Sarah, stillborn in childbirth - just over a year ago last November, but from conversations with her and Bud I believe that they have healed some of the hurt. I don't have any reservations about asking her for advice, unless you have any views on that, Mom?"
Trisha thought for a moment before replying. "Well Harm, at the time of my miscarriage when your father was lost, I was pretty morose for some months, but my friends rallied round and, years later, Frank was wonderfully supportive when I finally opened up to him. Yes, I reckon that Harriet should be in a good state to advise both of you - and as you know she gets hyperactive whenever there is gossip, family news, or weddings and christenings! I would say 'go for it, my children' and bring Harriet into the circle of knowledge about Teresa's pregnancy". The warmth in Tricia's voice was evident. Harm nodded, and looked into Terri's eyes for confirmation. She nodded back.
"OK Mom, we'll do that. Having dedicated this year's Thanksgiving to getting Terri's dad back into circulation, we reckon we will have a quiet family Christmas here in DC but - if Terri is up to it - we'd like to come visit you in the snowy months starting after the New Year holidays."
OK, how about Valentine's or the end of January depending on Teresa's comfort with flying?"
Terri thought for a second, then replied "Let's go for January - I have plans for my Tomcat on Valentine's Day of 2002 and I really wouldn't want to be flying once I'm past the mid-point of my pregnancy in late January!"
Raising his eyebrows in pleasant anticipation of his mid-February Valentine's present, Harm confirmed the idea of a late-January trip to the relative warmth of California.
Terminating the call, Harm and Terri concentrated on getting Ellen ready for bed, before settling once more on the family couch in their lounge.
Harm leaned across and nuzzled Terri's pulse-point at the base of her neck. She groaned in pleasure: "Oh Lord, Tomcat, you know what that does to me - and I'm already living with the consequences of September!" She leaned across and took his head in her hands, kissing him passionately.
Harm smiled and relaxed, looking into her eyes. "Well, Terri, I have one New Year resolution already in mind for you".
Terri raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Go on", she prompted.
He smiled before continuing: "Try not to get kidnapped next year - with Charlie Lynch and that bogus reporter this year, you're closing in on Meg Austin's record for 'damsel in distress' moments".
She hugged him then settled with her head on his shoulder. "Yes, whatever happened to Meg after you got arrested back in '96?"
He shrugged. "She disappeared into 'secret squirrel' land and hasn't emerged yet. I'd certainly like to make contact with her again, if only to thank her for starting to clear my name over Diane's death. It's been over five years, which should more than cover the duration of any TAD or PCS posting".
"Yes, you owe her big thanks for that; wasn't there another blonde JAG Commander who was working that case with you that you told me about". She paused, her brow furrowed and her left toecap digging into the ground. "I want to call her Chaddock but that's obviously a confusion with my maiden name" Terri continued, her brow furrowed in trying to remember.
Harm puzzled over his answer for a moment, then his face brightened. "Aha, you mean Alison Krennick - my very own obsessive cougar!"
Terri raised her other eyebrow. "Cougar?"
"Yes, a late-30s, pushy, husky-voiced smoking three-ring Commander, great litigator but a lousy investigator and with the sexual morals of an alley cat, although I'm not sure she ever actually got laid - she was just too eager; she chased me round a desk on more than one occasion. She was quite clear that I was one of her targets. She even rocked up at my apartment once (twice actually around March of '96, before and after a case which took us to Cuba). I was cooking and she made it clear that I was on her menu for dessert. The first time, she stood there in this purple cycling top, leaning over the counter in my galley playing with my eggs and I swear she had nothing on underneath - she was quite forward in her pose over the table that day."
Terri looked up, at Harm's obvious discomfort at telling the story, even five years afterwards. "So did she get the dessert that she came for - and it doesn't matter if she did, because you and I both came into this marriage with a past, my darling Tomcat".
"No, but she came back for 'round two' when we returned from Cuba; this time, she came straight from the flight home, in her Dress Whites, slipped off her heels and headed for my bathroom to get ready - and was really offended to find a woman already in my shower".
Terri looked up: "Really? Wow - that must have put a kink in her plan".
Harm smiled, thinking back to Krennick's face: "Oh yeah baby; she stomped out in a huge temper before I could introduce her to Jack Keeter's former girlfriend, an Iberia airlines stewardess named Maria Elena Carmelita Moreno Gutierrez, who was on a layover in Dulles and wanted to enjoy the wonderful water pressure of my shower".
"Don't tell me, another happy landing?" enquired Terri. Harm shook his head.
"No, just a good friend - getting involved with Maria Elena would have broken the code".
"Code?" Terri's eyebrows were heading skywards again as she struggled to understand her husband.
"Yes; you don't date the ex-girlfriends of your male friends".
"Wow, honour amongst the chauvinists! So Maria Elena and this Alison Krennick didn't join your Harmon's harem?" Terri laughed. She rolled over on the couch and slid her right hand beneath him. "Besides, I prefer my tomcats to be experienced and house-broken". Her left hand, bearing her wedding ring, began to slowly unzip her husband's trousers as she smiled up at him conspiratorially as her fingers began to probe inside: "Remember Tomcat, house-broken but never neutered!"
Harm shifted uncomfortably as his body responded to her touch. Sometimes, there were uncomfortable - yet pleasurable - consequences to being married to one of DC's most-capable pathologists!
"Darling wife Teresa, let's take this upstairs".
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Chapter 11 - Part 19 - "Frozen friendship".
Tuesday 25th December 2001 - 07:25hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
Christmas morning started early in the Coulter-Rabb household, as little Ellen woke the house early by shaking all the presents beneath the Christmas tree, trying to identify the contents. At the moment of sunrise, Harm and Terri were sitting on the couch watching their daughter when Terri's cell-phone rang. She looked at the number display and swore lightly under her breath. Harm patted her shoulder and stood up.
Something major was obviously up, so he helpfully handed Terri a note-pad and a pen; she looked up and smiled gratefully at him, blowing him a kiss as she returned to concentrate on the conversation. Harm could only hear Teresa's side of the conversation;
"Dr Coulter-Rabb...…. Yes...… Err, no boss, not ideal timing but I guess that your four-year-old and husband had the same views a half-hour ago...… Yes of course, one hour from now at HQ unless you contact me again with a re-direct. I'll be there. Yes ma'am, Merry Christmas".
She closed the call and looked across at Harm, apologies written across her face.
He took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. "Hey Darling, don't fret - when duty calls, duty calls. It must be serious to call you before breakfast on a Christmas morning so I guess that someone is having a *really* shitty Christmas Day?".
"Yes, there was a big fire in a warehouse at the back of Georgetown last night; at 0345hrs this morning, fire crews found a number of padlocked freezers in the back rooms when they were working through the building and damping down; they opened the first two and found a frozen woman's body in each, then backed out and called Metro PD; PD attended around 04:25hrs, got the fire crews to open the next two freezers, found two more bodies and called the FBI at 05:40hrs. It looks like we may have a serial on our hands and we have inadvertently uncovered his dumping ground".
Harm picked up Ellie and snuggled his daughter. "Well, if Mommy goes to shower, Daddy will sort out a cereal for his little 'cereal killer' and then Mommy can enjoy her breakfast and play with Ellie whilst Daddy showers quickly and dresses ahead of Mommy's departure". He rejoiced in the flexibility of his household, which enabled both - or either - of them to handle any work-related interruption to their domestic arrangements. "G'wan, git in that thar shower, Mrs Rabb".
Terri tossed him a mock-salute; "Aye-Aye, Cap'n". Opening the bedroom curtains slightly, she peeked out and shivered: "Looks cold out there" she reported.
"Don't worry, I'll warm your boots near the fire and get your coat warmed; it's a good job our cars are in the garages - for today, do you want to leave me the Saab and take my Lexus given the weather? That way your only decision is your underwear and I am *definitely* not expressing an opinion there!"
"Oh good thought. Thanks Tomcat - I'll take the Lexus; I'll be wearing grey and black, so I'll take the black long boots please and please prepare some coffee to go, along with the long grey greatcoat and please lay out the box of disposable examination gloves so I can shove a few into my coat pockets". Even as she headed for the shower, the pathologist in Terri was planning ahead.
"Aye aye, ma'am!". Harm dug her medical/ME "go-bag" out of the hall closet and left it by the front door with a box of blue rubber examination gloves on top, then "flew" Ellie, airplane style, through the house and placed her, giggling happily, in in her high chair at the breakfast bar.
A bowl of Cheerios and milk quietened Ellie down, so Harm put four eggs on the hob to boil and carved off four slices of the organic loaf, ready to toast when Terri started down the stairs. He then retrieved his polishing kit and checked over Terri's long black winter boots. A flick of a duster was all that was needed to leave them gleaming once more, so he placed them, along with her long grey coat, in front of the fireplace and lit the gas fire. Everything was safely protected beyond the fire-guard. He was just glad to be able to support his wife with a warm send-off on this, their Christmas Day, to help commence the process of bringing eventual closure to the families of the newly-discovered victims.
After showering, Terri dressed quickly in a black roll-neck sweater and pulled her hair back into a pony-tail. During the past year since her father's re-trial, she had let her hair grow and was now proud that her blonde mane now reached well below her shoulder-blades. A heavy knee-length grey woollen skirt completed her ensemble - she had built up her winter wardrobe since heading north from Tennessee. She pulled out her small cross from around her neck and displayed it on the front of her sweater around the base of her collar - it was, after all, Christmas Day. Heading downstairs into the kitchen, she rapidly munched her way through two of the hardboiled eggs, together with the two pieces of buttered toast which Harm had started in the toaster as he heard her descend the stairs. She filled a large insulated mug with hot black coffee, secured the lid and left it alongside her bag and case in the hall.
Heading into the lounge, Terri retrieved her boots from by the fire; she inhaled the comforting aroma of warm leather and polish as she admired her husband's work, then she sat on the settee, pulled on a pair of thin long socks over her thigh-high stockings then pulled on her boots and zipped them up to her knees. Terri was doing all in her power to resist the cold of the DC dawn.
As she stood up, Harm was ready to help her into her warmed grey great-coat; as she buttoned the coat from knees to throat, he reached behind him to hand her a wrapped, soft present.
"Harm, I don't have time for..." her protest was silenced with a silencing finger on her lips and a kiss on her forehead. "Darling, it will only delay you by 30 seconds: 29, 28, 27..."
She relented and unwrapped the package, which revealed a black, Soviet-era fur Naval Officer's hat, known as a "uschanka".
"Oh Harm, it's beautiful"; she popped it onto her head and looked in the hallway mirror: "Oh, very 'Doctor Zhivago' - and ideal for today's cold; but when did you get this?"
Harm hugged her, then adjusted the hat slightly to place the badge above her nose at the centre-line. "It is actually a gift from your half-brother-in-law. He gave it to me as we parted in Russia, with the request to 'present this to the lovely lady who has given you that satisfied, contented smile, my brother' - so here you are on Christmas morning".
Terri looked in the long mirror in the hallway and did a model's twirl. "It looks good; darn, I could have worn my USN uniform".
"Hmm, well darling, those boots would be non-approved for a US Naval officer - and those heels are a no-no for uniform compliance. Plus, today sounds like it is wall-to-wall FBI business, Agent Coulter-Rabb".
"Oh heck yeah - trousers only with the Naval uniform. Anyway, this is a great present and thank Sergei when you speak with him".
"I surely will; and here is one more small present from me in the remaining five seconds." He picked a small package off the side table and handed it to her.
Giggling at the flood of gifts, Terri impatiently tore open the small wrapped package and drew out, with a gasp of pleasure, a pair of long black kid-leather gloves; pulling them on, she realised that Harm had managed to match, perfectly, her hand-size. They fitted snugly and wrapped perfectly around her fingers, with the long cuffs tucked up inside the sleeves of her coat, neatly overlapping the cuffs of her sweater. Apart from the tops of her stockings as she walked, Terri Coulter-Rabb was now draught-proof.
"OK Harm, enough of the black leather, I need to get going, really". She gave him a final peck on the cheek, then headed for the front door, the regular cadence of her boot-heels walking along the wooden floor, pausing only to pick up her coffee and bag, tuck the examination gloves into her coat pocket and then she was opening the front door, car-keys in hand.
Harm closed the front door behind him and stood in the storm porch to wave his wife farewell. The automatic lights covering the front driveway had perfectly illuminated Terri's path to the garage doors and she pulled away smoothly in the Lexus, the auto-closer bringing the garage door back down to its secured position.
Harm headed back into the home to tend to Ellie's next demands.
Tuesday 25th December 2001 - 08:53hrs EST
Crime scene, warehouse district, near Dean & Deluca, Georgetown, Washington DC
"Hey Doc, nice hat!"
As she pinned her FBI credentials on the front of her coat and stepped into the crime scene after identifying herself to the Metropolitan PD officer at the checkpoint, Terri was greeted by Detective Charlie Chandler, one of the (very) few men who had caught her attention back in Memphis PD days. He had transferred to the Metropolitan Police district of DC some years earlier and Terri had lost track of him.
"Hey, Merry Christmas, Charlie; thank you. How's life treating you since you abandoned us in Memphis for the big bad city?"
As she spoke, Terri absent-mindedly removed her leather gloves and tucked them into her coat pocket, prior to pulling out two of the forensic gloves from the other pocket of her coat. Charlie's eyes focussed on her wedding and engagement rings. "Pretty good, all in all. Wow, congratulations Teresa; who's the lucky guy?"
"A Commander in the US Navy's JAG Corps, now based here in DC - hence my transfer to the FBI. He and I have a three-year-old daughter and..." she gestured down to her waist "...number two will be with us in around six months".
Chandler took his glove off and flashed a wedding band. "Well, I guess that we have both been lucky since we last met; a brilliant girl called Caroline has made my life complete - and also dragged me up here to DC. We're still practicing for children, though" he ended with a smile.
As the two friends laughed, Terri's ASAC leaned across; "Sorry to break up the reunion folks, but I need Doctor Coulter-Rabb in that room - the fire is fully out throughout the building and the floor is safe, just watch for any odd bits of debris on the floor in the darkness; our techs are still setting up the illumination". The woman looked at Terri's hat; "Nice hat, Doctor".
"OK I'm on it, boss - and thanks; not sure what it will do to my hairstyle, though". Terri pulled on her forensic gloves and stepped forward.
As Terri's eyes adjusted to the gloom, an MPD officer handed her a large flashlight; she nodded her gratitude and stepped on into the back room of the partially-destroyed building.
A line of commercial chest-freezers lined the back wall; someone had already sprayed a reference number on each and FBI evidence tags were attached to the handles. Terri observed that the first four had been opened by the simple expedient of slamming a fireman's axe through the padlock and hasp. Terri's head swivelled steadily, keeping aligned as her torch illuminated the chain of freezers:
"#1", (opened by the fire crews)
"#2", (ditto)
"#3", (opened by MPD)
"#4", (ditto)
"#5", (still padlocked shut)
"#6", (ditto)
"#7"...
Steadily, her sweep around the room continued; Terri gave up counting at "10" - she would have her work cut out and her Christmas Day had probably already finished with the early-morning present-giving at home before she had left to travel over here. She pressed her index and middle fingers against the front of her coat (over the point where her cross nestled beneath), settled the fur hat more closely on her head and lifted the heavy lid to open "coffin" number one.
Her flashlight illuminated an odd scene as she scanned down the body from the cover; a female corpse, wearing a complete USN Summer Whites Uniform with the three broad stripes of a Commander's rings, complete in every detail (on a cursory inspection) from cover to seriously high-heeled white shoes and with medal ribbons and name badge. Terri didn't recognise the name, but started logging her first impressions using a voice recorder and making notes on a clip-board which the evidence techs had laid on top of each "coffin".
A tentative probing finger confirmed to Terri that the woman's body was still frozen stiff; Terri shivered involuntarily and thanked her luck stars for the hat, coat, boots and thermal underwear which she was wearing. She knew that, within a couple of hours, she might have to think about withdrawing to somewhere warmer; her little pregnant hitch-hiker was still snug and warm inside his/her mommy, but she knew that there were sensible limits to how long a pregnant mommy should spend hunched over these coffins, breathing in ice-cold air, during the fourth month of her pregnancy.
She closed the lid of freezer #1 and called to her evidence tech. "Hey Williams, just as a matter of interest, would it be possible to get all these freezers in a reefer unit back to the Hoover building and my labs, please? I would obviously need the chain of evidence to be maintained and to get the power restored to the freezers until I can run a carefully-managed controlled defrost of the corpses, please".
Mary-Anne Williams popped her head around the doorframe from the inner room where she had been gathering evidence: "Dunno doc, but I can sure ask - and I'll ask for temporary power in the trucks during the transit to HQ to keep the freezers running, doc".
"OK Williams, thanks and please get the wheels in motion and make it so". Terri lifted the second freezer lid, rested it against the back wall and leaned in, bending down to start examining the second corpse. This time, working on "Coffin #2", she began at the woman's feet and worked steadily upwards. She had already noted that the woman - unlike "number #1" - was a blonde. She grunted - that heel height was definitely not USN standard!
Her flashlight illuminated the woman's name plate. Her gloved finger removed the thin sheen of frost and she gazed at the lettering.
Terri's loud groan brought several people running, thinking that she needed assistance. Fighting the urge to retch, she re-read the dead woman's nameplate.
"Oh my lord"!
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Tuesday 25th December 2001 - 11:16hrs EST
The home of Cdr Harmon Rabb and Dr Teresa Coulter-Rabb,
33xx Nebraska Avenue NW, Forest Hills, Washington DC
Harm had been pottering around the house since Terri's unexpected Christmas Day summons to work, keeping little Ellie distracted from worrying about her mom's absence on Christmas morning and preparing the Christmas meal. They had previously purchased a pre-cooked turkey, so that he only needed an hour to have all the trimmings ready for a great Coulter-Rabb family Christmas. The vegetables were sitting, all prepared, in a set of saucepans on the hob. Thomas Chaddock was due at 1200noon, so the distraction of having Grandpa coming over should also help keep little Ellie from worrying about mom - well, that was Harm's theory at least!
His cell-phone chirped into action, sounding out the ringtone which he had programmed for Teresa's cellphone number: the Trisha Yearwood's ballad "How do I live?".
"Hey darling, how goes it?"
"Not very well, Harm and, darling, I need you to sit down first before I continue". Terri's voice was subdued and it was clear that she was crying. Harm's protective antennae went into full sensitivity mode; this tough Tennessee gal didn't let much get through her professional suit of armour.
Harm's stress and worry levels were rising steadily as he moved to the kitchen chair and sat down. "Terri; what's wrong darling?"
"Oh Harm; there is no easy way to tell you this and I know you've already lost a number of friends...": her voice tailed off.
"Teresa, you are one of the strongest women that it has ever been my pleasure to know (apart from Alison Krennick whom I described to you a while back - and she came with her own unique set of challenges and wasn't a pleasure, but she was tough as nails). Come on darling, tell hubby Harmon what's wrong".
At his last reply, Terri had started crying again; she slowly regained her composure and Harm waited patiently. She was obviously tense and he could imagine the toecap of her left boot digging into the floor of the burned-out crime scene as her stress took its toll on her footwear. He'd be polishing again tonight!
"Harm, we have opened the first four freezers out of at least ten in this room and so far we have found four women in US Naval uniform, all four of them wearing the rank rings of full commanders; two brunettes and two blondes."
"Well, it could be a sick game of dress-up, played out by some perverted UNSub" he offered as an explanation. "On a practical note, who would know if we have even lost or mislaid four female commanders?"
"Hmm, good question; well, we have called in NCIS urgently, for fingerprint scanning on the first four corpses before we move forward, but if this is true..." her voice tailed off again.
"Teresa, please tell me; what has got you so upset?"
There was a long, deep sigh from the other end of the phone call before Terri swallowed hard and began to speak, although her tears continued.
"There is no easy way to tell you this darling..."
Teresa paused and took a deep breath before continuing.
"Oh dear God, Harm, it looks like we've just found Alison Krennick".
** END of "Cigars, Bones, Babies and Jimmy Blackhorse" phase 11 - ""Family" and "frozen friendship" (parts 18 and 19)
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