Chapter 11

AJ noticed the odd reaction from Dammit's greeting. He wondered if she didn't like dogs, but then realized that she was breathing rapidly and her eyes were glazed. She didn't look like she was afraid or didn't care for Dammit. It was then that he noticed she was in a pretty spring dress and not her uniform or jeans and a T-shirt. She looked particularly lovely, with her hair down around her shoulders.

"Won't you come in, lunch is almost ready?" AJ asked as he led the way into the house.

"You have a lovely home, Admiral," she replied as she followed him.

"Please, call me AJ, since we are off duty and out of the office," he told her.

"Hmmmmm, what does the AJ stand for?" Chrys questioned as he put the pot of flowers down on the table and walked into the kitchen. She laid her briefcase on the hall table and again followed him.

"I dislike my given name, so have gone by my initials ever since I was old enough to choose."

"Oh come on, you can tell me, I can keep a secret. Just like I have your computer password," she said with a teasing grin.

"Very few people know my real name, because I really do dislike it," he insisted.

"You couldn't dislike yours any more than I dislike mine," she informed him.

"What's wrong with your name? Chris is a nice nickname for Christine."

"Yeah if that were only my name!" she laughed.

"Okay, so it's not Christine, what is it?"

"I'll tell you, when you tell me what yours is!"

"What if yours isn't as bad as mine is?" he wanted to know.

"Oh it is, I assure you!"

"Okay, I will make a deal with you, the one with the worst name doesn't do dishes!" he challenged.

"Deal!" she stated and held out her hand to seal the deal.

AJ took it and shook her hand, then said, "Ladies first."

"No, no, I asked you first, come on fess up what does AJ stand for?"

Cringing just a bit he finally admitted, "Albert Jethro."

She nodded to the flowers on the table and asked, "Do you know what kind of flowers those are?"

"What does that have to do with your name? I told you mine, now its time for you to tell me yours."

"Albert Jethro, what kind of flowers are those?!" she insisted.

"Don't call me that!" he told her, ignoring the rest of her question.

"Do you know what kind of flowers those are, or not?" she demanded.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "They're Chrysanthemums!" Then the light seemed to come on in his brain and he looked from the flowers to her and back again. "Chrysanthemum?" he questioned in a horrified voice.

"See, I won't be doing dishes, Albert Jethro," she smirked at him.

"No, I guess you won't, Chrysanthemum. Your parents actually named you after a flower? Couldn't it have been Rose or Daisy?"

"I guess it could have, but they named my brother Sandalwood, so I don't know which of us had it worse!" she laughed.

"I will never complain about my name again!" he declared with a laugh. "So where do your parents and brother live?"

"My parents have a farm in Iowa, and they are raising my niece, Mallory. My brother died in the Gulf War, he was a Marine."

"Is your niece's mother dead too?" AJ asked.

"No, she ran off when Mallory was only two months old, she just said she wasn't the mothering type. Woody raised her alone until he was killed."

AJ was putting the meal on the table as they talked and when she finished her explanation, he held out a chair for her and asked what she wanted to drink. Asking if he had tea, and being told 'yes' she requested that.

"This salad looks wonderful, what is it?"

"Chinese Chicken Salad, I thought it would be light and filling enough for lunch and was planning on stir fry for dinner if that suits you," he offered.

"I love stir fry," she answered with a grin.

"I have shrimp or chicken for it, which would you prefer?"

"Oh, shrimp please!" Chrys answered.

After they finished eating the salad, AJ showed her into his home office and Chrys quickly began to set up her laptop and got started analyzing what he needed for upgrades on his home system.

To be continued…..