Nate sat on a couch in the residence looking down at a CIA intelligence report on the current crisis in the Middle East that was now slowly churning into its second month. The First Lady was on the west coast, she was appearing on the Tonight Show tonight and the First Mother inhabited a guest room in the West Wing. "Hey, Uncle Nate, grandma said I should bring you out some milk and cookies." Helene came walking in from the kitchen.
"Did she also say that I was Santa Claus?" Nate looked up from his paper at his niece. "Don't you have some big history presentation due on Friday?"
"Aunt Nicole tell you that?" Helene sat down across from her uncle.
"I may work from six in the morning until ten in the evening most nights but I do get briefed on my kids three times a day and I normally talk to them when I tuck them in at night." Nate groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, kiddo, what problem are you having with your history presentation?"
"We have to pick one President from history and do a five minute presentation on why we think that he was the best." She answered, taking one of the cookies from the plate.
"You're not going to do your report on me are you? Because I've been in office for four months and I'm not all too impressed with what I've done so far." Nate closed the folder on the CIA briefings.
"Uncle Nate, what did you do in the Marines?" Helene didn't look up at her uncle who immediately leaned forward on the couch.
"I killed people. A lot of very bad people." Nate answered, knowing that there were limits to what he could say.
"Why?" Such a simple question, as they used to say, out of the mouths of babes.
"Because I was good at it, because it was what they told me to do and like a good Marine, I followed orders and swallowed my humanity and did it." Nat answered.
"How many people?" The girl asked.
"I can't tell you." In his life, he knew that it was more then a hundred. He'd shot eighty-seven in his work for the Marines and the CIA. There was the time in Borneo when he had gone with Gunny and Mac into the jungle to save Harm and Peach. There had been the one time that only one other man in the world knew about. He was fourteen and on vacation with his godfather in Israel. They had been on their way north from Jerusalem to Haifa and they were in the West Bank when their jeep was attack and flung from the road. Nate had been fourteen when he'd shot his first Hezbollah terrorist. He would have similar experiences in Israel for four more years without showing up on Mossad radar officially.
"What did my dad do?" She twiddled her thumbs.
"Your dad led a platoon of Marines who helped take the Kuwait airport in Desert Storm. He was a leader in one of the most deadly conflicts of that war." Nate paused and gave a chuckle. "You know who your dad's favourite President was?"
"No," Helene shook her head, "who?"
"Teddy Roosevelt." Nate answered. "Me and your dad used to have some real long talks about what it took to lead the country and your dad used to give me a pat on the back and give me that condescending older brother voice and tell me that Teddy Roosevelt was the only man who ever sat in my seat that really honestly knew the difference between war and peace."
"Didn't he win a Nobel Peace Prize or something?" Helene asked.
"Yeah, he was the only Republican President to win a Nobel Peace Prize. He ended the Russo-Japanese War." Nate nodded.
"Wasn't he a soldier, too?" Helene asked her uncle.
"Yeah, he was." Nate nodded with a chuckle.
"Maybe I'll do my report on him then." Helene got up off the chair. "And Uncle Nate?"
"What is it, kiddo?" Nate looked over the back of the couch.
"My dad was wrong, I think you understand the difference between war and peace just as well as anyone can." With that, the young girl padded off toward her bedroom.
0345 ZULU
NATIONAL MALL
WASHINGTON, DC
Anna stood by the reflecting pool in her uniform waiting for Sergei to come and join her. In the last few weeks, she'd been by his temporary apartment quite a few times to check up on him. It was her last few weeks in town and she wanted to make sure that he was okay before she was transferred out to Fightertown on the west coast. In all truth, she liked Southern California and even though the idea had taken some getting used to, she liked the idea of having her wingman go along with her.
She knew what Southern California with Johnny Reb would be like. They'd be on duty until they were told to secure for the day and once that happened, Reb would grab his straw cowboy hat and acoustic guitar and head for the beach to pick up some beach bunnies. She'd spend most of her time trying to bust her ass to make Major rather then get caught in a six year Captaincy that most Marines seemed to have to endure. There were things about her friends that she wished she had. Sergei was never above making any sacrifice and that made him a favourite with Commanding Officers. Reb was just a natural behind a stick.
"It's a beautiful night." She heard a voice with a slight Russian accent say.
"Yeah, I always loved spring in DC." She turned to face him. "I love summer in Southern California a little more though."
"I've never been." Sergei answered. "I've spent my entire time in the US on the East Coast. Except for three days in Bremerton when we all went on that first Stennis tour."
"Sergei, I'm transferring into PACFLT. I've got a round as a squadron XO at Miramar before Johnny-Reb and I head on to the Stennis for another tour." Anna decided it was best to just come out with it.
"Listen, if this is about the thing with the Senator or Tamila or whatever, it's not so important that you have to go across the country." Sergei tried to explain as the two of them sat down on the edge of the reflecting pool.
"Yes it is, you've got a chance for real happiness with someone and you deserve an honest shot at that without me looming overhead. You deserve happiness, you've got a chance at it and that's wonderful, I need to do something for me. I need to go out west, clear my head and put some more gold stars on my service record for the promotions boards." She smiled sweetly at him and stood up from the edge of the pool. "Take care of yourself, Marine." She kissed his cheek.
"You really don't have to go." He took her by the arm gently to prevent her from walking away. "Really, you don't."
"Yes, I do." She nodded at him. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and all that." She gently stirred his arm off of hers. They exchanged one last glance and she walked away slowly whistling the Marine Corps Hymn.
0410 ZULU
RABB RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
"How is it that you get home earlier as DCNO this time around then you did last time?" Mac asked, arms crossed across her chest.
"Easy, Sturgis does a lot more work then Bax did." Harm answered as he peeled back his side of the comforter. "I picked up something for you on the way home from the office." He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a thick magazine and dropped it in the middle of the bed.
"The Naval Legal Journal?" Mac reached down and picked it up. "What's this?"
"Go to the table of contents and look at the lead article for this quarter." He told her and Mac quickly flipped through the first few pages.
"The Expectation of Self Discipline: Fraternization and the Modern Military by Brigadier General Sarah Rabb, USMC." She read aloud. "I don't understand, wouldn't they have had to notify me if they were going to print the article?"
"I kind of absconded with the mail for the last two weeks." He tried to look innocent. "I wanted this to be a surprise."
"And a surprise it was, but stealing my mail is still a felony." She pointed a finger at her husband as she crawled on to the bed.
"I'll plead it down to a misdemeanour, Mrs. Rabb, now what's my punishment?" He questioned as he too crawled on to the bed.
"I could make you buy me that hot tub that I've been asking for since we got married." She said with a mischievous smile. "Or, I could make you and Sturgis and Keeter and Bax dress up like the Temptations and sing 'My Girl' at my birthday party this year."
"Mac." Harm warned in a tone that bordered half on fright and half on annoyance.
"Wait, that one's good, I'm going to have to write it down." She went for the pen and paper on the nightstand but when she turned Harm grabbed her by the ankle and playfully pulled her into the centre of the bed. "What the heck are you doing, Harm?"
Mac asked, not that she minded when Harm got this kind of passionate.
"My penance, Mrs. Rabb." He replied in a growl as he began to run his hands under the pyjama top.
"What about the kids?" She asked, hoping that they wouldn't be disturbed.
"In bed sleeping." He answered as he began to undo the buttons on the top.
"And the dog?" She lulled her head back, enjoying immensely what he was doing.
"In Tommy's room sleeping at the foot of the bed." Harm answered.
"Good." Mac answered as she mustered up some forced and rolled the two of them over so that she was on top straddling him.
"Mommy!" They heard the soft masculine voice cry from the doorway. "What are you guys doing?" Mac climbed down off of Harm.
"Wrestling, honey, what's wrong?" She walked over to her son.
"I had a scary dream." Tommy complained as he leaped up into his mother's waiting arms. "Can I stay with you guys tonight?"
"Sure, bear." She flicked her son's nose. "Did you want daddy to tell you a bedtime story?"
"Nah, I want to here the one where you save daddy from all the bad guys!" Tommy proclaimed and Harm just had to roll his eyes
1213 ZULU
THE WEST WING
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON DC
"Do you ever get the feeling that we don't get paid enough to come into work this early?" Morley complained to Charlie as the two of them walked through the bullpen.
"Hey, you're talking to the guy who spent half the night on the phone with senior staffers from five different countries." Charlie reached for a new coffee mug. "I slept at my desk."
"You badly need a social life, I mean you need one more then I do and that's saying something." Morley lectured.
"What are we talking about, my gnomes?" Stacy headed over toward the coffee maker.
"The fact that the sum total of our contact with the female gender in the last four months has consisted of discussions with you, the first lady and a hand full of Senators and congresswomen." Charlie answered sarcastically.
"What are the three of you just standing around here for?" Gunny asked as he made his way into the bullpen.
"Gunny, it's a little after 7am and I slept at my desk last night, the only thing keeping me awake and standing right now is your coffee." Charlie answered and took another sip.
"We've got a major peace conference in a week and an armistice that goes into effect in a little under an hour. So, here's what I want happening. Morley you're the communications director, I expect a copy of the language for the President's press briefing to be on Stacy's desk in an hour. Charlie, get on the phone, make sure that the shooting that is supposed to stop at 8am Eastern, actually stops at 8am Eastern. Stacy, get ready to brief the press, there's a new guy from Reuters, we stuck him in the fifth row." Gunny took a deep breath. "Any questions?"
"Yeah, boss, when was the last time you got laid?" Morley asked, continuing the vein of conversation from earlier.
"This conversation is over." Gunny nodded and sent Morley off to his office. "Where the hell did that question come from?"
"Derek and I were lamenting over the fact that in the last four months the closest we've come to actual female contact involved the women we work with." Charlie explained as they all walked toward his office.
"Hey, we did get to see Stacy in boy shorts in London." Gunny pointed out.
"This is true." Charlie admitted with a smile as they stopped outside his office.
"You two are pigs, you know that?" Stacy saw both of them shrug their shoulders at her comment. "How did you find out what they were called? Did you research it or something?"
"The First Lady told me." Gunny stated proudly. "Granted at the time it was one of the more awkward conversations of my lifetime."
"I bet." She said sarcastically.
"Is that a new perfume?" Gunny asked absent mindedly.
"Yeah." Stacy furrowed her eyebrow.
"It's nice." Gunny commented. "Anyway, you've got your assignments, people, get to it." He headed down the hallway toward his office and the oval. The President had a meeting first thing this morning with the Secretary of State who was in the middle of trying to explain why the only department that pulled an ostrich when the crisis started, should now take the lead on the most important peace conference of the twenty first century. "Good morning, sir." Gunny walked into the oval.
"What's so damn good about it?" Nate asked from behind the desk.
"The Secretary of State was just here?" Gunny asked.
"She was." Nate nodded.
"And you told her to?" Gunny was fishing.
"Sit on it and twist." Nate replied with a sarcastic smile.
"Probably not a good idea to piss of your cabinet, sir." Gunny suggested.
"Listen, every once in a while, you have to remind them who's boss. Besides, since when does the US State Department back down from a crisis? What kind of message does that send?" Nate was starting to get a little annoyed and he began to pace. "I don't want to see a Republican today, I might just throw them out on their ass."
"You've got that meeting with the Vice President and AIPAC here in five minutes, sir." Gunny reminded the President.
"I want to…" Nate started but Gunny interrupted.
"You've already postponed this meeting five times, no matter how much you wish for it, sir, AIPAC isn't going to just go away." Gunny reminded his boss.
"Isn't there some Palestinian Political Action Committee we could post at the door to scare them away?" Nate joked and Gunny shook his head. "Alright, guess I'm going to have to deal with some angry Jews this morning. Gunny, I may need a helmet."
"Yes, sir." Gunny chuckled as a knock came on the main door of the oval office. The doors opened and the Vice President stepped in with the Chairman of AIPAC.
"Morning, Wes, Tobias." Nate shook both of their hands. "What's on your mind, Tobias?"
"Mr. President, we have concerns about your Israel policy. Frankly, sir, one of your greatest strengths in the last election was that you campaigned on a strong policy with Israel and once they were in trouble, you backed off completely." The AIPAC chair challenged the President.
"Tobias, do you have a degree in international relations?" Nate asked.
"No, Mr. President, economics." The AIPAC chair answered.
"I didn't think so, Tobias because if you had, you'd realize that my policy in this crisis was to chart a clear course for American interests which I believe I did. In the last two months, the Iranian Air Force, the Iranian Nuclear Program and the Syrian Air Force have all been completely destroyed and as of twenty minutes from now, an American constructed armistice is going to silence all gunfire in the region. Not to mention the fact that in two weeks time, because of our objectivity in dealing with the matter by not openly making any statements to support or condemn either side, we're going to be able to sit down and along with the Egyptians and be the intermediaries for a real peace in the region. Now, if you want to get really picky here you could point out that the last weapons shipment we sent to Israel before the war was of the new avionics software for the F-15 which seemed to come in remarkably handy." Nate paused to breathe. "So, Mr. Chairman, I apologize for not completely coming out chanting 'Viva Tel Aviv!' and wearing by Moses Fan Club t-shirt, but the fact is that I was elected by the people of the United States and not Israel so, it's their interests I protect."
"Mr. President, I was merely conveying the confusion which my committee experienced during the crisis, you have made your position clear and for that I thank you. I also know your record while Secretary of State, you broadened the scope for our arms exports to Israel." Tobias stopped for a second. "You still have our support but like most people we do have concerns when not granted a full explanation."
"Tobias, I don't think the President was trying to lecture or condescend." The Vice President interjected.
"I'm sure that he wasn't, Wes, I was just trying to make sure that we were all on the same page. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East, Mr. President, as such they should be given special consideration on certain matters." Tobias brought his ankle up to rest on his knee.
"Despite the fact that they've cause the most casualties in this war?" Nate questioned.
"Most casualties on military targets, Mr. President. Strictly speaking, the other side has created the most civilian deaths." Tobias countered.
"A life is a life. Well, it's been good speaking with you, Tobias, but I have to get ready to head out to Istanbul in a week." Nate shook his hand and Tobias left the oval. "I swear, Wes, sometimes that guy really gets under my skin."
"I couldn't tell, Mr. President." The Vice President joked
1345 ZULU
THE PENTAGON OPNAVS OFFICE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
"Ceasefire came into effect forty-five minutes ago." Sturgis told Harm as he walked into the large office.
"Any reports of bombs or gunfire in the Bekaa since the end of the fighting?" Harm sat on the edge of the desk and stared down at ZNN.
"Nothing." Sturgis shook his head. "Thanks to the President, the Secretary General of the UN had blue berets on the ground at 0800 on the dot this morning standing between the Israeli and Syrian-Turkish lines."
"We get a wire from the CINCMED?" Harm turned toward the yellow paper on Sturgis' desk.
"Bax reports all foreign Naval traffic in the Eastern Mediterranean is on stand down and his fleet has gone down to DEFCON 4. Peacekeeping Flight Operations have been launched from the Harry Truman, Bataan and Robert Kennedy to establish UN air superiority and a no fly zone over southern Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel." Sturgis walked over behind his desk. "Hard to believe it's all over?"
"Hard to believe that the boss was able to convince the Israelis to stand down." Harm answered with a gasp of disbelief. "Any word on who from the Pentagon is going with the President to the Peace Conference?"
"No word yet." Sturgis answered. "I read Mac's article in the Naval Legal Journal, she's still got her touch. Pity she decided to reserve, the Marine Corps needs all the great legal minds it can get. So does the Navy for that matter."
"I know but she likes being mom. She and Reverend Chegwidden are going to coach the kid's t-ball team out in McLean this year." Harm chuckled. "Speaking of which, Chaplain Turner still on your back for a grandkid?"
"Don't remind me." Sturgis rolled his eyes. "It's not so easy trying to keep the romance alive when your wife is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations."
"Hey, man, you want a way to put a little kick back in your marriage, call Keeter, I'm sure he has a bunch of ideas." Harm joked as he elbowed Sturgis in the ribs.
"Yeah, but Keeter's ideas may violate public decency laws and that's bad if memory serves." Sturgis laughed. "You going to call the Mediterranean fleet back to Gaeta?"
"I'm going to make that recommendation to Barris, yeah. We'll keep the subs, the carrier and the amphibs outside of Cyprus but we'll call back in the frigates and destroyers so it doesn't look like we're trying to control commercial traffic." Harm took the manila folder from Sturgis and headed toward his part of the office. "Hey, Sturgis?"
"Yeah, buddy?" Sturgis looked up form his paperwork.
"You miss it?" Harm asked, indicating the TV.
"You mean being a thousand feet beneath the waves, breathing recycled air, eating food from a tin and trying to run completely silent?" Sturgis asked. "Everyday. What about you?"
"You think they'd let a three star take a bird off an aircraft carrier deck?" Harm asked.
"I don't think they'd stop you, I'm not sure how wise it is to try but I don't think they'd stop you." Sturgis answered.
"Ah, guess, I'll have to stick to pictures then." Harm answered with a smile.
"Remember, buddy, we've got that meeting with the SECDEF to update him on our capabilities with regard to keeping the Truman group out there until we can send out Vinson to relieve them." Sturgis lifted his head from his paperwork yet again.
"Where's Tom today?" Harm asked.
"He's out at Pearl having Keeter update him on Naval Intel in the Pacific. Seems they sprung a leak a few days ago and Deputy Secretary Boone is out there doing his best impersonation of General Patton." Sturgis answered.
"There was a leak at Pacific Naval Intel? Why the hell didn't they tell us right away?" Harm asked.
"Because they didn't find it until yesterday." Sturgis went back to his work. Harm shook his head. This job would have him going through more Alka-Seltzer and Aspirin then being the JAG ever could. Maybe, he thought, I should by some stock in those companies.
1522 ZULU
THE SITUATION ROOM
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON DC
"We're sure that this room is secure?" Clayton Webb looked around in his usually snooping kind of way.
"Clayton, this is the most secure room in the entire country and everyone in here has codeword clearance so would you get the ants out of your pants and sit the hell down!" The Vice President demanded and Webb took a seat.
"Alright, we all know why we're here right?" Nate looked around the room. He saw AJ Chegwidden the Secretary of Defence, The Vice President, Clayton Webb Director of CIA, Victor Galindez White House Executive Chief of Staff and Mike Bradley the National Security Advisor. "Clayton, brief them on the mission."
"Two months ago, after the down of the El Al flight, the President ordered the insert of a CIA wet team codenamed 'LIONHEART', their mission was to make contact with the Iranian Reform Underground in Shiraz, which they did. The President's charted course of diplomacy in this latest conflict in the region has not driven any support away from the Reform movement. The team is in place to help the Reformers initiate the Iranian Counter-Revolution." Webb turned toward the President.
"This afternoon, I had the White House Counsel draw up orders to temporarily amend Executive Orders 11905 and 12333." Nate began. "In order for LIONHEART to succeed in their operation, certain limitations needed to be lifted. This included the thirty year ban on the assassination of foreign leaders by the CIA."
"Next week, the President of Iran will be in Istanbul for the Peace Conference. The first time we are able to get all other parties to agree to a treaty, except Iran, we will leak it to the Reformers who will spread the message to the Iranian people. This will complicate our actions, it will alert VEVAK but the Ayatollah is expected to make a public appearance at a parade in Tehran with the rest of the Supreme Council." Mike Bradley took over. "Our LIONHEART team is comprised of Iranian exiles who all have personal tragedies done to them by the 1979 revolutionaries. One of our agents is on the inside at VEVAK. He will plant a kilo of C4 under the watch stand for the Supreme Council. We have an assassin, our very best, positioned more then two miles away. When the Ayatollah steps up to speak, the assassin has been directed to put a bullet in his brain. That will be the signal for our explosives expert to blow the rest of the reviewing stand."
"In the chaos that will ensue, the reformers believe that they can overwhelm the IRGC and take the capital. The underground will round up the members of team LIONHEART and smuggle them to the Afghan border where a team of US Army Rangers will pick them up." Webb wrapped up the briefing.
"Seems to me, Mr. President, that we could be accused of negotiating in bad faith." AJ Chegwidden leaned back in his chair.
"These are all risks that have been considered, AJ. But this was the best confluence of events that we could hope for. An Iranian instigated war the led to the destruction of their nuclear program and Air Force, not by the west which has been vocally neutral, but by Israel. The same government who created the war becomes obstinate in creating the peace. This was the best time to get public support on our side." Nate answered as he dropped his pen on the table. "The amendments to Executive Orders 11905 and 12333 have been authorized with my signature and they've been classified by the CIA. The Gang of Eight will be notified by Charlie Scott less then an hour before everything is set to take place."
"They're not going to like that." The Vice President warned.
"The War Powers Act only says I have to tell them, it doesn't say how far in advance I have to tell them." Nate chuckled. "Besides, more people knowing about this are an unnecessary risk."
"Agreed." Clayton Webb chirped in. "We get one shot at this and it has to work. We've put up with the Ayatollah for thirty years, it's about time we shot the son of a bitch."
"Okay, Gunny, take Charlie Scott aside today and tell him in a very discrete way what we want him to do. Charlie and Morley are staying behind from the Istanbul trip, Wes, work with them and Clayton, make sure Gunny's getting hourly updates once everything starts, alright?" All the gravity in the world showed up on Nate's face as he looked at his Vice President.
"Yes, Mr. President." The Vice President nodded.
"Alright, gentlemen, as Thomas Paine said 'These are the times that try men's souls.'" Nate got up from the table which was followed as was custom by everyone else getting to their feet.
"We're doing a good thing, sir." Gunny assured the President.
"Remind me of that when we see the bodies on ZNN would you?" Nate replied as they headed toward the oval.
0111 ZULU
RABB RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
"Another day, another war ended." Harm mused as he plunked himself down on the couch next to Mac.
"You make it sound as if you had personally thought up the armistice." Mac reached for the popcorn that he had sitting in his lap. "It's not peace, you know? It's just the absence of war."
"What's the difference?" Harm asked, lightly playing with his wife's hair.
"Peace is when you eliminate the underlying reasons for a conflict. No matter how hard we try in the Middle East, we'll never be able to do that. We may end a nation-on-nation war but within hours of the Treaty being signed, Hamas will blow something up in Jerusalem or Bethlehem and we'll all fall off that great idealist cloud." Mac hung her head with resignation. "Or the Iranians will have some teacher in the south of the country arrested for suggesting that the Ayatollah might not know everything and that man will just disappear. Don't you see, we're not fixing anything, it'll just be less broken."
"If we can't end something, then isn't it best to limit the amount of damage that it can do?" Harm asked, turning down the volume on the TV.
"Good case, counsellor, I'm still not convinced but you argued it well." She popped a few more kernels of popcorn into her mouth. "So, I got a call from GW."
"George Washington University?" Harm asked, slightly surprised. "What did they want?"
"To offer me a job. It seems the President of the University read my article in the Naval Legal Journal then he looked up my credentials. They're looking for a new professor for military law and international law for fall semester. It's only twenty hours of lecturing a week, entirely while the kids are in school." Mac answered. "What do you think?"
"You think you would want to do something like that?" Harm asked. "I remember that seminar that you gave at the Academy a few years ago."
"I think it's a way for me to keep in contact with my professional community without neglecting my responsibilities to my family." Mac began to trace her fingers along his arm. "There's just something about interacting with the law for me, it's like you and your planes, except it's a little harder to get killed for failing to eject from an argument." Mac joked and flicked the end of Harm's nose.
"So, you think you could get used to being called 'Professor Rabb' instead of 'General Rabb'?" Harm asked as he let his arm fall around her shoulders.
"I just think it'll be interesting to talk for hours on end without being interrupted and have a flock of students who take my word as gospel." She grinned.
"Yeah, you might also be the first prof in GW history to be able to qualify as a centrefold." Harm chuckled and Mac gave him a smack on the chest.
"Is that all you can think about? Sex?" She asked as she got up from the couch to get a pop from the fridge. "Is the once prudish Harmon Rabb now in possession of a mind that resides permanently in the gutter?"
"Well, you know with a wife like you, I don't know many guys that would blame me." Harm watched Mac's six sway gently from side to side. He just smiled contently and let his mind drift off to fantasy land.
"Earth to Harm? Tower calling Rabb, do you have the ball?" Mac examined her husband's contented facial features and goofy smile. He was daydreaming again. "Harm, come back!" Mac demanded.
"But it's so pleasant here." Harm stated drowsily. Mac took him by the collar and pulled him down over her.
"I can make it very pleasant for you right now." She teased.
"What about the kids?" Harm asked, shifting from daydream to reality.
"Over at Sergei's. They're with a Marine and a Mossad Agent, it's like having them in a childcare version of Fort Knox." Mac answered as she nibbled playfully on his bottom lip.
"One sec." Harm groaned as he reached over to the end table and flicked off the lamp, cloaking them in darkness. "Much better."
0219 ZULU
THE WHITE HOUSE RESIDENCE
WASHINGTON, DC
Nate was once again sitting on the couch looking down at force depletion report that had been faxed over to him by the UN Secretary General with regard to the latest peacekeeping efforts in Bekaa. He heard a soft pair of feet padding on the carpet behind him. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Do mine eyes spy the ravishing Mrs. Ross?" He played as she came over and sat on the couch. "How was LA?"
"Hot." She answered. "Did your mom have fun with the kids?"
"I swear, by the time they're fourteen, they will have had so many hours of informal therapy that their little minds should be clear of any possible mental plagues." Nate joked as he kissed the top of her head. "You already to go to Istanbul next week?"
"Depends, are you going to talk with them about women's issues?" Peach looked up at her husband.
"Honey, we've been over this. As much as I'd like to strike a blow for gender equality in the Middle East, the idea of it just isn't compatible with Islamic society. The Turks have made modest overtures in the past and the Egyptians may try but Syria won't and it would be a non-starter with anyone else in the region." Nate answered as he lay the papers down on the table in front of him.
"I know, it's just that I'm the First Lady and I've got influence, I'd just like to be able to use it." She lamented as she leaned back against his chest and he began to knead her shoulders. "We also need to talk about my mother." Nate groaned his displeasure aloud at that statement. "Nathan, be serious. My mother's getting older and she just can't do everything for herself any more. One of us is going to have to take her in."
"Well, what about your brothers, it's like their duty, isn't it?" Nate asked as he worked his hands under her pyjama top and against the lightly tanned soft skin of her back.
"Which one? Angelo, the Marine Sergeant who lives on base or Joey, Mr. FDNY who lives in a two room apartment?" Nicole asked in between moans, obviously thoroughly enjoying her husband's attention.
"Well what about your sister and Dr. Gary. I'm sure that they'd love to have her." Nate suggested as he brought his hands down to the small of her back.
"Mom keeps telling her that she thinks Gary's gay. I'm not sure how good of an idea it would be to have her over there." Nicole proceeded to bat her eyelashes at her husband.
"You know how it works, this is the White House, hun, we can't just bring people in to live at the White House. If we weren't living here I'd take her in a heartbeat but right now none of us need the added dynamic. The kids are finishing school for the year, Helene's going into High School next year, we've got to spend ten days in Turkey, it's just not the time." He kissed her forehead. "I love your mom, you know, but it's going to have to fall to one of your sisters to take her in."
"Nathan, I don' know why you feel you have to make sense all the time." She huffed slightly. "Do I have to let you have your way on this one?"
"I usually give in the rest of the time. It would be nice to get my way once in a while." He smiled weakly.
"Sure, once in a while." She rolled her eyes. "Don't find many Presidents who claim they don't get their way."
"How many First Ladies have held Masters degrees?" Nate challenged.
"You can stop making sense now." She deadpanned.