Don't worry Dagen and CP, I'm a shipper at heart! Just be patient ^_^ And as for my chapter length dilemma, I've decided I'll cut chapters off when the flow stops...flowing, and try to keep up my update speed. I'll let you know that there won't be any more posts until Sunday/Monday.
"How long had you been seeing Petty Officer Cloak when you proposed to her?" Whipple asked. Harm and I both decided this morning that we would let Whipple and Rivera do the questioning. I lean back in the conference room chair and study the defendant. Lieutenant John Edwards is a long, lanky man with a crooked nose and reddish hair. He seems really nervous about the whole thing, as if trying to marry two women wasn't something he should be blamed for.
"Allegedly proposed, Ms. Whipple," Rivera corrected, using formality. "Innocent until proven guilty." I raise my eyebrows a notch and look at Harm, who's just as surprised as I am. Rivera, for the most part, has been shy around me. This is a bit of a surprise. A pleasant one at that, because I'm starting to enjoy Whipple when she's defeated and but won't admit it.
"Let me rephrase," Whipple says, forcing a smile at Rivera. "How long have you been seeing Cloak when you allegedly proposed to her?"
Edwards seemed to think a moment. "I would say about six months."
"What was the basis of your relationship?" Rivera quickly says before Whipple can have her word.
"Strictly friendship. I've always been very loyal to my wife," Edwards replies.
"Then why did you propose...." Whipple catches Rivera's eye and adds, "Allegedly propose?"
"I didn't."
"You're telling me you accidentally fell on one knee and held out a ring to Petty Officer Cloak?"
"I don't know what Nancy Cloak told you, but-"
"Are you accusing my client," Whipple continues, standing up, "of lying?"
"Ms. Whipple," Harm says, twisting his pen cap in his fingers. He glances up from it and gives Whipple a warning look. "This isn't the courtroom." Whipple cocks her head at Harm, smiles at him (without forcing it, might I add), straightens her skirt, and sits down again. Right, now it's my turn to interfere.
"Lieutenant Edwards, would you mind coming in tomorrow morning?" I ask.
"That's fine, ma'am," he says.
"Ms. Whipple and I will call in our client so we can hear her perspective of what happened," I say. "Tomorrow at 0900 hours, Lieutenant?"
"I'll be here, ma'am."
"Thank you." Edwards leaves, and the four of us are stuck in the conference room. "Nice job on the questioning. Tomorrow morning we'll do basically the same thing, but since Nancy Cloak will be with us, there will be her conflicting testimony."
"And I suggest," Harm says, setting the pen down on his notepad, "that the arguments should be left out of it." He's not looking at Whipple, but it's obvious who he's directing it to.
"We'll break for lunch, if that's all right with you two," I say to Rivera and Whipple. They nod and I look to Harm. "Care to join me, Commander?"
"On your six, Colonel," he says quietly as we leave, so that only I can hear. We leave the conference room and head down to the cafeteria. "How was your night?" he asks when we sit down.
I sigh and look around. "Could be better."
"Troubles with the younger generation?"
"Don't say that," I tell him. "It makes me feel so old."
"You? I'm the one who's almost over the hill here."
"It sure doesn't seem to stop Whipple from pursuing you," I reply coolly, keeping my eyes trained down. I let my eyes flicker up to his face a moment later when he doesn't respond. He has a thoughtful expression put on.
"You know, having someone young around wouldn't be too bad-" My jaw drops a bit and I stare at him, disbelieving. I knew he was shallow to some extent, but not this shallow. "Mac," he says, grinning. "I'm joking."
I bite a chunk of garlic bread in response.
****
"How did Lieutenant Edwards meet this woman," I ask Rivera as we walk out to my car. The day was filled with dull research, and it's a relief to head home for a bit. We've got to figure out what we want to weasel out of Nancy Cloak tomorrow morning.
"It doesn't say in the records we have," Rivera replies.
"We'll have to ask Cloak and Edwards tomorrow morning."
"Is that relevant, sir?" Rivera asks.
I look at him over the roof of my Corvette. "You never know in court." I unlock the car and we both sit down. We're pulling out of JAG when Rivera asks something that makes me jerk the steering wheel.
"Sir - Harm, can I ask you something?" I nod in response, giving him a sideways look. "How long have you been seeing Colonel MacKenzie?"
I jerk the wheel hard enough that I'm in the middle of the two lanes. Luckily there's no one around, and I carefully drive back to the left lane. I give Rivera a look, not daring to take my eyes of the road too long. Rivera looks as if he hasn't done a thing wrong.
"I'm not seeing Mac," I say bluntly, my half-dead head not giving me a better answer. What kind of answer should I have thought up? That no, I'm not seeing Mac, but I'd drop dead on my feet to be able to?
"Why? She's not married-" Here I give Rivera a sharp look. "There's no ring on her finger," he explains carefully. "Have you ever....?"
"Been with her?" I say, almost waspishly. "No. I think we've gone far enough, Louis."
"Sorry," Rivera says. What ever happened to him being the shy kind? I give Rivera another look, only to find that he's staring out his window. Silently, I sigh.
****
"Where did you and Lieutenant Edwards meet?" Rivera asks. Petty Officer Cloak shifts in her chair, gives Edwards a dirty look, straightens up, then looks squarely at Rivera. Talk about dramatic.
"We had been working on the USS Patrick Henry for the past two years together," Cloak replies.
"And you didn't know him before that time?" Rivera continues. Cloak shakes her head. "Petty Officer, did you ever show any interest towards Lieutenant Edwards?" Now Cloak smoothes her sleek blonde hair down.
"Never."
"Yes you did!" Edwards says, suddenly jumping out of his reverie. "You were the one who asked me to dinner!"
"And you went with her?" Whipple asks. "You went, even though you were married?"
"I was being friendly. I wasn't looking for anything more than friendship!" Edwards protests.
"Until you proposed to her," Whipple says smoothly.
"I never-!"
"What did your wife," Rivera says sharply, interrupting the dispute, "think about your friendship with the Petty Officer?"
Now it was Edwards' turn to shift uncomfortably. "She was less than fond of the idea. She and Nancy had never been close."
"They knew each other?"
"Since the Academy," Edwards replies. "Nancy, I think, was jealous at the time. She never showed it, but she made side remarks that showed her opinion of my wife." I look at Harm quickly. Déjà vu, isn't it. He's concentrated on Rivera and doesn't notice me.
"Did you love your wife?" Whipple asks before Cloak can interrupt.
"Always have, always will."
"Thank you, Petty Officer, Lieutenant. You're both absolutely positive you don't want to settle this in a civilian court?" I ask.
"I trust the military, ma'am," Cloak replies stiffly.
"Thank you, then. Our court date is set for Thursday," Harm tells them, and they leave.
I grin at Harm. "You're going to lose this one, Commander," I tell him smugly, then glance at Rivera. "Not that I don't think you're a fine lawyer, Mr. Rivera."
"Thank you, ma'am," he replies, smiling.
"What about me?" Harm asks, putting on a fake hurt expression. "Aren't I a good lawyer?"
"Let me think about that one."
"Hey, that was rather hostile, Colonel," Harm says. "I thought it was code to be respectful to your friends and colleagues."
Ha, tell that to Whipple. I don't reply to Harm, because the response I'm thinking about wouldn't be appropriate, even if we were out of office. There are still certain grounds that we tend to tread carefully on. Instead, I raise my eyebrows at him and stand, gathering my stuff again.
"Well, as romantic and flirtatious as that was, I should get some lunch," Whipple says, plainly unaware of what she had just stepped on. Harm and I both turn to look at her sharply. Even Rivera seems uncomfortable. For a fleeting moment, I wonder what Harm has told him, then my mind zeros in on blasting Whipple away.
Harm gets there first, lucky guy. "I would watch what you say, Ms. Whipple," Harm says very formally. His voice is the one that he uses with me when we're not talking to each other unless we have to. I've grown to despise that voice, but damn, it's great to see Whipple totally abashed by it. "Have a good lunch," Harm adds, straightening and smiling. "Want to come, Colonel?"
I won't look at Whipple, I won't look at Whipple.... "Sure," I reply, and we head off to the cafeteria for the second day in a row. Hey, we must be doing something right.
****
"That was stupid of you to say," Rivera says, putting his papers together after he hears the door close.
"What?" Whipple answers, not listening.
"You must be blind if you can't see it," Rivera says, trying not to sound superior.
Whipple looks up, frustrated. "What are you talking about, Lou?"
"The Commander and the Colonel."
"What about them!"
Rivera gapes openly at Whipple, then rises. "Let's just put it this way: I'm surprised they're not married." He leaves, and Whipple stares after him.
The last part was in first person because I've gotten into the habit of writing like that, even though neither Mac nor Harm saw the conversation take place.