~~~~Part 2~~~~
0829 est
JAG HQ
Colonel MacKenzie's office
Okay, I've been thinking about this, while I'm 'listening' to Mac, and I've come to the conclusion that hers are the only thoughts that I can hear. I mean, I've walked by at least ten women, and she's the only one. And this makes me very uncomfortable. I just want to wake up from this nightmare.
"Oh, damn, our client's here; I wanted to make him squirm a little longer."
I turn around and watch as a young, pretty blonde makes her way over towards where we are.
"Great, now he's drooling. This is going to be fun."
I turn my attention back towards my partner and give her my most innocent look. She rolls her eyes and gives an accompanying "Yeah, right" before walking around her desk and heading off our client and redirecting her to the conference room, with a look back to see if I'm coming. I nod and wordlessly follow, trying to ignore the curious looks I got from the people in the bullpen. When I get to the conference room, the two women are already sitting down across from each other.
"Nice of you to join us, Commander," says Mac aloud. I give her a sarcastic smile and take my seat next to her.
"Mmm...he's wearing that cologne that I really like." I make a mental note to myself to buy out the company that makes this stuff so that I never run out. While I'm doing this, Mac is proceeding with the interview.
"Petty Officer Grueder, why did you flash your breasts at the bar?" Leave it to Mac to lay it right out on the table.
"Well, Ma'am, some of my shipmates dared me to. It was a sort of initiation."
"Men." "Uh, Petty Officer, is this a common practice for all crew members to be initiated in this fashion?" Mac asked.
The Petty Officer faltered, "Uh...no, Ma'am. I don't think anyone else in our crew has had to do it."
Mac raised a questioning eyebrow. "Are there any other women in your...crew?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Mm-hm!"
"But they wouldn't do that to me just for a laugh, Ma'am...they're my friends! They're like brothers to me, we're a family!"
"Oh, great! A naïve one. This is just what I don't need right now, on top of Harm's arrogance this morning."
Ouch. That hurt. I decide to try and help with the interview. "Petty Officer Greuder, are you telling us that you didn't feel isolated in the least for having to go through an initiation that nobody else in your crew did?"
"Good question, Harm."
"Well, not really...I mean, I didn't really give it much thought."
"I doubt she gives much thought to anything."
"Now, Mac, that's not really fair!" Oops.
The look on her face is one of disbelief, and she says to me, "Commander Rabb, can I talk to you outside for a minute? Petty Officer, excuse us, please." Great job, Harm. Open mouth, insert foot. Thus begins another great day.
I follow her out to the hallway and close the door to the conference room. She starts talking before I've even turned around. "Harm, what the hell is going on this morning? What are you not telling me?"
I try to look confused, like I have absolutely no idea that there is anything going on out of the ordinary. "I'm not sure I quite follow, Mac."
She looks frustrated, and I know she wants to say it, because I can hear her thoughts, but I'm sure as hell not going to try and verbalize her thoughts. It's already crossed her mind that perhaps I can hear her thoughts. "What did you mean in there when you said 'That's not fair'?"
Oh, no. I was too busy listening to her internal conflicts to try and come up with an excuse. "I always know what you're thinking, Mac. I can read your facial expressions. You were thinking that she probably doesn't give much thought to anything." Oy. I shouldn't have put it that way, that's exactly what she said in her head. So I decided to change the focus. "You know, just because she's a little naïve about what real friends are, it doesn't mean that she doesn't know anything."
"Oh, I hate it when he makes a good point."
"Fine, Harm. I'm sorry. You're right."
"And don't you dare act shocked that I admitted it."
I thought she liked it when I did that. It always made her smile. "It's okay, I think I can understand where you're coming from." I add a smile that I hope looks sincere.
"Okay, maybe I'm too hard on him." She smiles back at me, and we both go in to finish our interview.
~1248 est~
~JAG HQ~
~Harm's office~
After about twenty more minutes of talking with the Petty Officer, she said that she would just take whatever settlement the prosecution had to offer. Like I said...piece of cake. And now that I've put a dent in the stack of files on my desk, I think I'll go see if Mac wants to grab a bite to eat.
So I head over to her office, and walk in when I hear her say "Enter."
"Hey, Harm, what's up?" She asks.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch."
"Oh, I don't have any money with me today."
"On me," I quickly add.
"Sometimes, he can be so sweet!" "Sure, uhm...let me just finish up this file and then I'll be ready. It should only be another five minutes."
Score! I love spending time with Mac, and lately, we haven't really had time for that with all our cases. I step out of her office and go into mine to get my cover and make sure I have money with me. I also take this time to just straighten up my desk a bit, always keeping an eye on her office to see when she's finished. Finally, she closes the file and plops it rather unceremoniously into her 'out' box. I head once more for her office, and she grabs her cover and we both head out.
"So, Squid, where are you taking me?" she asks.
I wait a few seconds to see if any ideas pop into her head, but I hear nothing, so I say, "It's up to you, I don't really care."
"Hmm...he's getting pretty good at avoiding punishment."
I quickly jump in, "Oh, and before you start thinking it, this is not just a ploy to make you go easier on me for being late and for my outburst in the interview this morning...I just really miss our lunches together, since we've been so busy lately."
"How does he know what I'm thinking?"
"Actually, Harm, that thought didn't cross my mind." Yeah, and I've never once fantasized about her...right! "Okay, if you really don't care, then how about Beltway Burger?" I knew she was going to test me.
"Alright," I answer.
"Really?" "Really?"
I have to laugh at that. She actually said what she was thinking. "Yes, really. I mean, they have salads there, right?" She just grins and nods her head. "Alright, then. I suppose I've got a Marine to feed."
0829 est
JAG HQ
Colonel MacKenzie's office
Okay, I've been thinking about this, while I'm 'listening' to Mac, and I've come to the conclusion that hers are the only thoughts that I can hear. I mean, I've walked by at least ten women, and she's the only one. And this makes me very uncomfortable. I just want to wake up from this nightmare.
"Oh, damn, our client's here; I wanted to make him squirm a little longer."
I turn around and watch as a young, pretty blonde makes her way over towards where we are.
"Great, now he's drooling. This is going to be fun."
I turn my attention back towards my partner and give her my most innocent look. She rolls her eyes and gives an accompanying "Yeah, right" before walking around her desk and heading off our client and redirecting her to the conference room, with a look back to see if I'm coming. I nod and wordlessly follow, trying to ignore the curious looks I got from the people in the bullpen. When I get to the conference room, the two women are already sitting down across from each other.
"Nice of you to join us, Commander," says Mac aloud. I give her a sarcastic smile and take my seat next to her.
"Mmm...he's wearing that cologne that I really like." I make a mental note to myself to buy out the company that makes this stuff so that I never run out. While I'm doing this, Mac is proceeding with the interview.
"Petty Officer Grueder, why did you flash your breasts at the bar?" Leave it to Mac to lay it right out on the table.
"Well, Ma'am, some of my shipmates dared me to. It was a sort of initiation."
"Men." "Uh, Petty Officer, is this a common practice for all crew members to be initiated in this fashion?" Mac asked.
The Petty Officer faltered, "Uh...no, Ma'am. I don't think anyone else in our crew has had to do it."
Mac raised a questioning eyebrow. "Are there any other women in your...crew?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Mm-hm!"
"But they wouldn't do that to me just for a laugh, Ma'am...they're my friends! They're like brothers to me, we're a family!"
"Oh, great! A naïve one. This is just what I don't need right now, on top of Harm's arrogance this morning."
Ouch. That hurt. I decide to try and help with the interview. "Petty Officer Greuder, are you telling us that you didn't feel isolated in the least for having to go through an initiation that nobody else in your crew did?"
"Good question, Harm."
"Well, not really...I mean, I didn't really give it much thought."
"I doubt she gives much thought to anything."
"Now, Mac, that's not really fair!" Oops.
The look on her face is one of disbelief, and she says to me, "Commander Rabb, can I talk to you outside for a minute? Petty Officer, excuse us, please." Great job, Harm. Open mouth, insert foot. Thus begins another great day.
I follow her out to the hallway and close the door to the conference room. She starts talking before I've even turned around. "Harm, what the hell is going on this morning? What are you not telling me?"
I try to look confused, like I have absolutely no idea that there is anything going on out of the ordinary. "I'm not sure I quite follow, Mac."
She looks frustrated, and I know she wants to say it, because I can hear her thoughts, but I'm sure as hell not going to try and verbalize her thoughts. It's already crossed her mind that perhaps I can hear her thoughts. "What did you mean in there when you said 'That's not fair'?"
Oh, no. I was too busy listening to her internal conflicts to try and come up with an excuse. "I always know what you're thinking, Mac. I can read your facial expressions. You were thinking that she probably doesn't give much thought to anything." Oy. I shouldn't have put it that way, that's exactly what she said in her head. So I decided to change the focus. "You know, just because she's a little naïve about what real friends are, it doesn't mean that she doesn't know anything."
"Oh, I hate it when he makes a good point."
"Fine, Harm. I'm sorry. You're right."
"And don't you dare act shocked that I admitted it."
I thought she liked it when I did that. It always made her smile. "It's okay, I think I can understand where you're coming from." I add a smile that I hope looks sincere.
"Okay, maybe I'm too hard on him." She smiles back at me, and we both go in to finish our interview.
~1248 est~
~JAG HQ~
~Harm's office~
After about twenty more minutes of talking with the Petty Officer, she said that she would just take whatever settlement the prosecution had to offer. Like I said...piece of cake. And now that I've put a dent in the stack of files on my desk, I think I'll go see if Mac wants to grab a bite to eat.
So I head over to her office, and walk in when I hear her say "Enter."
"Hey, Harm, what's up?" She asks.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch."
"Oh, I don't have any money with me today."
"On me," I quickly add.
"Sometimes, he can be so sweet!" "Sure, uhm...let me just finish up this file and then I'll be ready. It should only be another five minutes."
Score! I love spending time with Mac, and lately, we haven't really had time for that with all our cases. I step out of her office and go into mine to get my cover and make sure I have money with me. I also take this time to just straighten up my desk a bit, always keeping an eye on her office to see when she's finished. Finally, she closes the file and plops it rather unceremoniously into her 'out' box. I head once more for her office, and she grabs her cover and we both head out.
"So, Squid, where are you taking me?" she asks.
I wait a few seconds to see if any ideas pop into her head, but I hear nothing, so I say, "It's up to you, I don't really care."
"Hmm...he's getting pretty good at avoiding punishment."
I quickly jump in, "Oh, and before you start thinking it, this is not just a ploy to make you go easier on me for being late and for my outburst in the interview this morning...I just really miss our lunches together, since we've been so busy lately."
"How does he know what I'm thinking?"
"Actually, Harm, that thought didn't cross my mind." Yeah, and I've never once fantasized about her...right! "Okay, if you really don't care, then how about Beltway Burger?" I knew she was going to test me.
"Alright," I answer.
"Really?" "Really?"
I have to laugh at that. She actually said what she was thinking. "Yes, really. I mean, they have salads there, right?" She just grins and nods her head. "Alright, then. I suppose I've got a Marine to feed."