Disclaimer: JAG belongs to DPB, Paramount, CBS et al. This is for fun, no copyright infringement is intended.

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Episode: Family Business (Don't be confused but this time I've split an episode in two chapters)

- JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia

Loren was very quiet during the ride down in the elevator and thankfully Sergei Zhukov did nothing to disturb her thoughts.

It was strange. Most of the time she had been at JAG headquarters she had wished to be somewhere else. She had never been a part of the family, had always been the detestable outsider, the witch, that person Singer... And now she was sad to go. It was almost laughable especially after this short goodbye. It would be laughable if their indifference didn't sting that much. And the fact that she - that Singer - deserved this treatment did nothing to soothe the pain. - But, boy, she had almost slapped Turner left and right with his present!

For almost three years JAG had somehow been the center of her life. Despite the mission. Despite her real life, Richard, her family. She had lived there, worked there, she had sometimes laughed with the people there and sometimes she had cried with them ... even if only in her soul. Three years weren't something you could simply leave behind. They were a part of her in good and bad. Somehow these years had made her stronger... and they had almost destroyed her too.

The elevator door opened and together with Sergei she stepped down the stairs of the entrance and walked to her car. He placed the box with her stuff in the trunk she opened for him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her. "Do you regret you have to go?"

She looked at the familiar building one last time and considered his question. Regret? She was feeling sad in a strange way, yes, but was it regret? Her gaze traced the rows of windows, searched for Chegwidden's office. And she said a silent goodbye. As she turned away she answered Sergei's smile.

"No. But it has been a long time."

"I understand what you mean." He shifted nervously. "Lieutenant? May I invite you to dinner? Tonight? Or tomorrow?"

Surprised she raised her brows. Where did that come from? But one look in his open face told her enough. She sighed.

"Sergei... I'm leaving Tuesday and it will take quite some time until I'll come back to the States. And I'm ... I'm not..."

The young Russian blushed deep red and studied his toes. His mumble was hard to understand. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to imply... It's just ... I'll leave the day after tomorrow and I thought maybe we can have somewhere a - uhm - nice goodbye-evening together. We never had much time to get to know each other..."

"You'll leave?" Now she was even more surprised. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Russia." He sighed. "I don't belong here. I know that now."

A bored homesick young man. She felt pity for him.

"Surely you would rather spend your last evenings with your brother than with somebody you barely know," she said gently.

He just pulled his shoulders up. "Harm hasn't got time. This case is keeping him occupied."

"Oh, Sergei..." - 'Rabb, you idiot!' She looked away to gather her thoughts and then back at him. "Sergei, I'm not interested in ... well, you know. I'm ... there is someone else."

He blushed even more and started to back away.

"But ... yes, I would like to have dinner if we had an agreement about that point," she finished and offered a careful smile.

His face brightened. "You would?"

"Tomorrow. Tonight I'll be busy." Although her near departure had provided an excellent excuse for not seeing Lindsey she hadn't been able to escape a last drink together without giving a strange impression. It was turning her stomach but as Webb had said correctly: They couldn't risk taking any chances. Well, she would get it over with and then return to her apartment - and definitely alone!

She focused back on the young Russian. "Just keep the ground rules in mind."

"Of course-" His smile changed into a grin. "- darling."

"Darling?" Again she raised her brows at him.

"A completely - what's the word - plutonic evening, sweetheart."

She chuckled. "Platonic. The word is platonic and you better watch it - sky jockey."

"Yes, darling. Where?"

Loren contemplated the question for a second but she already knew. "Benzinger's."

- Loren's car, en route to the airport, two days later

"He came."

"Huh?" Sergei snapped out of his dark musing and turned his head to face her.

"He came," Loren repeated gently and glanced at her passenger. "He was late, yes, but he came."

The young Russian exhaled in a sigh. "It doesn't matter any more."

"Hey, Sergei." Loren reached out and touched his arm but kept her eyes on the road. "He loves you. Just in his own way."

"Yeah, but it's always his way."

"You are brothers."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Loren just smirked and after a second he laughed with her.

"Anyway thanks for picking me up. I know it was at rather short notice and I wasn't sure if..." he trailed off.

"No big deal. I've got the time."

She felt his searching gaze and again she was almost sure he had seen through the façade she was presenting to the world. Of course, whatever he guessed would never be near the real truth but even the first time they had met the young Russian had seen deeper than anybody else around her. Maybe she should be worried but somehow she wasn't. Sergei Zhukov, she had come to realize in the course of the last evening, could have been a friend in a different life, under different circumstances.

Loren smiled somewhat bitter-sweet. They had shared a wonderful dinner at Benzinger's full of shameless flirtation and teasing banter ... God only knew what anybody else had been thinking about them. It hadn't mattered. It might have looked real but they had known better. Their understanding had been - and was - so mutual ... and even if everything was based on a lie - at least from her side - the feeling itself was real. For both. And then, then she had checked her voicemail while being in the ladies' room. She felt her cheeks starting to burn.

"You look happy, Loren." Sergei's comment made her blush even more.

"I am happy at the moment."

Thankfully, they just reached the airport and it took all their attention to find a parking space in front of the right entrance. Sergei jumped out of the car and got his suitcases and Loren jointed him on the sidewalk. For a second they just stood in front of each other.

Loren searched his eyes. "It was a lovely evening, Sergei. Any part of it."

He smiled. "Same to me."

She hesitated and looked around. "Sergei... You remember our deal? Whoever may ask, whatever the circumstances - we two have spent this night or at least most of it together. I need your word for that. Whatever may happen, you must stick to it. Promise?"

His eyes were serious. "I promised you last night, I promise you now. But Loren... I'm not asking any questions but ... just be careful, will you? Be careful."

There was so much concern in his eyes, concern for her. Like there had been last night when she had left him outside Benzinger's and impulsively she stepped forward and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You know, there is a very lucky woman out there," she whispered softly.

He looked puzzled.

"She'll get you."

And he beamed a smile that proved beyond any doubt that he had to be related to Harmon Rabb junior. The next second he gave her a tight hug.

"Take good care of you, Sergei."

He answered something in Russian. Loren raised a brow.

"Can you translate that?"

"No, the translation would spoil it. But it's something we say to good friends in Russia when we have to say goodbye." He picked up his suitcases and his grin told her that they were back to banter. "Hey, I've just thought again. This way I can tell everybody I spent my last night here with one of the most beautiful women in America. A wonderful one - one -"

She slapped his arm. "One-night stand, silly. Don't overdo it! Now go before you'll miss your plane."

He looked over her shoulder. "And you better go before you'll get a ticket."

"What?" She turned. "Oh, darn it!"

She ran around her car followed by Sergei's laughter. He waved, already on his way into the terminal, and she waved back as she pulled away.

Back on the road to Washington she allowed herself a sigh. Yes, she would miss the young Russian. The message last night hadn't been what he suspected but Webb would nevertheless have a fit if he ever found out what she had done. No matter how careful she had been - heck, she had changed the taxi twice and even walked the last half a mile to the motel - to a certain level it had still been stupid. But it had been worth it. Oh, yes, it had been worth it.

The thought of the message brought another idea to her mind and Loren stopped at the next possibility to check her voicemail. Of course. She dialed the number.

"Loren?" he answered immediately.

"I miss you too, Richard," she whispered back. "How was your flight?"

"OK. A little bit bumpy."

She smiled into the air. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for -" She wasn't able to finish the sentence.

"You didn't think I'd let you go without a proper goodbye, did you?" he teased gently.

His voice brought back memories of the last night and she swallowed hard. When she had reached the door with the number he had left on her voicemail she had been barely more than a nervous wreck. Fear, regret, excitement and panic had fought in her but all had been swept away soon after he had opened the door and pulled her into his embrace.

He hadn't asked why she had tensed at his first touch. He hadn't asked why she had cried. And finally she had lost herself in his arms. His touch, his smell, his voice, the taste of his lips... She hadn't been able to stop tracing his features, feeling his body against hers as he had held her close... A huge teddy bear slightly out of shape and growing a belly but so much he, so much Richard...

Loren swallowed again, fighting against misty eyes. "I love you, Richard. You know I do, don't you?"

"I love you too. Hush now, I told you, you don't have to explain anything to me. Just be safe and come back to me."

"I will."