The Ring Part 2
**1456 Telegraph Way, Alexandria VA**
Tiner parked on the street in front of the little rental house and took a deep breath. He closed his mouth, climbed out of his truck, and grabbed a duffel bag. He didn't stay here last night because there was nothing to sleep on, but even after the furniture arrived today, he wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep here tonight anyway.
Jodi had already given him the option either way. It was like she knew the kids were going to scare the crap out of him and didn't want to lock him up in the same house with them against his will.
He flipped the new key out with his free hand and unlocked the door. The house was small and old, but it sat on a half-acre lot. There were a few trees and lots of grass for the boys to play in. Outside, the wood paneling was painted pale, dusty yellow. The windows were tall and rimmed with fake shutters.
Inside, the carpet was new, but boring tan, and the walls were pure Apartment White. The front door opened to a rectangular living room/dining room on the right and, from front to back, the two bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen made up the left half of the house. Tiner tossed his duffel on the empty floor of the master bedroom and stepped to the bathroom.
They fixed the showerhead. Good.
He rubbed his palms together as he stepped back out to the living room. He wondered what her furniture looked like. She'd tried to describe it to him, but he was still clueless. The best he could picture was that she was trying to make her house look like a Native American living in the Admiral's office.
It just didn't seem to fit.
He moved to the kitchen and looked around. The old sink didn't have a divider and the refrigerator was crooked because it had a missing foot. He moved to the hotel-style telephone he'd brought over yesterday, and sat down on the floor of the kitchen next to it.
He checked his watch as he pulled the phone to his lap and paused to listen for a dial tone. He had a half an hour before Jodi was due and what he needed was some moral support, so Tiner dialed the only person truly qualified for the job.
When the other end picked up, he already looked relieved. "Hi, Mom."
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"She doesn't have any friends here," Harm whined lightly. "And Tiner's family is all in Wisconsin." He strolled through the household goods and waited for something to jump out at him.
"But they're enlisted," Mac pointed out as she followed him. "Tiner's already acting different. If we get too social with him, he's gonna stop following orders."
Rabb shrugged and whined, "It's a little annoying, but he's not going to stop doing his job just because we brought them pizza and a housewarming gift."
She coughed out a smile, "D'you know what he said to the Admiral the other day about you?"
Rabb glanced over his shoulder, already humored. "What?"
"After you went in there about the Walker case?… The Admiral came out of his office and ordered Tiner to arrange a frontal lobotomy for you."
Harm flashed a smile chuckled lightly about that.
"And Tiner came back that the closest thing he could manage was to get you a seat as a crash test dummy for a head-on collision."
Harm threw his head back with hearty laughter.
She hooked her arm easily in his elbow and walked with him further down the aisle. "I agree with you about making her feel welcome for Tiner's sake, just don't go overboard, okay?"
Harm stopped and looked at a display of Waterford crystal. "I never go overboard." He said it as though he actually believed it.
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"Oh my god," Bud paused wide-eyed with a spatula in his hand as three bags from Linens ~N~ Things were planted on the kitchen table. "How much did you spend?"
"Not much," she insisted. "Most of it is for our house anyway."
Bud's eyes shifted to the table as she started pulling out bathroom towels and kitchen gadgets. He sighed a little and put the spatula away before moving to the dishwasher to empty more. "When do you want to go over?"
"This afternoon. Like four or so. Tiner says she was in Kentucky last night and suspects they'll arrive about noon."
"Okay," he stood up and closed the dishwasher door again. He hobbled over to the table and looked over the things she bought. "But we can't stay long. Don't forget he's enlisted."
"I know," she said with disappointment. "But he doesn't have any enlisted buddies at the office."
"Don't worry, Harriett." He patted her arm with a smile, "I'm sure he's got a few." His face wrinkled, "What the heck is that?"
She lifted the metal thing. "It's a vegetable steamer. See?"
Bud curled a lip. "It looks like a space ship."
She collected new goods to be put away and kissed him on the cheek. "Honey, to you, everything looks like a space ship."
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"Meredith," he caught his breath and whined a little, "We're not going to stay the afternoon. Just cookies."
Meredith turned around with a hot casserole in hands and insult on her face. "She just drove for three days, with children. She does not want to cook tonight. I guarantee it."
AJ closed his eyes with patience, "That's what McDonalds is for."
Meredith's eyes flicked to the sky as if she were looking for help from one of the few who still outranked AJ, and pushed passed him to put the casserole on the table. "We're not staying for dinner," she said. "But I am going to take this to them so they have the option of not going out."
AJ crossed his arms at his chest and leaned his shoulder blades against the door jam to his kitchen. He stared in the air as he thought about this, and his voice came out soft, "Meredith?"
She turned proudly, "Yes, AJ?"
His eyes moved over, "I know you like her. I know that you want to take her under your teacher's wing. And I know that it feels like she bridges the gap between your world and mine…."
Meredith flattened her mouth and adjusted her chin, preparing herself to defend her position before he said it, and forcing herself to stay quiet until he was done.
"But keep in mind that he is my yeoman. And I do have to keep a safe distance in order to maintain the dynamics of my command."
Meredith stepped to him and looked up. "You're saying, you can't be friends with your assistant?"
He pressed his mouth and thought how to word this. "I am, but only to a degree." He lifted a brow, "Why haven't we brought any casseroles to your students?"
"He's not your student, AJ, he's your secretary. And I'm not opening my arms to them like we're going to go double dating. But I think it's best, for you as much as them, to help them both on this big step. They're not even engaged yet, AJ."
Meredith knew more about what was going on than he did. She'd turned into Jodi's ombudsman and the two had been on the phone several times since Christmas. "Meredith, I don't mind if you and Jodi get along like a house on fire, but keep these family things to a respectful minimum, all right?"
She nodded regally and lifted her face to stare him down again, "Are you aware that he still hasn't met the kids?"
He blinked, "I thought he went out for the weekend a couple of months ago."
She licked her lips and shook her head. "He canceled it when the war started in case you would need him."
AJ took a minute as this soaked in, then his chin lifted a touch and his lips parted. He unfolded his arms. "What time is she due in?"
Meredith smiled warmly as she realized she succeeded. "About noon. It's eleven thirty now."
He jumped into action to grab his keys and light jacket. He pointed to the casserole for her to get it and hurry. They hadn't planned to go until Jodi and the kids had arrived and a chance to relax and get acquainted again, but AJ was better friends with his yeoman that he was willing to let on.
He didn't know if Tiner knew this, but after a three day trek across the United States, the two children would most likely be dirty, screaming, disobedient, exploding with energy and down right terrifying for the trial-dad. Tiner was going to need some moral support.
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**1456 Telegraph Way, Alexandria VA**
The Admiral tried the doorbell, but didn't hear anything, so he knocked too. Feet stomped through the house to rush to the door, but Tiner paused to collect himself before he opened it.
When Tiner saw the Admiral and Meredith, he breathed with relief before greeting them, "Sir, um. I wasn't expecting you this early. Come on in."
They stepped in and Tiner looked almost like a little dog running in circles as he tried to figure out what to do. "I'm sorry, I don't have anyplace for you to sit yet, sir. Ma'am." He squinted at the casserole in her hands. It looked nothing like cookies, but he was afraid to point this out.
Meredith stepped around him, "Dinner for later." She helped herself to the kitchen to put it away and check the place out.
Tiner shoved his fists into the pockets of his Levi's and looked up at the Admiral like a teenager who just got busted for sneaking out through the back window.
AJ looked down at him and muttered respectfully, "You all right?"
Tiner started to nod, but ended up shaking his head, "No, sir."
The Admiral lightly slapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Stand tall, sailor."
Tiner swallowed at the floor, and nodded obediently and straightened his shoulders, even if that wasn't the way the Admiral meant it. "Yes, sir."
Meredith stepped out with friendly surprise, "Tiner, there's nothing in the refrigerator."
Tiner shook his head. "I wasn't sure what to get so I thought…" he glanced to where Jodi was going to emerge from.
Meredith easily flapped her hands at him and stepped over. "I'll go get some junk food: some coffee, soda pop, milk for the kids, maybe some chips? Okay?"
Tiner nodded again just because he was too dumfounded to do anything else.
Meredith put a palm up to AJ, "Keys."
AJ gave her the keys. "Beer."
Meredith agreed with a smile, gave AJ a commanding look at what he was supposed to do while she was gone, and turned away. "I'll be back in a flash."
When the door closed, Tiner dropped his eyes to the ground and AJ looked down at him. AJ turned around and looked at the tiny house. "Not too bad," he said loudly.
Tiner shrugged a shoulder, "It was the best I could do without making my commute a nightmare, sir." He strolled out into the living room a little as the Admiral peeked into the bedrooms and came back out.
"Is she going to help with any of it?" The Admiral asked as he squinted at the windowsill, hopefully hiding the fact that he was worried about a fortune hunter in his midst.
"Sort of, sir," Tiner responded. "She's going to get as much part time work as she can, that's a given. But she's been considering going part time school so she can get a job here and try this on her own. She's worried that we're moving too fast."
"Too fast for her? Or too fast for you?"
"Too fast for the boys, sir." Tiner explained, "She's more worried about breaking their hearts than either of ours."
The Admiral turned to him at that. He frowned approval and strolled to the front door. "Well, it sounds like her priorities are in the right place." He stepped casually out the front door.
"Yes, sir," Tiner mumbled and followed him.
The Admiral sat down on the top step of the short front porch and hung his elbows on his knees to look around the neighborhood. Tiner stopped behind him and looked at nothing on the wooden porch. He didn't intend to, but he was right at the Admiral's flank like he was ready to jump up and fetch something at the first glance.
The Admiral turned around, "Have a seat."
"Sir?"
AJ smiled and waved a hand at him, "It's your porch!"
Tiner chuckled a little and sat down. "Yes, sir," he sighed quietly.
"Y'know, being a dad is not so different than being an Admiral," AJ said thoughtfully. "As an Admiral, discipline comes first, and caring comes second."
Tiner glanced over.
"But as a father, caring comes first, discipline second." His brows furrowed a little, "I think."
Tiner chuckled again, looked out at the empty street, and spoke quietly. "Sir, I appreciate you coming over early. I do. But don't worry too much about me. I've got my mom and dad I can call when I get stuck and… and then Jodi's father is a really nice guy. He's just as worried about me as he's worried about her." He caught the Admiral's eyes a moment, and shrugged a little, "Sir, I'm gonna be okay…" he smiled, "I think."
The two laughed lightly about it and let the deep conversation drift away, and just as the Admiral was about to inhale to say something else, the hollow rattling of a large truck engine rolled down the street.
Tiner's smiled vanished. He sat up straight.
The Admiral slapped him on the shoulder blade and climbed to his feet. "Just remember you've got back up if you need it."
"Yes, sir," Tiner mumbled and got up.
The Admiral stayed on the front porch, leaned against the wood column, and just stayed out of the way.
The giant yellow moving truck rolled slowly down the street and a ten year old was hanging out the window to look for addresses. The boy's eyes landed on the two alert men and ducked back into the truck to talk to his mother.
Jodi's eyes looked over at them, nodded to say something, and turned to try to maneuver the big truck backwards on to the yard. Gary looked back out the window at Tiner with the same uncertain eyes as Tiner looked at him.
Skyler was in the carseat between them and was waving his hands to scream over and over again. "WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!….."
Suddenly, Gary received an order that included responsibility and jumped eagerly out of the truck to follow it. He looked warily at Tiner, who was now standing the yard and waiting for a clue, and stepped back to the gravel driveway so he could direct his mother.
As the boy ducked and stepped backwards to try to make eye contact with his mom through the side mirror, Tiner figured it out and jumped to join him.
"I can do this myself!" Gary snapped.
Tiner's brows lifted. He was just trying to help. How was he supposed to respond to that?
Gary looked back and lifted his arms to guide his mother. His moves were clumsy and unsure, but he was using a signalman's cues when directing a parking airplane.
The truck slowly rolled backwards and Gary's eyes often flicked to Tiner with warning to keep the man back. The truck stopped and the engine quieted, and Gary stepped away, passing Tiner completely by and moving to the house. Tiner watched him go for a moment, then moved to the driver's side door.
The toddler came out next, wearing a red shirt under his coveralls and a train engineer's hat backwards on his head. Like some cartoon character, his legs were already running when they hit the ground. Skyler zoomed by Tiner, into the yard, and ran in circles with his arms in the air, "WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!…."
When Jodi finally climbed out of the truck, she looked like she'd been beat with an invisible stick. She didn't say anything, she just looked at him, and then closed her eyes to wrap her arms around his shoulders and die. They took a moment to lean on each other a little bit before coming out from behind the truck, and by the time they emerged, Gary had already approached the Admiral with a curl in his lip, "Who are you?"
The Admiral was still leaning on the post, but his arms were crossed, and his chin was lowered, "Is that how you greet strangers?"
Gary glared at the Admiral a little, glanced back at his brother still running in circles, and glared over at his mother and her new boyfriend. The kid looked like he'd been completely out-voted in this major family decision and had no back up to face it with.
The Admiral sat down on the porch again so he could look the kid in the eye, and spoke clearly, "You're not so sure about this, are yeah?"
By then, Jodi and Tiner had strolled up and Gary no longer cared if he got in trouble for it. "No, I'm sure." He told the old man. "I'm sure I want to go home!"
"Gary?" Jodi said gently, "This is Admiral Chegwidden."
Gary blinked at the Admiral, and ducked his chin. Clearly, his mother had already given him a speech about how to behave in front of her new boyfriend's boss.
Gary and Skyler didn't see it, but the Admiral did. As Jodi introduced the man, her thumb was pressed lightly on the small of Tiner's back. "And this is Jason."
Gary's eyes slid evilly to Tiner.
Tiner angled his head apologetically, "I couldn't do a swimming pool. But I did get a cherry tree."
Gary's eyebrows lifted, "A cherry tree?" He was already looking around.
Tiner leaned over and pointed. "It's in the back yard."
"Are there cherries on it?"
Tiner nodded, his eyes smiling a little.
Gary tried to look around the building and then turned to his brother. "Sky! Wanna see a cherry tree!"
Skyler's hands were still in the air and he turned his run to meet his brother. "Yay! Cherry tree cherry tree yay yay yay!"
Jodi pointed before the little one ran down the side yard, "And that small blue blur would be Skyler."
Jason nodded and grinned. This much was obvious.
In short order, Meredith arrived with goodies and went out to meet the children. She brought out an empty paper grocery bag and helped them pick a load of cherries. Jodi caught the Admiral for a moment out of earshot and thanked him profusely for coming so Jason wouldn't feel in over his head. And soon enough, they opened up the truck and started unloading.
"When everybody moves, everybody moves," Jodi told Gary and Skyler and gave them small boxes and yard from the truck to be distributed elsewhere. The boys were in the way more than they were a help, but Jodi was determined to get them used to the work. Meredith helped quite a bit, and enjoyed every minute of staying close to the children to give them attention and keep them moving to follow their mother's orders.
When the Admiral realized the couple planned to do all this by themselves, he jumped into the truck and started passing stuff out. Tiner and Jodi moved most of the boxes to the front yard, and hustled furniture into the house, but it took all three of them, a half an hour and an elaborate plan just to fit the couch through the front door.
The couch was on the floor inside with Tiner at that end, but on Jodi's shoulder-high palms outside, and the Admiral tried to turn it so it would angle its way into the house. When he did, Jodi started losing her grip and shouted smiles for them to stop before she was crushed.
The Admiral grinned, paused, and told her to hang on.
Before she knew why, a very tall pilot trotted up, raised the couch out of her hands, and told her get out of the way.
The three men wiggled the couch inside in a matter of a minute after that, and as soon as it was plopped on the floor against the first wall, everyone took a minute to sit down and take a breather.
The pizza was fetched from the car. Sodas and beer bottles were distributed. And the children were placed on the front porch to eat.
"You don't have to stay, sir," Tiner insisted with a grin.
The Admiral sat down in the middle of the couch with a beer and a short groan, "S'all right. Had to earn the pizza."
Mac cracked open her soda from the side of the room. "How was the trip?"
"Long." Jodi admitted. "Very, very long." She leaned her shoulder blades against the door jam of the kitchen and picked up her paper plate of pizza.
Mac snuck a glance to Meredith and Jodi. None of them had any new jewelry on their fingers.
Tiner came out of the kitchen then, the last to settle in with a meal and a beer, and sat down on an end table that hadn't been placed at an end yet. He put his paper plate on a box and sat up to twist open his beer.
"So, how did you two meet?" Meredith asked him.
Jodi pulled up a sip of soda and sang softly, "Tin Man."
Tiner flicked his eyes over and coughed, "shutup," and cleared his throat. "Scuse me, sir." His smile rippled and looked at Meredith to answer.
Harm sat back in the couch, "Tin Man?"
Tiner's eyes moved from the Commander to Ms Cavanaugh and spoke calm and even, "My first duty station was barracks yeoman at NTC Orlando," he threw a thumb over his shoulder at Jodi, "And this booter here was one of the company yeomen."
"You came to JAG right after that," the Admiral figured out quickly.
Tiner nodded, "Yes, sir. She was shipped to the Gompers a week before I first set foot in your office."
The Admiral brought another bite of pizza to his mouth, "So what's "Tin Man" all about?"
Jodi's nose made a noise.
Tiner's eyes slid her direction. He licked his lips and faced the Admiral. "That's just what they called me in A school, sir. She's just trying to get me in trouble."
"Why would it get you in trouble?" the Admiral coaxed.
Jodi finally stood on both feet and told them. "They called him that because he was trained in protocol and paperwork. They called him The C3PO of A School because he could …" she started laughing and waved a finger at him, "do it. I can't do it."
Tiner folded his lips together and tried not to giggle as he did it. He put on an English accent and spoke like C3PO, "I can translate six million forms of profanity into language suitable for officers."
The Admiral laughed. Meredith's eyes popped out with giggles. Mac turned and hid behind her pizza. Harm sat forward in near insult. "What did you just say?!"
Tiner's mouth flashed back to normal and gave the man an expressionless face, "Nothing, sir."
"Did you say what I thought you said?"
"No, sir." Tiner said simply.
Harm hung an elbow on the arm of the couch and eyed Tiner carefully. "Can you give us a demonstration?"
"Yes, sir." Tiner told him honestly.
Harm narrowed his eyes, "Are you doing it now?"
The twinkle in Tiner's eyes was undeniable. "I can neither confirm nor deny, sir."
The Admiral leaned into Meredith and cackled some more.
Harm looked at her and back to Tiner. The man's brows were raised and a tiny grin was on his lips, but he was very easily facing the Commander off with nothing but 'yes sir's and 'no sir's…. The only language officers could understand.
The Admiral sniffed and calmed himself and shook his head, "Tiner, I'm just now seeing a side of you I never thought was there."
"Yes, sir," Tiner said fervently, sat up to grab his paper plate again and smiled a little as he started picking up the mess of his guests and family in his little house. He took a long minute in the kitchen to catch his breath again.
He didn't let his guests stay to help any further. It just felt wrong despite their good intentions. It didn't take much to convince the officers that they could handle it themselves. And it was an accident that Tiner let his discomfort show up in his face.
What he needed was to be alone with Jodi and the boys even if it meant doing the rest of the unloading by themselves. Once Gary screamed about Skyler dumping a soda on the porch, and Jodi hurried to quiet the children when guests were around, Tiner's eyes flicked with panic and concern in their direction, and four officers instantly knew that it was time to go.
Tiner and Jodi walked everyone out the front door, but before the guests made it out of the house and down to the walk, Bud and Harriett were walking up.
As the loud hellos and similar banter filled the air, Harm stepped over and muttered the situation to Bud. But, by the time Bud slowed his wife down to express it to her, Jodi was shaking the woman's hand and thanking her for the wrapped housewarming gift.
Tiner stepped up behind the crowd and patiently waited for everyone to leave.
In the middle of all the talk, Meredith asked Harriett, "Did anybody claim the ring?"
Harriett's stopped cold. She looked directly at Meredith in order to force herself not to look at anybody else and swallowed hard to nod, "Yes, mayam. The owner did step forward."
"Ring?" Jodi echoed.
Jason closed his eyes and exhaled.
Mac muttered to Jodi, "Someone dropped an engagement ring under the Lieutenant's desk and nobody jumped to claim it until it could be done discretely."
The Admiral lifted his brow at Lt Simms. "And have you revealed the identity to anyone?"
The Lt was dead serious about this. "No, sir. I didn't even tell Bud."
Jodi figured out the sudden discomfort and laughed evilly, "I know who it is."
"Yours?" Meredith suggested deeply.
"Uh uh." Jodi shook her head like the idea was preposterous and glanced back at Jason.
Tiner lifted a brow at her.
The Admiral down at the civilian with a whine, "How do you know?"
Jodi just shrugged innocently. "I know a mole in the office?"
The Admiral lifted his head to glare at Tiner.
Tiner ducked his head like a guilty pup.
Harm brought up his watch, and said it loud and surprised. "Look at the time!"
Bud laughed at that. Harriett gave Jodi one last quiet welcome before turning around to leave with Bud. Mac waved as she stepped away, glancing at Harm's attempt at innocence. Meredith told her to keep in touch before hooking into AJ's arm and glancing up at the façade the guilty Admiral was hiding behind.
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As soon as the truck was unloaded, the boys spent the rest of the day playing outside and riding their bikes to explore the neighborhood. When the sun went down, Jodi and Jason stopped the hard labor of unpacking the essentials to warm up the casserole. The boys were ushered to the table and the forks were discovered. Starving to death and exhausted, they didn't think they would care what it tasted like, until all four of them paused after the first bite.
Skyler opened his mouth and dropped the half-chewed mass back down on the plate.
Tiner sat back in the dining room chair and swallowed, he glanced at Skyler and then a saw a similar face on Gary. "How about McDonalds?"
Instant unanimous vote. And thank God for Playplaces.
They'd unpacked a few stand-alone lamps to keep from bumping into walls and ended the day with the rebuilding of the bunk beds. Jason and Skyler were already getting along okay and this was proven by the request of a train story in the absence of a book about one.
Gary groaned about it from the top bunk, but Tiner did his best to tell a story about a train. Skyler was a happy boy and easily cuddled into sleep as soon as it was over.
Tiner stood up then and looked at the top bunk. Gary turned his back to him and snapped, "Go away."
Jason closed his eyes in silent prayer. Skyler was fine with him, but Skyler already had a father, and that butthead was demanding Jodi pay for plane trips across the states every six months. Gary had no father on the birth certificate and still didn't want to have anything to do with Jason.
Jodi motioned Jason out of there, turned off the light, left the door open, and let them go to sleep.
She saw him in the master bedroom after that. He was sitting on the mattresses (the frame hadn't been built yet) and putting things away into his duffel bag as if to leave for the night.
She paused at the door and crossed her arms uncomfortably. "Are you okay?"
Tiner ripped the zip closed again and threw the bag down to the floor. His eyes were full of insult and disappointment. "Why didn't you try to find me?" At the rate they were falling in love when she left, Jason could easily find himself having taken her in and raising Gary as his own.
They already talked about this over the phone and she thought it was settled. Jodi rubbed her lips together and moved to sit down on the bed. "You never wrote me…" she remembered the letter, "Well, I thought you never wrote me… I figured you were off finding your next favorite company yeoman."
He put his chin on his shoulder, but didn't actually look back at her. "Did you really think that?"
"I didn't want to," she admitted. "But I was scared it was true. We kept saying it was just a good time."
He closed his eyes.
She leaned into him, "Do you realize we've been back together six months now?"
He nodded and grinned sadly, "But we've only been together face to face for two weeks… and today."
She shrugged, "It's the Navy way. If you don't do long distance relationships, you can't do them at all."
Jason stared at the air and into memory. "I should have married you in A school."
A blonde eyebrow lifted.
He looked back again and nodded it into conviction. "I should've."
"You weren't thinking about marriage in A school," she pointed out.
He grinned, "That's true, I wasn't… But I should've."
She took in a breath, "Would you be saying that if Gary's father were still in the picture?"
He chewed on his lower lip, considering this. "If you weren't already married? Yeah." His eyes turned back to her again to find hers filled with love and brand new hope.
She curled her arm into his and cuddled up closer behind his shoulder. "Y'know what's weird? The last ten years, I've been trying to find them a good dad and all my efforts were just getting me deeper into trouble. I lost all hope of ever having a happy life of my own, and I was just getting to the point of accepting that….
"And then, when the Commander and Colonel came out of the blue and starting asking a bunch of questions- tagged me as their number one suspect and the shit just kept getting deeper and deeper- It was like, 'how dare you ever have any hope in the first place, Jodi. Even the Navy hates you, after all these years…' " Her voice died to a whisper. "I felt so cheated."
Her eyes opened again, "And then Commander said something I'll never forget. He said, 'It must be hard going through life without trusting anybody, Petty Officer Young.' It got me thinking. I thought back over time to figure out who was the last person I really trusted." Her smile was sweet on him, "So, the weird part is that I forced myself to trust the Commander enough to get me out of that mess, and if I hadn't, he never would have called to follow up after he went back to DC, and he never would have given the phone to you."
He turned and put a palm on the bed beside her, sighed deeply and let out a far away smile as he thought about all that.
"For what it's worth? If you had asked me in A school, I would've said 'yes'."
Sparkling blue eyes peaked up from under his brows. "And if I asked you now?"
A sad smile spread across her face, "Now, I'm not the one you have to clear it with."
His eyes flicked in the direction of the other bedroom, and he lifted his head with a new smile. "Like you don't have a vote?"
She giggled and blushed a little, "I have veto power. That is all. This request chit need to get a few signatures before I can even see it."
He looked over his nose and nodded. "I'm good at getting signatures."
She laughed, rapidly turning back into that quiet and shy little bookworm of a girl that blushed at all of his jokes. He ducked in and slowly took her mouth for a long, sweet moment, and they giggled a little more as he pushed her back on the naked mattress and quickly decided to stay the night.
