Title: Journey to Homecoming Pt. 25/?
Author: Sheila
Category: Romance
Pairing: Clay/Sarah
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: As If
Spoilers: Up through 'Need to Know'
Summary: Clay and Sarah come together during an investigation A/N This chapter is a flash back. It will talk about what happened with
JAG gang while Clay was recuperating.
AJ's POV
August 29th 1500 Hours JAG Headquarters Falls Church, Virginia
"Lt. Sims, my office. At ease, everyone." I called in my usual manner. Harriet jumped up and followed me.
"Is everything set?"
"Yes sir. The caterers were here to set up in the conference room at 1400 hours. All the quests have been sequestered in Court Room #1." I hadn't seen Harriet as excited since the birth of baby May.
"Mac and Morgan will be bringing Clay in early for his part. They are still very much in the hover mode, and Gunny isn't much better."
"Sir, are you sure you aren't among the 'hoverers'?" She had the cheek to ask.
"Admirals don't hover. They have Lts. do it for them." I replied with a straight face.
"Carry on." I said and she giggled and left the office. Coates spoke over the intercom.
"Sir, Capt. Sebring is here."
"Send him in." He entered and we began going over the last set of the Fit Reps. We had done all of the outlying JAG offices and only had the DC office to finish. He asked very few questions until the final three.
"AJ, what about Roberts."
"The eval board has limited him to his current rank." I said regretfully.
"How is his appeal going? I know life is not fair, but he is one of your best lawyers and to be restricted in rank is very harsh when the military needs their best minds."
"Sturgis Turner is handling that. His is quite hopeful and thinks he will get it overturned. His next opportunity will be in six months." I could only hope that the appeal would overturn the judgment. If it went against him I was going to recommend that he go into private practice.
We went over Mac's Fit Rep. Owen was very familiar with Mac's performance and agreed with my evaluations.
"AJ, has she spoken to you regarding her marriage?" I figured he was asking about more about children rather than marriage to the spook.
"Yes, she has. She plans to have children immediately and taking a three month maternity leave. If this does not meet with JAG needs, she will go reserves." Mac had been very specific about this. Her child would come first; I had no problem with this but didn't know about Owen.
"I'm certain things can be worked out. She's not pregnant now, is she?" He smiled his question.
"Not as far as I know. Clay has been out of touch for a while; and not up to the speed right now."
"Then that's good to know. AJ you have assembled the best teams of lawyers here at HQ and I'm sure things will continue smoothly." He assured me.
"Owen you forgot about Rabb." I chuckled at his shocked look. Apparently he had forgotten about our resident maverick.
"I try not to think about Rabb if I don't have to AJ." He laughed back.
"It's like riding herd on a bunch of cats, an impossible job; if you don't like cats!"
1420 Hours
"I guess I'd better get to like cats them." He stated with a straight face. There was a knock on the door.
"Enter." The door opened and Clay was wheeled in by Gunny and closely followed by Mac and my wife of one week. Mac had decided that putting off our wedding until Clay was on the mend was ridiculous. Thus the day after Clay came home from the hospital we had a small ceremony in the deck of their home. Clay was best man, reclining on a chaise lounge resplendent in a brocade robe. He lasted until we cut the cake and was carried to bed by Gunny and Harm.
We left for a three day honeymoon in the Poconos. Morgan said it was the tackiest place to honeymoon, and that's where she wanted to go. We had three great days in their best tacky suite; however, she hinted that Hawaii would be nice for a couple of weeks in January. I agreed and the plane tickets were in my desk drawer at home. Her parents and family welcomed me with open arms. Anyone that got their errant daughter to stay at home for more than two weeks at a time was perfect in their eyes.
Upon our marriage she told State that her nomadic days were over. She felt she had enough seniority that they could find her something with little or no traveling or she could just quit. State caved immediately; she would train and supervise State linguists and she would still be loaned out to other agencies for translation of highly classified documents. All in all both sides were satisfied with the arrangements, especially the husband.
"Clay when are you going to lose the chair?" I asked. It was a sore subject, but the spy needed to be treated normally and not like an invalid.
"Check with Victor the Hun here. He dictates my every move along with Attila, the Physical Therapist. I have no say in my life. If the two of them aren't saying anything, the three witches from Macbeth are at it." He practically whined referring to Mac, Morgan, and I guess his assistant. OK, someone definitely needed some downtime.
"Ladies, why don't you go check the conference room. The SecNav and crew should be here in a few minutes." They agreed and left the gentleman alone.
"Now Clay tell me how things really are?" I knew, but he had to vent.
"I can barely stand up for more than five minutes at a time, every time I move my arm the two incisions and the ribs hurt like a son of a bitch, and I haven't made love to my fiancé in several months and it doesn't look like that's going to happen in the near future. So I'd go for weak, sore and horny but not necessarily in that order!" He gave us a sheepish grin while the three of us roared with laughter.
"Well you have you sense of humor back." I said approvingly.
"Admiral the ah, SecNav, the CNO, and the ah, Vice President are here!" announced Coates as she showed them into the office accompanied by Mac, Bud, Clay's assistant Lynne, and Porter Webb.
General pleasantries and congratulations were exchanged until the VP turned to Clay. He looked from Mac to his mother, to Lynne and then to me with a question in his eyes. The VP stood in front of Clay and began to speak.
"Mr. Webb your services to your country have been extraordinary this year and because of your actions two major al Queda cells have be destroyed. I regret that you had to suffer such grievous injuries while carrying out these duties. You, with assistance of NCIS, and members of JAG prevented attacks on American military and civilian targets and the loss of life. On the behalf of a Grateful Nation and the President of the United States I hereby present you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction. Your receipt of this award will be announced publicly when you retire from field operations." He shook Clay's hand and gave the medal to Mac, who in turn pinned it to the lapel of his suit. After a brief kiss she stood behind him beaming. The look on Clay's face was priceless; he was absolutely floored. I was glad we had been able to surprise the spy. For all his arrogant ways he never expected thanks for the work he did, in this he was truly a humble man.
"Thank you sir, I don't quite know what to say. This was totally unexpected."
"Son, I want you to remember you have the ear of the White House. You hear anything you call me. You will never be ignored again. Oh, and I have it on good authority that the President would like to dance at your wedding."
"Yes Sir, I'm sure that could be arranged. Thank you again." Porter and Lynne hugged him while Gunny and Bud shook his hand. He tugged Mac down to whisper something into her ear. She whispered something back and he looked relieved. I wonder what that is about. I'm sure I'll find out later.
"Ladies, Gentleman, are you ready?" The Vice-President asked the assembled group.
"Yes Sir. If you will follow me, the ceremony will be held in the courtyard." I knew that Harriet had been busily assembling everyone. They were all in for major surprises.
Harriet's POV
I had never been more nervous about any operation before in my life. This one soiree was going to change things forever around here. The family that had been forged over the years was re-shuffling but not breaking apart, thank God. We have had enough turmoil her to last us for years. We all needed some peace in our lives. The current situation in Iraq had thankfully, left us untouched so far. But I knew from my own experiences that there were no guarantees in life.
"Attention on deck. The Admiral has left orders that everyone is to report to the courtyard for an awards ceremony. Please leave what you are doing immediately and adjourn to the courtyard."
Everyone began leaving for the ceremony; I had delegates doing the same on the other floors of the building.
"Harriet what's going on?" Asked a bewildered Cmdr. Rabb, as he and Lt. Singer left his office. I often wondered what Cmdr. Manetti had done to him since their marriage. He was definitely happy, but I swear he had taken on some of Tiner's goofier characteristics. She and Harm had flown to the Cayman Islands the week after Clay had been rescued. Cmdr. Manetti said that since all immediate catastrophes were now in under control, she was getting married when she had a chance; Harm, had more or less said, "yes, dear". Since then she had been working at the Pentagon as a legal aid to the CNO. It was funny I liked her more since she was there and married to the Cmdr.
There had been a slew of weddings around here. Only one more to go; but that still left Gunny. Hmmm, who did we have for him? I'd have to think on that for a while.
"We are having a ceremony Cmdr. Let's go we don't want to be late." I practically pulled him by the arm to make him move.
"Lt. Singer, are you coming?" I asked. She had been making an effort to get along for a few months. Maybe there was hope for her yet. I did know that since I decked her she hadn't given me any lip.
"Yes ma'am." The three of us were among the last to join the assemblage.
"Cmdr. Rabb please be seated in the front row, next to Tiner sir." I looked over everyone. Cmdr. Manetti was in the second row directly behind where Cmdr Rabb was to sit. Then there were Tiner's parents; Morgan, I had never been able to call her Mrs. Chegwidden even though she was the Admiral's lady. Captain Sebring's sons and daughter were here, as well as Gunny's parents. He had noticed his parents and was chatting quietly with them. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett were in the third row and after Harm greeted his wife he saw his parents, it was then he realized something was up. Like I said, he was more like Tiner than Tiner. Francesca Parretti made a quiet entrance. She had come down from New York; even the Admiral needed a surprise.
She had flown to the states for the Admiral's wedding last weekend and had gone to New York for her magazine. When I called her about returning to DC for the ceremony she told me 'not even wheeled horses' could keep her away. Morgan and she took several days to come to an armed truce about the Admiral. When they were introduced Francesca had taken one look at Morgan and tried to dismiss her, however, Morgan didn't take to being dismissed. They took a rather loud discussion, in Italian, down to the Admiral's running path. They returned in twenty minutes, trying to smile, pretending to get along for the Admiral's sake. It was rather amusing.
Mac and I marveled at Francesca's jealousy. Mrs. Webb and Morgan had taken to Mac immediately. Lynne took a while to be won over, but she was never openly hostile. When she saw how badly Mac was taking Clay's disappearance she helped Gunny as much as she could from her demoted position. With her help there was no shortage of caregivers at the Webb household.
I took my seat next to Lynne and Mrs. Webb just as the Vice-President began to speak.
"Ladies and Gentlemen on behalf of the President I am here to present to medals to several individuals who through their actions helped prevent loss of human life, and protected military and civilian assets during operations in Indonesia and Paraguay" Most of the recipients knew they were receiving awards, but we had managed to keep some surprises.
"Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez. Lt. Bud Roberts. Lt. Colonel Sarah McKenzie, Cmdr. Harmon Rabb. For meritorious duty I hereby present you with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal." The medals were handed out and pictures were taken, congratulations given.
"Now we have a few promotions. Gunnery Sgt. Galindez please step forward." Once Gunny had taken his place he continued.
"Gunnery Sgt. It is my honor to promote you to Master Sergeant." Mrs. Galindez stood and placed Gunny's new stripe on his uniform. Gunny hadn't expected the promotion, and still had a dazed expression on his face when he sat.
"Chief Petty Officer Jason Tiner, please step forward. It is my honor to promote you to the rank of Ensign. Congratulations on your graduation from OCS and Georgetown University School of Law from which I understand that you were magna cum laude." There was a burst applause from the audience and a few hooahs from the enlisted staff.
"Captain Owen Sebring." The Captain took his place front and center. "Captain Sebring it is my pleasure to promote you to the rank of Rear Admiral." Admiral Chegwidden handed a small box to Admiral Sebring's daughter. Following tradition, Admiral Sebring's set of stars had a previous owner, in this instance, Admiral Chegwidden. She removed his captain's rank insignias and replaced them with his stars. Admiral Sebring remained standing, but off to the left of the podium.
"Admiral AJ Chegwidden." The Admiral took his place with Morgan next to him. "Admiral Chegwidden it is my pleasure to promote you to the rank of Vice Admiral." The same insignia ceremony took place, this time using the stars belonging to the CNO. Morgan gave the admiral a kiss and took her seat.
SecNav Sheffield then stood at the podium. "I want to add my congratulation to the medal recipients and to those receiving promotions. While it has been my privilege to work with you for only a short time I have been impressed by the devotion to duty, honor, county that you have all exhibited. I am proud to know all of you."
"Now we have one more announcement to make. Admiral AJ Chegwidden, as of 0001 Hours 1, September 2003, will join the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as his Chief of Staff. In turn, Admiral Owen Sebring will become The JAG. And one more appointment; Ensign Jason Tiner will be joining the staff at JAG HQ." There was immediate applause drowning out the rest of the SecNav's speech. Both Admirals spoke briefly, but these were words meant for 'official' ears. I knew when we adjourned to the conference room we would hear more heartfelt words from them. When we were dismissed everyone went forward to offer congratulations to the Admirals, and all that had been recognized for service to their country.
It upset me that Clay was not being publicly recognized but at the end of the ceremony the Vice-President made a point of pausing to shake his hand prior to leaving. He also had a few words for Mac. She answered him briefly and gave him one of her brilliant smiles. He retuned the smile, and then spoke to Mrs. Webb before leaving. Bud and I approached the small group; I was curious about the exchange.
"Congratulations Bud. I don't know anyone more deserving." Clay offered while shaking Bud's hand.
"I can say the same about you. And while we are doing the mutual admiration thing, Congratulations Mac." We all broke out in soft laughter. I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Ok, dish, what did the VP say?"
"He reminded Clay and me that the President hinted that he wanted to attend the wedding." Mac said with trepidation. She turned to Mrs. Webb.
"Mamie, you'd better find a wedding planner. I'll give you my list of demands later, but I can't face planning a wedding of this size in such a short period of time." She practically begged. I could understand her dilemma. Clay was just out of the hospital and his recuperation was her primary focus.
"My Dear, this is my element. I believe between Harriet, Lynne and I you won't have a care to worry about. We'll just take June's plans, expand on them and turn it into a splendid fall wedding. Correct ladies?" Lynne and I nodded and I figured Morgan would fall in line with her aunt.
"What about a date?" Lynne asked.
"Don't worry, I'll call the White House and find a date. Clay looked at Mac and she nodded.
"Mother, we are getting married October 24th, President or no President. We had already decided on that date, prior to this change in plans."
"All right dear, the 24th it is. Ladies, walk with me." She led Lynne and me to the Mac's office discussing plans right in left. We had two months to pull off the wedding of the season. I wonder if Eisenhower felt like I do right now on D-Day!
Sarah's POV
September 19th 1800 Hours Webb Residence McLean, Virginia
What a week; what a hellacious week. Harm had lost to Ensign Jason Tiner for the second time and was completely baffled at the outcomes. He sat in my office for forty-five minutes trying to figure out how he lost the second case. The fact that his client was overwhelmingly guilty was my thought, but he couldn't figure it out. I finally booted him out of the office when Admiral Sebring called me into his office.
We had a long discussion regarding case load re-assignments, budget inquires, and a JAGman investigation needed in Seattle. Admiral Sebring was a good CO, he listened to his staff, but he didn't like when procedures were not followed; very much like he was on the bench. Harm was having a hard time getting used to this. Singer found that her new CO gave her no latitude; she had been reprimanded twice, and I felt her next duty station was either going to be very hot or extremely cold. Finally at 1715 he was done.
"Anxious to get home Colonel?" He gave me a charming smile; I guess I had been fidgeting.
"Sorry sir, I apologize for my inattention."
"No need to apologize, Mac. How is you fiancé doing?" He asked.
"His therapy is going extraordinarily well. He returned to work for a few hours a day Monday, and hopes to return to full days next week. He's found that swimming has proved to be one of the best exercises for him. His biggest problem has been building upper body mobility and strength. Today he's adding running to his regimen. And I guess I'm anxious to see how he did."
"I guess it's hard to let him go." He sympathized.
"Very hard Sir. He's was hurt so badly, and he is pushing himself very hard. It takes everything I have not to try and wrap him in cotton. Not that he would put up with it anyway." I grinned
"No, I don't think he would allow anything like that. Go on, head home and see how he's doing. Rabb is on call this weekend correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Then let him worry about JAG, and you take care of that fiancé of yours. Dismissed. And since you don't have a court appearance on Monday, I'll expect you at 1000."
"Thank you very much sir. See you on Monday." I ran out of the building and raced home only to find it empty and a note saying that Clay and Vic were running.
"Hey Marine, what are you thinking about?" Clay asked after snapping his fingers in front of my face.
I looked up to see two sweaty men standing there giving me identical curious looks.
"Sorry, thinking about today. How was the run?" I asked as he leaned down to kiss me.
"Hey go clean up before doing that." I joked as he rubbed his face over mine. I heard Vic say he was going to shower as Clay sat on the sofa next to me.
"What was on your mind when we came in?" He pulled me close and I inhaled the smell of sweat and Clay. I would offer to bottle the scent, but I think I'm going to keep it in my own private stock.
"I was talking to Adm. Sebring and he asked how you were doing. I told him I was worried that I was treating you like an invalid."
"What brought that on?" I hesitated to tell him, but the counselor we had bee seeing told us to address our fears with each other.
"We haven't made love since you've been back. At first I thought because you were still mending, and then I thought you were afraid, like performance anxiety." He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Then you haven't made any moves, but I haven't either. So what's going on, why haven't we made love?"
"Other than the fact that when I hit the bed at night I fall asleep immediately?"
"Well that may be a reason. My mind was thinking everything but the obvious. I'm sorry."
"Princess, the mind has been more than willing, but the damn body was pretty torn up. There was some anxiety there, but it was fear of exhaustion not performance." We sat their laughing at our foolishness.
"I've got an idea. That shower we have has this great seat. I can think of some things we can do in there that won't tire me out and may embarrass the hell out of Vic if we're loud enough. You game?" He tickled me when I pretended to think about it.
"You're on Spook. Let's go bargain with your trainer to get tomorrow morning off. If I remember correctly, wake up sex is pretty damn good, and you should be nicely rested for what I have in mind." He kissed me then, and we spent the next several minutes necking like teenagers.
"Excuse me." We both jumped apart like teenagers to see a smiling Vic looking at us.
"What do you want?" Asked my disgruntled fiancé.
"If you two come up for air long enough I'd like to know if you want dinner tonight?" He asked smugly.
"Vic we are going to go shower, and I don't want a hungry Marine lawyer on my hands, so would you make some sandwiches and we'll get them later?"
"I think that can be arranged. I'll see you guys in the morning." I stopped him before he went too far.
"Change of plans for the morning. We're going to sleep in, so you'll see us when we come up for air, and not a minute sooner." The grin from earlier got bigger and he winked at as he left.
"Just don't hurt yourselves in the shower, or in the morning." Clay tossed a throw pillow at his back and we left ourselves and began climbing the stairs.
TBC.
Author: Sheila
Category: Romance
Pairing: Clay/Sarah
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: As If
Spoilers: Up through 'Need to Know'
Summary: Clay and Sarah come together during an investigation A/N This chapter is a flash back. It will talk about what happened with
JAG gang while Clay was recuperating.
AJ's POV
August 29th 1500 Hours JAG Headquarters Falls Church, Virginia
"Lt. Sims, my office. At ease, everyone." I called in my usual manner. Harriet jumped up and followed me.
"Is everything set?"
"Yes sir. The caterers were here to set up in the conference room at 1400 hours. All the quests have been sequestered in Court Room #1." I hadn't seen Harriet as excited since the birth of baby May.
"Mac and Morgan will be bringing Clay in early for his part. They are still very much in the hover mode, and Gunny isn't much better."
"Sir, are you sure you aren't among the 'hoverers'?" She had the cheek to ask.
"Admirals don't hover. They have Lts. do it for them." I replied with a straight face.
"Carry on." I said and she giggled and left the office. Coates spoke over the intercom.
"Sir, Capt. Sebring is here."
"Send him in." He entered and we began going over the last set of the Fit Reps. We had done all of the outlying JAG offices and only had the DC office to finish. He asked very few questions until the final three.
"AJ, what about Roberts."
"The eval board has limited him to his current rank." I said regretfully.
"How is his appeal going? I know life is not fair, but he is one of your best lawyers and to be restricted in rank is very harsh when the military needs their best minds."
"Sturgis Turner is handling that. His is quite hopeful and thinks he will get it overturned. His next opportunity will be in six months." I could only hope that the appeal would overturn the judgment. If it went against him I was going to recommend that he go into private practice.
We went over Mac's Fit Rep. Owen was very familiar with Mac's performance and agreed with my evaluations.
"AJ, has she spoken to you regarding her marriage?" I figured he was asking about more about children rather than marriage to the spook.
"Yes, she has. She plans to have children immediately and taking a three month maternity leave. If this does not meet with JAG needs, she will go reserves." Mac had been very specific about this. Her child would come first; I had no problem with this but didn't know about Owen.
"I'm certain things can be worked out. She's not pregnant now, is she?" He smiled his question.
"Not as far as I know. Clay has been out of touch for a while; and not up to the speed right now."
"Then that's good to know. AJ you have assembled the best teams of lawyers here at HQ and I'm sure things will continue smoothly." He assured me.
"Owen you forgot about Rabb." I chuckled at his shocked look. Apparently he had forgotten about our resident maverick.
"I try not to think about Rabb if I don't have to AJ." He laughed back.
"It's like riding herd on a bunch of cats, an impossible job; if you don't like cats!"
1420 Hours
"I guess I'd better get to like cats them." He stated with a straight face. There was a knock on the door.
"Enter." The door opened and Clay was wheeled in by Gunny and closely followed by Mac and my wife of one week. Mac had decided that putting off our wedding until Clay was on the mend was ridiculous. Thus the day after Clay came home from the hospital we had a small ceremony in the deck of their home. Clay was best man, reclining on a chaise lounge resplendent in a brocade robe. He lasted until we cut the cake and was carried to bed by Gunny and Harm.
We left for a three day honeymoon in the Poconos. Morgan said it was the tackiest place to honeymoon, and that's where she wanted to go. We had three great days in their best tacky suite; however, she hinted that Hawaii would be nice for a couple of weeks in January. I agreed and the plane tickets were in my desk drawer at home. Her parents and family welcomed me with open arms. Anyone that got their errant daughter to stay at home for more than two weeks at a time was perfect in their eyes.
Upon our marriage she told State that her nomadic days were over. She felt she had enough seniority that they could find her something with little or no traveling or she could just quit. State caved immediately; she would train and supervise State linguists and she would still be loaned out to other agencies for translation of highly classified documents. All in all both sides were satisfied with the arrangements, especially the husband.
"Clay when are you going to lose the chair?" I asked. It was a sore subject, but the spy needed to be treated normally and not like an invalid.
"Check with Victor the Hun here. He dictates my every move along with Attila, the Physical Therapist. I have no say in my life. If the two of them aren't saying anything, the three witches from Macbeth are at it." He practically whined referring to Mac, Morgan, and I guess his assistant. OK, someone definitely needed some downtime.
"Ladies, why don't you go check the conference room. The SecNav and crew should be here in a few minutes." They agreed and left the gentleman alone.
"Now Clay tell me how things really are?" I knew, but he had to vent.
"I can barely stand up for more than five minutes at a time, every time I move my arm the two incisions and the ribs hurt like a son of a bitch, and I haven't made love to my fiancé in several months and it doesn't look like that's going to happen in the near future. So I'd go for weak, sore and horny but not necessarily in that order!" He gave us a sheepish grin while the three of us roared with laughter.
"Well you have you sense of humor back." I said approvingly.
"Admiral the ah, SecNav, the CNO, and the ah, Vice President are here!" announced Coates as she showed them into the office accompanied by Mac, Bud, Clay's assistant Lynne, and Porter Webb.
General pleasantries and congratulations were exchanged until the VP turned to Clay. He looked from Mac to his mother, to Lynne and then to me with a question in his eyes. The VP stood in front of Clay and began to speak.
"Mr. Webb your services to your country have been extraordinary this year and because of your actions two major al Queda cells have be destroyed. I regret that you had to suffer such grievous injuries while carrying out these duties. You, with assistance of NCIS, and members of JAG prevented attacks on American military and civilian targets and the loss of life. On the behalf of a Grateful Nation and the President of the United States I hereby present you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction. Your receipt of this award will be announced publicly when you retire from field operations." He shook Clay's hand and gave the medal to Mac, who in turn pinned it to the lapel of his suit. After a brief kiss she stood behind him beaming. The look on Clay's face was priceless; he was absolutely floored. I was glad we had been able to surprise the spy. For all his arrogant ways he never expected thanks for the work he did, in this he was truly a humble man.
"Thank you sir, I don't quite know what to say. This was totally unexpected."
"Son, I want you to remember you have the ear of the White House. You hear anything you call me. You will never be ignored again. Oh, and I have it on good authority that the President would like to dance at your wedding."
"Yes Sir, I'm sure that could be arranged. Thank you again." Porter and Lynne hugged him while Gunny and Bud shook his hand. He tugged Mac down to whisper something into her ear. She whispered something back and he looked relieved. I wonder what that is about. I'm sure I'll find out later.
"Ladies, Gentleman, are you ready?" The Vice-President asked the assembled group.
"Yes Sir. If you will follow me, the ceremony will be held in the courtyard." I knew that Harriet had been busily assembling everyone. They were all in for major surprises.
Harriet's POV
I had never been more nervous about any operation before in my life. This one soiree was going to change things forever around here. The family that had been forged over the years was re-shuffling but not breaking apart, thank God. We have had enough turmoil her to last us for years. We all needed some peace in our lives. The current situation in Iraq had thankfully, left us untouched so far. But I knew from my own experiences that there were no guarantees in life.
"Attention on deck. The Admiral has left orders that everyone is to report to the courtyard for an awards ceremony. Please leave what you are doing immediately and adjourn to the courtyard."
Everyone began leaving for the ceremony; I had delegates doing the same on the other floors of the building.
"Harriet what's going on?" Asked a bewildered Cmdr. Rabb, as he and Lt. Singer left his office. I often wondered what Cmdr. Manetti had done to him since their marriage. He was definitely happy, but I swear he had taken on some of Tiner's goofier characteristics. She and Harm had flown to the Cayman Islands the week after Clay had been rescued. Cmdr. Manetti said that since all immediate catastrophes were now in under control, she was getting married when she had a chance; Harm, had more or less said, "yes, dear". Since then she had been working at the Pentagon as a legal aid to the CNO. It was funny I liked her more since she was there and married to the Cmdr.
There had been a slew of weddings around here. Only one more to go; but that still left Gunny. Hmmm, who did we have for him? I'd have to think on that for a while.
"We are having a ceremony Cmdr. Let's go we don't want to be late." I practically pulled him by the arm to make him move.
"Lt. Singer, are you coming?" I asked. She had been making an effort to get along for a few months. Maybe there was hope for her yet. I did know that since I decked her she hadn't given me any lip.
"Yes ma'am." The three of us were among the last to join the assemblage.
"Cmdr. Rabb please be seated in the front row, next to Tiner sir." I looked over everyone. Cmdr. Manetti was in the second row directly behind where Cmdr Rabb was to sit. Then there were Tiner's parents; Morgan, I had never been able to call her Mrs. Chegwidden even though she was the Admiral's lady. Captain Sebring's sons and daughter were here, as well as Gunny's parents. He had noticed his parents and was chatting quietly with them. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett were in the third row and after Harm greeted his wife he saw his parents, it was then he realized something was up. Like I said, he was more like Tiner than Tiner. Francesca Parretti made a quiet entrance. She had come down from New York; even the Admiral needed a surprise.
She had flown to the states for the Admiral's wedding last weekend and had gone to New York for her magazine. When I called her about returning to DC for the ceremony she told me 'not even wheeled horses' could keep her away. Morgan and she took several days to come to an armed truce about the Admiral. When they were introduced Francesca had taken one look at Morgan and tried to dismiss her, however, Morgan didn't take to being dismissed. They took a rather loud discussion, in Italian, down to the Admiral's running path. They returned in twenty minutes, trying to smile, pretending to get along for the Admiral's sake. It was rather amusing.
Mac and I marveled at Francesca's jealousy. Mrs. Webb and Morgan had taken to Mac immediately. Lynne took a while to be won over, but she was never openly hostile. When she saw how badly Mac was taking Clay's disappearance she helped Gunny as much as she could from her demoted position. With her help there was no shortage of caregivers at the Webb household.
I took my seat next to Lynne and Mrs. Webb just as the Vice-President began to speak.
"Ladies and Gentlemen on behalf of the President I am here to present to medals to several individuals who through their actions helped prevent loss of human life, and protected military and civilian assets during operations in Indonesia and Paraguay" Most of the recipients knew they were receiving awards, but we had managed to keep some surprises.
"Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez. Lt. Bud Roberts. Lt. Colonel Sarah McKenzie, Cmdr. Harmon Rabb. For meritorious duty I hereby present you with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal." The medals were handed out and pictures were taken, congratulations given.
"Now we have a few promotions. Gunnery Sgt. Galindez please step forward." Once Gunny had taken his place he continued.
"Gunnery Sgt. It is my honor to promote you to Master Sergeant." Mrs. Galindez stood and placed Gunny's new stripe on his uniform. Gunny hadn't expected the promotion, and still had a dazed expression on his face when he sat.
"Chief Petty Officer Jason Tiner, please step forward. It is my honor to promote you to the rank of Ensign. Congratulations on your graduation from OCS and Georgetown University School of Law from which I understand that you were magna cum laude." There was a burst applause from the audience and a few hooahs from the enlisted staff.
"Captain Owen Sebring." The Captain took his place front and center. "Captain Sebring it is my pleasure to promote you to the rank of Rear Admiral." Admiral Chegwidden handed a small box to Admiral Sebring's daughter. Following tradition, Admiral Sebring's set of stars had a previous owner, in this instance, Admiral Chegwidden. She removed his captain's rank insignias and replaced them with his stars. Admiral Sebring remained standing, but off to the left of the podium.
"Admiral AJ Chegwidden." The Admiral took his place with Morgan next to him. "Admiral Chegwidden it is my pleasure to promote you to the rank of Vice Admiral." The same insignia ceremony took place, this time using the stars belonging to the CNO. Morgan gave the admiral a kiss and took her seat.
SecNav Sheffield then stood at the podium. "I want to add my congratulation to the medal recipients and to those receiving promotions. While it has been my privilege to work with you for only a short time I have been impressed by the devotion to duty, honor, county that you have all exhibited. I am proud to know all of you."
"Now we have one more announcement to make. Admiral AJ Chegwidden, as of 0001 Hours 1, September 2003, will join the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as his Chief of Staff. In turn, Admiral Owen Sebring will become The JAG. And one more appointment; Ensign Jason Tiner will be joining the staff at JAG HQ." There was immediate applause drowning out the rest of the SecNav's speech. Both Admirals spoke briefly, but these were words meant for 'official' ears. I knew when we adjourned to the conference room we would hear more heartfelt words from them. When we were dismissed everyone went forward to offer congratulations to the Admirals, and all that had been recognized for service to their country.
It upset me that Clay was not being publicly recognized but at the end of the ceremony the Vice-President made a point of pausing to shake his hand prior to leaving. He also had a few words for Mac. She answered him briefly and gave him one of her brilliant smiles. He retuned the smile, and then spoke to Mrs. Webb before leaving. Bud and I approached the small group; I was curious about the exchange.
"Congratulations Bud. I don't know anyone more deserving." Clay offered while shaking Bud's hand.
"I can say the same about you. And while we are doing the mutual admiration thing, Congratulations Mac." We all broke out in soft laughter. I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Ok, dish, what did the VP say?"
"He reminded Clay and me that the President hinted that he wanted to attend the wedding." Mac said with trepidation. She turned to Mrs. Webb.
"Mamie, you'd better find a wedding planner. I'll give you my list of demands later, but I can't face planning a wedding of this size in such a short period of time." She practically begged. I could understand her dilemma. Clay was just out of the hospital and his recuperation was her primary focus.
"My Dear, this is my element. I believe between Harriet, Lynne and I you won't have a care to worry about. We'll just take June's plans, expand on them and turn it into a splendid fall wedding. Correct ladies?" Lynne and I nodded and I figured Morgan would fall in line with her aunt.
"What about a date?" Lynne asked.
"Don't worry, I'll call the White House and find a date. Clay looked at Mac and she nodded.
"Mother, we are getting married October 24th, President or no President. We had already decided on that date, prior to this change in plans."
"All right dear, the 24th it is. Ladies, walk with me." She led Lynne and me to the Mac's office discussing plans right in left. We had two months to pull off the wedding of the season. I wonder if Eisenhower felt like I do right now on D-Day!
Sarah's POV
September 19th 1800 Hours Webb Residence McLean, Virginia
What a week; what a hellacious week. Harm had lost to Ensign Jason Tiner for the second time and was completely baffled at the outcomes. He sat in my office for forty-five minutes trying to figure out how he lost the second case. The fact that his client was overwhelmingly guilty was my thought, but he couldn't figure it out. I finally booted him out of the office when Admiral Sebring called me into his office.
We had a long discussion regarding case load re-assignments, budget inquires, and a JAGman investigation needed in Seattle. Admiral Sebring was a good CO, he listened to his staff, but he didn't like when procedures were not followed; very much like he was on the bench. Harm was having a hard time getting used to this. Singer found that her new CO gave her no latitude; she had been reprimanded twice, and I felt her next duty station was either going to be very hot or extremely cold. Finally at 1715 he was done.
"Anxious to get home Colonel?" He gave me a charming smile; I guess I had been fidgeting.
"Sorry sir, I apologize for my inattention."
"No need to apologize, Mac. How is you fiancé doing?" He asked.
"His therapy is going extraordinarily well. He returned to work for a few hours a day Monday, and hopes to return to full days next week. He's found that swimming has proved to be one of the best exercises for him. His biggest problem has been building upper body mobility and strength. Today he's adding running to his regimen. And I guess I'm anxious to see how he did."
"I guess it's hard to let him go." He sympathized.
"Very hard Sir. He's was hurt so badly, and he is pushing himself very hard. It takes everything I have not to try and wrap him in cotton. Not that he would put up with it anyway." I grinned
"No, I don't think he would allow anything like that. Go on, head home and see how he's doing. Rabb is on call this weekend correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Then let him worry about JAG, and you take care of that fiancé of yours. Dismissed. And since you don't have a court appearance on Monday, I'll expect you at 1000."
"Thank you very much sir. See you on Monday." I ran out of the building and raced home only to find it empty and a note saying that Clay and Vic were running.
"Hey Marine, what are you thinking about?" Clay asked after snapping his fingers in front of my face.
I looked up to see two sweaty men standing there giving me identical curious looks.
"Sorry, thinking about today. How was the run?" I asked as he leaned down to kiss me.
"Hey go clean up before doing that." I joked as he rubbed his face over mine. I heard Vic say he was going to shower as Clay sat on the sofa next to me.
"What was on your mind when we came in?" He pulled me close and I inhaled the smell of sweat and Clay. I would offer to bottle the scent, but I think I'm going to keep it in my own private stock.
"I was talking to Adm. Sebring and he asked how you were doing. I told him I was worried that I was treating you like an invalid."
"What brought that on?" I hesitated to tell him, but the counselor we had bee seeing told us to address our fears with each other.
"We haven't made love since you've been back. At first I thought because you were still mending, and then I thought you were afraid, like performance anxiety." He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Then you haven't made any moves, but I haven't either. So what's going on, why haven't we made love?"
"Other than the fact that when I hit the bed at night I fall asleep immediately?"
"Well that may be a reason. My mind was thinking everything but the obvious. I'm sorry."
"Princess, the mind has been more than willing, but the damn body was pretty torn up. There was some anxiety there, but it was fear of exhaustion not performance." We sat their laughing at our foolishness.
"I've got an idea. That shower we have has this great seat. I can think of some things we can do in there that won't tire me out and may embarrass the hell out of Vic if we're loud enough. You game?" He tickled me when I pretended to think about it.
"You're on Spook. Let's go bargain with your trainer to get tomorrow morning off. If I remember correctly, wake up sex is pretty damn good, and you should be nicely rested for what I have in mind." He kissed me then, and we spent the next several minutes necking like teenagers.
"Excuse me." We both jumped apart like teenagers to see a smiling Vic looking at us.
"What do you want?" Asked my disgruntled fiancé.
"If you two come up for air long enough I'd like to know if you want dinner tonight?" He asked smugly.
"Vic we are going to go shower, and I don't want a hungry Marine lawyer on my hands, so would you make some sandwiches and we'll get them later?"
"I think that can be arranged. I'll see you guys in the morning." I stopped him before he went too far.
"Change of plans for the morning. We're going to sleep in, so you'll see us when we come up for air, and not a minute sooner." The grin from earlier got bigger and he winked at as he left.
"Just don't hurt yourselves in the shower, or in the morning." Clay tossed a throw pillow at his back and we left ourselves and began climbing the stairs.
TBC.