A/N: For those who asked, I'll probably post new chapters twice a week. I hope you'll be patient...
Suzanne, yes, I am a shipper. In the show, I would say that some feelings are still present, but probably buried deep down inside, under tons of unresolved problems, and my intentions are to stick to the show as much as possible... But don't give up, we never know what may happen...
0239 ZULU
Honolulu International Airport
Honolulu, Hawaii
It had been a really awful day since early dawn. During the night, the falling snow had changed into cold rain and as the temperature fell way under zero, the water quickly turned into ice. Roads were looking like skating rinks and the taxi ride to the airport took over an hour instead of the usual 20 minutes. Despite the ugly weather, or maybe because of the delayed flights, the airport was crowded and they hadn't been able to find places to sit together on the plane. The three places reserved for Harm, Mac and Bud were located in business class. Mattie and Chloe were sitting in economy class near the left wing and Harriet was at the end of the plane with the kids; Jimmy sitting on her lap and little AJ on his own seat like a big boy.
The first segment of the flight took place without any major incident. The young girls were chatting cheerfully about all the things they had in common: some events of their past, the help they received from Harm and Mac, their new families... Several rows behind them, Jimmy had been an angel. He slept the whole time while Harriet played games of memory cards with AJ. In the business class section, though, the air was much more strained. Mac kept staring at the clouds through the window while Harm was looking to the movie with his ear-plugs on. They were not addressing each other and the few times they had to talk, they asked a very uneasy Bud, who was sitting between them, to pass the message along.
The aircraft was grounded for two hours during the stop in Detroit because of some jerk who forgot his Swiss-knife in his cabin luggage in spite of all the publicity since 9/11. A flight attendant saw the knife before take-off, and all the passengers had to step down during the thorough search of the plane. Fortunately, because of that delay, they avoided a thunderstorm over Denver and the flight suffered only minor turbulence, to Mac's relief. She kept her eyes shut most of the time, but each time she drifted into sleep, she remembered what Harm had said the day before and tears welled up behind her closed eyelids. Bud tried to lighten the mood between the two officers. He bough a chess game during the halt in Detroit and played several games with Harm during the second segment of the flight. Bud lost most of them, but at least it kept Harm from sighing all the time.
Once the plane landed on the tarmac, the sun finally appeared from behind the clouds. The whole group met in a lobby before they went to retrieve their luggage. Without much surprise, their suitcases were the last ones to show up on the treadmill, but at least nothing had been lost, not even damaged. Just to add to the mood of the day, the driver they were supposed to meet at the USO lounge was already gone, as their flight was almost three hours late. They had to call for a cab, or more exactly a minibus, to reach the base. An awkward silence grew heavier in the bus until Harriet decided to start talking. "Sir, Ma'am, I called the base yesterday to settle lodging for everyone. But there's good news and bad news about it..." She waited a few seconds for someone to react, but nobody did, so she went on. "There are no rooms available at the VOQ, and they seemed to think children are not really welcomed on the base."
"So, what's the good news?" Harm asked, his voice harsher than he intended to.
Harriet took a deep breath. "Actually, sir, this is the good news. Instead of the VOQ, they offered us cabins in front of a sandy beach." Her smile was radiant. Mac gasped with pleasure as Mattie and Chloe shrieked and clapped their hands. Harriet's smile sobered as she continued. "But the bad news is that there are only two cabins available. The first one has two bedrooms and can accommodate four adults, and the second one has only one bedroom, for two adults."
"Sir, Ma'am, if I may," Bud cut in, before someone could protest. "Harriet and I could take the small cabin. We could get a cradle at the main building and AJ can easily sleep on the couch. And this way, they won't wake anybody up when they start whining in the middle of the night. In the other cabin, besides the main bedroom, there is a room with twin beds and they assured us that the couch in the living room was in fact a comfortable futon. Both kitchens are fully equipped and even though we're in Hawaii, there is a fireplace in the living room."
"It sounds great, Bud, Harriet," answered Mac. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
* * * * *
0405 ZULU
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Bud, Harm and Mac were standing in the hallway of the building 215, waiting for Major Alberts to show up. The tropical influence was clearly visible in the decorations, as Bud observed. The sound of footsteps on the marble floor announced the arrival of the other lawyer.
"Sir, Ma'am, I hope you enjoyed your flight," Alberts said, offering his hand to Harm. "Major Nicolas Alberts, but everybody here calls me Sneakers."
"Harm," he answered, shaking the major's hand.
"Sneakers?" Mac asked before accepting the proffered hand. "Mac."
"Yeah," Nicolas started shyly, "I used to play basketball when I was younger and I was chosen to appear in a commercial for Nike when I was 16. I don't know how the guys here learned that, but since they found out, they started calling me Nike. It reminded me of the name my mother used to call me when I was 5, so they agreed to change, and now I'm Sneakers. You must be Lieutenant Roberts," he continued, facing the young man.
"Please call me Bud, sir."
"If we may proceed towards the conference room, I will give you all the information I have concerning Major Graham," Sneakers offered.
"Sure, major," Harm answered, "lead the way."
* * * * *
Chloe was playing with Jimmy on the porch of the Roberts' cabin. She had heard a lot about this little boy, but since the last time she came to Washington was more than two years ago, she had never seen him before. Mac had told her how Harriet learned she was pregnant on Christmas Eve and how Jimmy was some kind of little miracle after baby Sarah's death and Bud's accident.
A few yards in front of her were Mattie and AJ. They were both laughing, building sand castles and digging to find seashells to decorate them. "Mattie is a nice girl," Chloe started talking to Jimmy. "Your auntie Mac told me what happened to her parents. It probably feels bizarre to your uncle Harm to have a teenage girl, but I'm sure he can handle it. Your mommy told me he takes good care of you since he's been back, and he has always cared a lot about your big brother. I don't know if he would be ready to have a child of his own, but with Mattie, I'm sure he is wonderful. I really like him, even though he's the reason why Mac didn't marry Mic. Maybe she is right, Mic wasn't the right guy after all. But Mac didn't say that Harm was, either. It is such a pity you can't talk, Jimmy, maybe you could help us..." Chloe sighed and lifted her head to see Harriet through the window working in the kitchen. The young girl took the baby in her arms and headed inside.
"Need a hand?" she asked, lowering a sleepy Jimmy into his cradle.
"Not really, but thanks. I'm preparing dinner for AJ since we are way past his usual bedtime. You want some?" she offered, holding out a stick of celery.
"I'd like to, but the airplane meal is still heavy on my stomach..." Chloe answered, but she was cut short by high-pitched cry coming from the porch. Mattie was holding AJ's hand and he had his thumb stuck in his mouth.
"What happened?" Harriet asked in a hurry.
"Nothing serious, don't worry," Mattie started. "AJ saw a crab in the sand and tried to grab it. The poor little animal tried to save his life and squeezed his thumb in his claw. AJ was more surprised than hurt, actually."
"Okay, little boy, it's now time for dinner, than it'll be time to go to bed," Harriet announced. "It's almost midnight for you with the jet-lag."
Mattie sat on a chair in the kitchen and started playing absently with her hair-band she had just removed.
"What are you girls doing tonight?" Harriet asked, still busying herself with the kid's dinner.
"Dunno," answered Chloe. "I think the jet-lag is getting to me too. I'm really tired. I guess I'll go to bed early."
"Me too," Mattie added. "Maybe we can plan something for tomorrow?"
Chloe looked at Harriet and winked. "Girls' night!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.
"What!?" Mattie seemed puzzled.
"You never did that with Petty Officer Coates?" Chloe asked.
"Well, when we spend an evening without Harm, we watch movies on the DVD player he bought us two weeks ago," explained Mattie. "Last time, we rented Lara Croft."
"Jeez, we really need to improve your education about that," Chloe started. "Mac and I used to do those kinds of nights all the time when I was in Washington. Rule number one, no guys allowed. Rule number two, only serious subjects can be discussed, like hairdo, toes' nail polish, makeup, non-permanent tattoos, etc. Rule number three, an infinite stock of chocolates, chips, candies and sodas must be available. Rule number four, my favourite, the night must start with the latest Walt Disney animation picture. I think for now it would be Finding Nemo or The Lion King 1 ½. And rule number five, last but not least, what happens during those nights stays there. You can't discuss it with anybody else, and you'll have to pronounce the solemn promise in front of Mac's famous chocolate fondue before we can start talking seriously." Chloe's eyes were sparkling. "Interested?"
"Sure, it sounds great!" Mattie answered. "But for now, I'm too tired to think about it. I'm going to bed."
"Good idea, I won't be long behind you," the other girl responded. "I'll just write a note for Mac, to tell her. She told me yesterday that she really needed this kind of night, but she didn't want to tell me why."
"Good night, girls!" Harriet said. "And thanks a lot for taking care of the kids this afternoon. See you tomorrow!"
* * * * *
Bud was reviewing his notes on the kitchen table. Harriet had gone to bed when he arrived and he was really tired too, but he needed to be sure nothing was missing. This murder case seemed very weird and the three officers were supposed to begin their investigation the next morning, even though it was Sunday.
Major Maria Graham, 30 years-old, had been found dead at 1925 local on the beach a few miles away from the base. She was lying on her back, her feet washed by the waves, one arm over her head, the other along her body. She bore long scrapes on her back and strangulation marks were visible on her neck.
Her son Marty, five years old, was sitting next to her, crying desperately for his mother to wake up and for his father to help. There were no visible bruises on his body and besides a light cough, he was okay.
A small inflatable canoe was resting a dozen feet away from the victim on the shoreline.
The time of death had not been established precisely, but a witness, Sergeant Clark, saw the major and her son playing in the water an hour before he discovered the body.
According to Major Alberts, the MIRA project was in no way the primary motive for the murder. The Marines Involvement Regarding Animals project had no known opponents, neither on nor off base. But there was one person on the base that had a motive to kill Maria Graham, in Sneakers' opinion: her ex-husband, Captain Christopher Lewin. This guy was under an injunction to stay at least 100 feet away from her and their child since she pressed charges for assault two weeks earlier. He had threatened to kill her when she had told him she wanted to revoke his custody rights because he was drunk when he brought Marty back from a weekend at his apartment. At this moment, Lewis was behind the bars, pleading he was not guilty. Maria Graham's mother had flown from San Diego to take care of Marty until a decision was taken for the custody.
That was all they were able to learn from Major Alberts during their meeting. Reading his notes once again, Bud concluded they were as complete as they could be and decided to join Harriet in the bedroom, careful not to wake up the kids on his way in.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
