Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beginnings
Chapter Seven: Chances
By Ann Parker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1300 EST
22 May 2003
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Harm headed out his office, getting ready to go grab some lunch and head home to pack. He had an investigation to head up in San Diego and was expected at Andrews by 1530. He waved to Mac across the bullpen and rounded the corner to the elevators.
"Ow!" exclaimed Lisa, falling to the ground. She glared at Harm from her position on the floor. "Geez, Top Gun, could you watch where you're going?"
"Lisa! I'm so sorry," Harm apologized as he reached and gave her a hand. He pulled her up and she dusted off. "I'm in a bit of a hurry and didn't see you there."
"It's okay. Where are you headed?" she asked.
"San Diego on a case, I leave this afternoon," he replied.
"This afternoon? Well, then this is goodbye," she said, pulling him into a hug. She smiled to herself. Sometimes it was just too fun being over dramatic.
He hugged her back even though he was very confused. "I'm only going to be gone a few days," he stated.
"And when you get back I'll be in St. Louis," she replied. "I'm being summoned," she joked. Harm nodded.
"Well, when duty calls. You'll be back soon, right?" he asked as she walked him to the elevator.
She rolled her eyes. He could just ask the question. "Yes, Harm, I'll be back for the birth and the wedding, relax. Now go!" she shoved him into the elevator. "Say hi to Trish if you have time to see her."
Harm grinned and nodded, "Will do, bye."
The doors closed and she turned back around. She was on her way to Gunny's desk when the ever-growing Harriet walked over.
"Lisa, did you say you were leaving?" she asked. Many people in the office shifted their eyes to the two women, suddenly interested in their conversation.
"Yeah, I have a patient to attend to in St. Louis. Don't worry though, I'll be back in time to see my namesake born," she replied. Harriet nodded. "In the mean time," she continued and bent down to Harriet's stomach. "You be a good girl in there, don't kick your mom too hard." Lisa patted Harriet's stomach and smiled.
"See you when you get back," Harriet said. The women exchanged smiles and Lisa went to Gunny's desk.
"Hey," she greeted. Gunny immediately looked up and smiled.
"Hey, ready for lunch?" he asked.
Lisa frowned. "Actually, I came to ask for a rain check. I have to pack," she replied.
Gunny nodded. "So I've heard. Why don't I come over and make you dinner tonight? That way you don't have to worry about it," he suggested.
Lisa grinned. "That sounds great. See you around 1800?"
Gunny nodded. "It's a date."
~~~~~
1758 EST
Lisa's Apartment
North of Union Station
Gunny knocked a third time. He knew Lisa was home because her convertible was parked outside and lights were on. He was beginning to worry why she wasn't answer when the door flung open.
"Hey, sorry it took me so long to get to the door. Come on in," greeted Lisa. She moved slightly to allow Gunny room to enter. He noted her jean shorts and "Go Navy" tee shirt and smiled. Even if it promoted squids, she still looked good in it.
"Nice shirt," he remarked as he entered, setting his few bags of groceries on the counter. Her laughter filled the room and it was a beautiful melody to Gunny's ears.
"I thought you might like it," she replied. She started to help him unpack the food. "All I've ever known were Squids."
"Well you know a Marine now, maybe I should get you a Corps shirt when you get back," he stated. He turned to face her and they were only a few inches apart.
Lisa stared into Gunny's eyes. "I would like that." Green met brown as both thought about kissing the other. She was the first to break eye contact, turning away and looking at the food.
"So, what are you making us?" she asked. She could hear Gunny sigh slightly and she mentally kicked herself. Why couldn't she just let go?
"Gazpacho," he replied, also turning back to the food. "Why don't you finish your packing and I'll get this started?"
"Sounds great, thanks for this." Lisa smiled and headed back to her bedroom, leaving Gunny alone in the kitchen.
After rummaging through her cabinets and finding all that he needed, Gunny started his work. About 20 minutes later, he had everything mixed together and the soup was in the fridge chilling.
"Hey, let me clean up," said Lisa as she walked out of her room. "It is my apartment." Her look dared him to contradict. "Why don't you go pick a movie?"
"Okay," he replied and headed to her living room. "Interesting movie collection," he commented as he browsed through her DVDs. They varied from Weird Science to Dirty Dancing, Braveheart to Lilo and Stitch, and more. Her laughter came from the kitchen and wrapped around him. He smiled; glad to know he was the one to cause that beautiful noise.
"You should see my music collection," she stated, now at his side. "Van Halen is right next to Shania Twain and Ja Rule," she giggled. Gunny shook his head.
"You certainly have interesting tastes," he remarked and she smiled.
"You better believe it. Have you picked one yet?" she asked.
Gunny turned back to the movie collection and pulled out Rush Hour, "How about this?"
"Works for me," she replied and put the movie in. They walked over to the couch and both got comfortable. An hour passed and Lisa was snuggled next to Gunny's side.
"Um, the Gazpacho should be ready," he said quietly, not wanting to break their embrace. Lisa looked up at him and her hair fell in her eyes. He reached over and brushed them away, smiling.
She closed her eyes slightly at his touch, before nodding. "Okay, let's eat." They headed to the kitchen where she retrieved the bowls and he grabbed the soup. They went to the dining room and began to eat in silence.
The phone rang and broke the quiet atmosphere. "Let the machine get it," said Lisa. Gunny nodded and they continued to eat. The machine picked up and both heard the message.
"Come on Lisa, you need to talk to me at some point. What about our therapist-client relationship? I might just have to come visit you if you don't call me," taunted Dan. He hung up and Gunny immediately looked at Lisa.
"Lisa? Are you okay?" he asked. Lisa remained silent and stared down at her soup. Hesitantly, Gunny reached out his hand and touched her shoulder. "Lisa?"
She looked up at him and he noticed the tears threatening to fall. "I…I promised I wouldn't cry over him anymore," she whispered. Gunny sighed and wiped away the few that fell.
"It's okay to cry," he stated. He took her hand and led her to the couch. Once they were seated he opened his arms to her. "I'm here for you Lisa."
Lisa hesitated. Could she really open up to someone again? Look where it got her last time, and all the times before. Finally, the overwhelming need to be held took over and she leapt into his arms and let him wrap his arms around her.
"You loved him, didn't you?" he asked, soothing her by rubbing circles on her back.
She felt so relaxed and comfortable in his embrace she opened up. She looked up into his eyes and shook his head. "Dan, as a person, I didn't love. This is something I didn't realize until I moved here. What I loved was having someone to open up to, to really share things with. The reason our break up hurt me is because it just continues the pattern in my life," she stated. Gunny nodded for her to continue. She fidgeted for a minute, trying to find the words.
"You see, everyone I've ever really cared about has hurt me. It started with my parents' crash. Their deaths left scars that are still somewhat visible in my life. Even though I was only ten, I was really close with them. My dad and I would play basketball with Hank in the afternoon and mom would sing me to sleep at night. I don't think I would have made it through their deaths if I didn't have Hank. With my big brother there, I had someone to lean on, to talk to. He helped me though the hardest years of my life, the years when I was teased for being an orphan and I hated the world. He made me laugh and have fun. He helped me discover what I wanted to do with my life. And then he died," she stopped, the pain resurfacing.
Gunny held her closer. "It's okay, you don't have to share if you don't want to," he said.
"No, I need to do this. When Hank died, my world crashed with his plane. I couldn't believe he was gone and there was only one person I thought could help me through it," she continued.
"Harm?" he asked and she nodded.
"Only, a few weeks before Hank died, Diane had dumped Harm. He had shut us all out. When I went to tell him about the death, he was at a bar getting drunk. Before I could get the words out he snapped at me, yelled at me to go away." She felt herself cling to Gunny as she continued and he kept comforting her.
"I was at the end of my rope. I couldn't do anything for days and wasted away. I know Harm didn't do it on propose, but he really hurt me that day. When he learned of Hank's crash he rushed to my side and never left me after that. We were able to rebuild our friendship and that was why we are so close now. He's seen me at my absolute worst."
Gunny let her rest a minute before asking the burning question, "How does Dan fit into all of this?"
"Aside from Harm, I never let anyone get that close to me. I didn't want that pain anymore. That was until Dan. Something about him made me let him in my heart, only to have him stomp on it in the end. And his taunting only brings back the pain," she replied.
She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him, the man she'd shared more with than even Harm. Harm wasn't aware how deep his actions hurt her and she wanted it that way. "I'm afraid to let anyone back in ever again, Victor," she stated, hoping he would understand.
He ran a hand through her silky hair and stared straight into her emerald orbs. "Lisa, listen to me. I promise I will never hurt you. I know it's probably hard for you to believe that, but I'll do whatever it takes to make you trust me. All I ask for is the chance," he said.
Lisa smiled slightly. She really felt she could offer him that. "It's a deal," she replied. Gunny smiled and Lisa hugged him again.
After a few minutes of silence she broke their embrace. "Let's finish the movie."
"Okay," he replied. They watched the rest of the movie and after about a half-hour, Gunny prepared to leave.
"I better let you get some rest before your flight," he said, heading to the door.
She followed him. "Yeah, thanks for dinner," she said awkwardly.
Gunny nodded and opened the door. "See you when you get back," he said and headed to the elevator. Lisa watched him leave and realized she had to do something.
"Gunny, wait!" she exclaimed and Gunny turned around and looked at her. She smiled slightly and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Both felt the electricity run through their bodies at the touch. "Thank you, for everything," she whispered.
Gunny smiled and nodded, recovering from the shock. "You're welcome," he replied. He wanted so badly to kiss her again, really kiss her, but he didn't want to rush her so he searched her eyes. Her smile and slight nod was all he needed.
He wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled her into a soft kiss. A kiss filled with love, trust, and a promise of a future. "Goodnight," he breathed when they parted. He ran his fingers through her hair again and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight," she replied. They smiled at each other and then separated. Both knew they had just started something wonderful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~