AN: Reminder, characters' thoughts appear between // //.
JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 0730 EST
It was too early to be in the office, but Harm had no better place to be. Since he couldn't sleep, he figured he might as well be productive and get some work done.
As he strode through the silent bullpen to the coffee room, he was surprised to find Commander Sturgis Turner already putting on a pot to brew.
"Sturgis, what are you doing here at this hour?"
The former submariner turned around and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What am I doing here? I could ask you the same question, Harm. You've never been what is known as a morning person," he teased. "I seem to recall a certain plebe getting more than one demerit for oversleeping and missing class."
The days the two of them had spent at the Naval Academy usually seemed like long ago, but certain memories made their time as undergraduates at the Academy come back with amazing clarity.
"You've got a memory like an elephant, Sturgis, but I think you're exaggerating a little. It was only 3 demerits, and it happened during Second Year, when I was battling a case of undiagnosed mononucleosis," replied Harm "And I hardly think an incident that was--"
He broke off at the sight of the grin creeping over the face of his long- time friend.
"Sturgis, someday---"
"Yea, Harm, someday," he agreed, "but not today. You'll have to get up a lot earlier if you want to get one up on me."
Harm just shook his head and reached into a cabinet for a mug.
"Seriously, Harm, why are you here so early?" Sturgis asked. "I've got to be in court today, but I didn't think you had anything urgent on your plate. Did something happen?"
"No," Harm shook his head. "I woke up, couldn't get back to sleep, and so I figured I might as well come and get some work done while there's peace and quiet to be had."
Sturgis Turner took a closer look at his friend and co-worker. Rabb's uniform was in perfect order, he was clean-shaven, but something still seemed . . . off. Then he noticed the pale circles like bruises under Harm's eyes; they looked like more than one night of not sleeping.
He took Harm's mug and poured fresh coffee into it. "Anything in particular keeping you up, buddy?"
"Not really," was the reply. Harm hesitated, were the dreams worth mentioning to anyone?
Sturgis heard the pause in the other lawyer's voice and pressed him a little, "You're not sick, are you, Harm?"
"No, Sturgis, I'm not sick. I've just . . . been . . . having some, uh, rather intense dreams."
"Nightmares?"
"I guess you could call them that," came the reluctant answer.
"What about?"
Now frustration began to make its way into Harm's voice, "I'm not sure. They don't make any sense at all. There's nothing happening, I just keep seeing the same disturbing images over and over again."
"You want to talk about it?" Sturgis had a good idea what his friend's answer would be, but he wanted to ask anyway.
"No, thanks. It's not a big deal," Harm smiled. "Anyway, I'm sure your coffee will scatter any memory I've got left. Your coffee is almost as bad as Mac's."
"Speaking of Mac," the black lawyer accepted the change of subject without comment, "When is the Seahawk coming into port? Isn't it sometime this week?"
"It's today actually," Harm informed him. "She's due into Norfolk at 1400."
"I'll be glad to have her back in the office," said Sturgis, "I have two cases I'd love to hand over to her right away."
He picked up the bagel off the counter and started walking back towards his office, and made one last comment to Rabb, unable to resist the urge.
"You'll be glad to have her back, too, won't you?"
"Yeah," Harm replied absently, "I've missed her, too. Things aren't the same when she's away."
"I know what you mean, buddy, you seem off your game when you don't have your regular sparring partner around."
"Sturgis!" Harm warned, "You better watch your step, I will have the last laugh today!"
"In your dreams, Harm," the dark-skinned commander chuckled as he disappeared into his office, "only in your dreams."
//Dreams again. What the hell was going on that had his mind working overtime?//
JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA 0730 EST
It was too early to be in the office, but Harm had no better place to be. Since he couldn't sleep, he figured he might as well be productive and get some work done.
As he strode through the silent bullpen to the coffee room, he was surprised to find Commander Sturgis Turner already putting on a pot to brew.
"Sturgis, what are you doing here at this hour?"
The former submariner turned around and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What am I doing here? I could ask you the same question, Harm. You've never been what is known as a morning person," he teased. "I seem to recall a certain plebe getting more than one demerit for oversleeping and missing class."
The days the two of them had spent at the Naval Academy usually seemed like long ago, but certain memories made their time as undergraduates at the Academy come back with amazing clarity.
"You've got a memory like an elephant, Sturgis, but I think you're exaggerating a little. It was only 3 demerits, and it happened during Second Year, when I was battling a case of undiagnosed mononucleosis," replied Harm "And I hardly think an incident that was--"
He broke off at the sight of the grin creeping over the face of his long- time friend.
"Sturgis, someday---"
"Yea, Harm, someday," he agreed, "but not today. You'll have to get up a lot earlier if you want to get one up on me."
Harm just shook his head and reached into a cabinet for a mug.
"Seriously, Harm, why are you here so early?" Sturgis asked. "I've got to be in court today, but I didn't think you had anything urgent on your plate. Did something happen?"
"No," Harm shook his head. "I woke up, couldn't get back to sleep, and so I figured I might as well come and get some work done while there's peace and quiet to be had."
Sturgis Turner took a closer look at his friend and co-worker. Rabb's uniform was in perfect order, he was clean-shaven, but something still seemed . . . off. Then he noticed the pale circles like bruises under Harm's eyes; they looked like more than one night of not sleeping.
He took Harm's mug and poured fresh coffee into it. "Anything in particular keeping you up, buddy?"
"Not really," was the reply. Harm hesitated, were the dreams worth mentioning to anyone?
Sturgis heard the pause in the other lawyer's voice and pressed him a little, "You're not sick, are you, Harm?"
"No, Sturgis, I'm not sick. I've just . . . been . . . having some, uh, rather intense dreams."
"Nightmares?"
"I guess you could call them that," came the reluctant answer.
"What about?"
Now frustration began to make its way into Harm's voice, "I'm not sure. They don't make any sense at all. There's nothing happening, I just keep seeing the same disturbing images over and over again."
"You want to talk about it?" Sturgis had a good idea what his friend's answer would be, but he wanted to ask anyway.
"No, thanks. It's not a big deal," Harm smiled. "Anyway, I'm sure your coffee will scatter any memory I've got left. Your coffee is almost as bad as Mac's."
"Speaking of Mac," the black lawyer accepted the change of subject without comment, "When is the Seahawk coming into port? Isn't it sometime this week?"
"It's today actually," Harm informed him. "She's due into Norfolk at 1400."
"I'll be glad to have her back in the office," said Sturgis, "I have two cases I'd love to hand over to her right away."
He picked up the bagel off the counter and started walking back towards his office, and made one last comment to Rabb, unable to resist the urge.
"You'll be glad to have her back, too, won't you?"
"Yeah," Harm replied absently, "I've missed her, too. Things aren't the same when she's away."
"I know what you mean, buddy, you seem off your game when you don't have your regular sparring partner around."
"Sturgis!" Harm warned, "You better watch your step, I will have the last laugh today!"
"In your dreams, Harm," the dark-skinned commander chuckled as he disappeared into his office, "only in your dreams."
//Dreams again. What the hell was going on that had his mind working overtime?//