Title : Where The Sea Meets The Sky
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV – and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : G to PG-13
Thanks go to cbw; jtbwriter; beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4 and carol for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!
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JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH – VIRGINIA
0830 HOURS LOCAL – WEDNESDAY
Bud held open the glass doors for his wife as they both entered the bull-pen. Walking with Bud towards her desk, before he usually left her to go to his office, both Harriet and Bud were surprised when Mac appeared from the break room.
"Ma'am!" they called out in surprise together, and Mac looked up from drinking her coffee.
"Hello. You two want some coffee? I've just brewed some."
"Thank you, ma'am, we'll help ourselves. Ma'am what are you doing here?"
"Why, Harriet? Where should I be?" asked Mac, continuing towards her office, both officers in tow.
"You were TAD yesterday, ma'am. The Admiral had me post you on the board … I didn't realise you were back so soon."
"Oh, that… it didn't work out as planned. So, here I am, and if you'll excuse me I have a ton of work to do on the Winston case. With Sturgis gone, Bud and I are going to have our work cut out for us putting this case together. Fraternisation is not my favorite type of case, and I want to get it over with as soon as possible."
Harriet took a long look at Mac as she turned away and walked to her office, closing the door behind her.
"Harriet?" Bud spoke to his wife, who was still watching Mac's closed door. "Harriet?" Bud asked a little louder. Still no response. "Lieutenant Sims!" That got her attention! Harriet stood ramrod straight. Husband or not, Bud was her superior officer, not that he ever really pulled rank on her. However, it did come in handy to get her attention when she was off on another planet.
"Sir?" Harriet risked a look around the bull-pen and then, realising it was just she and Bud still, she relaxed sightly. "Bud!" she protested under her breath.
"I had to get your attention somehow. What's got you so fixated this time? Commander Rabb and Commander Turner are en-route to the Gulf now, so it can't be anything to do with the Colonel and the Commander."
"I'm not sure, but I think it still is. Bud, since we've known the two of them, when one of them is out of the office TAD, the other is like a bear with a sore head, and the situation doesn't improve until they're back on each other's radar."
"Metaphors; it must be Wednesday," said Bud, sighing as he went into his own office. Harriet watched him go, and then turned her gaze on Mac's door again. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Mac through the blinds. For a woman who said she had work to do, thought Harriet, Mac seemed to be spending an awful lot of time staring out of the window…
FBI HEADQUARTERS
J EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC
SAME TIME – WEDNESDAY
Sue answered her Blackberry as it vibrated in her pocket. "Hello?"
"Sue, it's Mac. Hi. I was wondering if you would like to come over to Harm's place tonight and share a girl's night in? Mattie and Jen will be there, and I'm about to ask Bud if he will babysit so that Harriet can join us." The text came up on the screen.
"That would be wonderful, but what about Harm? Will he be babysitting with Bud?"
"No. He's not actually here; he left yesterday evening for the Gulf. I'm not sure how long he's away for, but he's doing his quals while he's there, so at least he gets that out of the way at the same time."
"Oh, okay. When did he find out about that? Never mind, tell me when I see you. What time?"
"1900… er, seven?" Mac corrected herself.
"May I bring Levi?"
"Of course, honorary guest!" Mac laughed, knowing that Levi would be the solitary male presence, but given the reaction of most males to 'female bonding rituals' she doubted he'd worry too much.
"See you at seven then. What's on the menu? Can I bring anything?"
"Bring yourself and Levi, and food is on the house – everything we can eat that Harm usually bans from the premises!"
Now it was Sue's turn to laugh. She was aware of how diverse Mac and Harm's eating preferences were.
"Won't he know what you've been eating?"
"I can fumigate before he gets back," Mac replied.
"I have one question, if it's not too forward to ask," Sue spoke tentatively, aware that her friendship with Mac was still new.
"Go ahead. I'll only say 'no comment' if I don't like the question," joked Mac.
"Why are you having this at Harm's apartment?"
Mac paused, and Sue's butterflies increased ten-fold.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, that was tactless."
"Not at all. I could say it's more convenient for Mattie, so that she can be included in the party, and so not have to be up too late for school. Actually, it's so I can be close to Harm, even though he's not here. Corny, isn't it?"
"Not in the least," answered Sue honestly. "I'll ket you into a secret… oops… maybe not in the office. I'll tell you later." Jack had just walked through the door with Myles and Tara. "I have to go. I'll see you later." As Sue replaced the Blackberry back in her pocket, Jack walked over, having heard her side of the conversation.
"Hot date?" he teased, smiling. Sue grinned back, and shook her head.
"Sarah's invited me to a 'girl's night in'; movies, popcorn, and girl-talk."
Since their night together at the weekend he and Sue had not managed an opportunity to be together again. It was creating a tension between them that was not at all unpleasant, but was beginning to drive the rest of the team crazy. While Bobby was aware of the 'friendlier' side of their friendship, he had no idea of the newer 'intimacy', and he had been trying to divert the attention of Tara, Myles and Demetrius from putting the two perceived antagonists in a room together to work out their problems knowing it would probably cause more 'tension'. Little did he know!
Tara glanced across at Sue and Jack and, unable to see what they were talking about, or the expressions on their faces, she glanced across at Bobby and Myles. Pointing at her watch she mouthed the words, 'It's time.' Bobby shook his head once more, but Tara was determined to ease the tension in the room, and this was the only way she knew how. Getting up from her desk she walked across to Sue and smiled before she spoke.
"Hey, Sue, can I have a word with you, in private?" Sue looked up at Tara and nodded.
"Sure. Is there a problem, Tara?"
"Oh, no, at least I don't think so… is there, Jack?" Tara turned her attention on her colleague, who raised his hands in the air as he backed away from Sue's desk, not sure what Tara was up to.
"None that I know of. Go ahead, ladies. Sue, I need to talk to you about the school drugs report we had recently. Later?"
"Ah… sure, when I've spoken to Tara?"
"That's fine," Jack acknowledged, nodded at Myles and Bobby, and sat at his desk to carry on with his own work.
Sue followed Tara out of the office, and Levi made to follow. Jack automatically called out to the golden retriever to 'stay', without thinking about his actions, and it was the sudden silence in the room that drew his attention to his colleagues.
"What?" he asked, and then realised that Levi had come to lay beside his desk instead. "So, it's 'girl's-only' out there," he defended, reaching down to pat Levi's fur, and to hide his own small smile as he realised just how easy it was becoming to fit into Sue's life and how comfortable it felt. Myles scowled, and Bobby hid a grin of his own. 'Lucy is going to be so mad she missed this!' he thought to himself.
Tara and Sue walked back into the office together, and while Tara sat in her chair and shrugged her shoulders at Myles and Bobby, Sue went across to Jack's desk and bent down to Levi.
"What are you doing over here, Levi? Moved house, huh?" Getting to her feet she called the golden retriever to heel and leant over Jack's desk, blocking Myles' and Tara's vision. Bobby, however, caught fully the wink that Sue gave he and Jack.
"Jack, could I have a word, please? Now?"
"I… I guess so. Let's use the conference room."
Sue was out of the office and across the passage into the conference room while Jack was still getting to his feet. As he left the room to follow Sue, Tara jumped up and walked over to Bobby.
"What did Sue say to Jack? We saw you looking at her," Tara demanded.
"Tara, I have absolutely no idea what's going on between them, but maybe you're right – this could change things," Bobby replied, grinning.
"You think so?" Tara looked doubtful.
Across the corridor Jack saw the conference room door was closed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he figured he was about to find out. As he opened the door and walked through he found Sue with her hand over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears and her shoulders shaking.
"Sue? What's wrong?"
Sue shook her head, and managed to calm herself down before she answered. Jack could see the amusement on her face, and began to breathe a little easier.
"Nothing's wrong, at least not with us. But poor Tara, Myles and D think we've had a big disagreement and haven't resolved the issue. Tara's idea was to get us together in here and not come out until we were friends again!"
"Oh," said Jack, turning the key in the lock of the door. "That poses a problem then."
"It does?" replied Sue, watching his eyes darken as the pupils dilated. "Jack… we can't…" her voice dropped to a husky whisper as Jack bent his dark head to hers.
"We have to do something while we're in here, or they won't believe we've… resolved matters." Jack whispered back, his eyes alight with mischief, as he lowered his head a fraction further and Sue met his mouth with hers.
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To be continued
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV – and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : G to PG-13
Thanks go to cbw; jtbwriter; beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4 and carol for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!
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JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH – VIRGINIA
0830 HOURS LOCAL – WEDNESDAY
Bud held open the glass doors for his wife as they both entered the bull-pen. Walking with Bud towards her desk, before he usually left her to go to his office, both Harriet and Bud were surprised when Mac appeared from the break room.
"Ma'am!" they called out in surprise together, and Mac looked up from drinking her coffee.
"Hello. You two want some coffee? I've just brewed some."
"Thank you, ma'am, we'll help ourselves. Ma'am what are you doing here?"
"Why, Harriet? Where should I be?" asked Mac, continuing towards her office, both officers in tow.
"You were TAD yesterday, ma'am. The Admiral had me post you on the board … I didn't realise you were back so soon."
"Oh, that… it didn't work out as planned. So, here I am, and if you'll excuse me I have a ton of work to do on the Winston case. With Sturgis gone, Bud and I are going to have our work cut out for us putting this case together. Fraternisation is not my favorite type of case, and I want to get it over with as soon as possible."
Harriet took a long look at Mac as she turned away and walked to her office, closing the door behind her.
"Harriet?" Bud spoke to his wife, who was still watching Mac's closed door. "Harriet?" Bud asked a little louder. Still no response. "Lieutenant Sims!" That got her attention! Harriet stood ramrod straight. Husband or not, Bud was her superior officer, not that he ever really pulled rank on her. However, it did come in handy to get her attention when she was off on another planet.
"Sir?" Harriet risked a look around the bull-pen and then, realising it was just she and Bud still, she relaxed sightly. "Bud!" she protested under her breath.
"I had to get your attention somehow. What's got you so fixated this time? Commander Rabb and Commander Turner are en-route to the Gulf now, so it can't be anything to do with the Colonel and the Commander."
"I'm not sure, but I think it still is. Bud, since we've known the two of them, when one of them is out of the office TAD, the other is like a bear with a sore head, and the situation doesn't improve until they're back on each other's radar."
"Metaphors; it must be Wednesday," said Bud, sighing as he went into his own office. Harriet watched him go, and then turned her gaze on Mac's door again. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Mac through the blinds. For a woman who said she had work to do, thought Harriet, Mac seemed to be spending an awful lot of time staring out of the window…
FBI HEADQUARTERS
J EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC
SAME TIME – WEDNESDAY
Sue answered her Blackberry as it vibrated in her pocket. "Hello?"
"Sue, it's Mac. Hi. I was wondering if you would like to come over to Harm's place tonight and share a girl's night in? Mattie and Jen will be there, and I'm about to ask Bud if he will babysit so that Harriet can join us." The text came up on the screen.
"That would be wonderful, but what about Harm? Will he be babysitting with Bud?"
"No. He's not actually here; he left yesterday evening for the Gulf. I'm not sure how long he's away for, but he's doing his quals while he's there, so at least he gets that out of the way at the same time."
"Oh, okay. When did he find out about that? Never mind, tell me when I see you. What time?"
"1900… er, seven?" Mac corrected herself.
"May I bring Levi?"
"Of course, honorary guest!" Mac laughed, knowing that Levi would be the solitary male presence, but given the reaction of most males to 'female bonding rituals' she doubted he'd worry too much.
"See you at seven then. What's on the menu? Can I bring anything?"
"Bring yourself and Levi, and food is on the house – everything we can eat that Harm usually bans from the premises!"
Now it was Sue's turn to laugh. She was aware of how diverse Mac and Harm's eating preferences were.
"Won't he know what you've been eating?"
"I can fumigate before he gets back," Mac replied.
"I have one question, if it's not too forward to ask," Sue spoke tentatively, aware that her friendship with Mac was still new.
"Go ahead. I'll only say 'no comment' if I don't like the question," joked Mac.
"Why are you having this at Harm's apartment?"
Mac paused, and Sue's butterflies increased ten-fold.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, that was tactless."
"Not at all. I could say it's more convenient for Mattie, so that she can be included in the party, and so not have to be up too late for school. Actually, it's so I can be close to Harm, even though he's not here. Corny, isn't it?"
"Not in the least," answered Sue honestly. "I'll ket you into a secret… oops… maybe not in the office. I'll tell you later." Jack had just walked through the door with Myles and Tara. "I have to go. I'll see you later." As Sue replaced the Blackberry back in her pocket, Jack walked over, having heard her side of the conversation.
"Hot date?" he teased, smiling. Sue grinned back, and shook her head.
"Sarah's invited me to a 'girl's night in'; movies, popcorn, and girl-talk."
Since their night together at the weekend he and Sue had not managed an opportunity to be together again. It was creating a tension between them that was not at all unpleasant, but was beginning to drive the rest of the team crazy. While Bobby was aware of the 'friendlier' side of their friendship, he had no idea of the newer 'intimacy', and he had been trying to divert the attention of Tara, Myles and Demetrius from putting the two perceived antagonists in a room together to work out their problems knowing it would probably cause more 'tension'. Little did he know!
Tara glanced across at Sue and Jack and, unable to see what they were talking about, or the expressions on their faces, she glanced across at Bobby and Myles. Pointing at her watch she mouthed the words, 'It's time.' Bobby shook his head once more, but Tara was determined to ease the tension in the room, and this was the only way she knew how. Getting up from her desk she walked across to Sue and smiled before she spoke.
"Hey, Sue, can I have a word with you, in private?" Sue looked up at Tara and nodded.
"Sure. Is there a problem, Tara?"
"Oh, no, at least I don't think so… is there, Jack?" Tara turned her attention on her colleague, who raised his hands in the air as he backed away from Sue's desk, not sure what Tara was up to.
"None that I know of. Go ahead, ladies. Sue, I need to talk to you about the school drugs report we had recently. Later?"
"Ah… sure, when I've spoken to Tara?"
"That's fine," Jack acknowledged, nodded at Myles and Bobby, and sat at his desk to carry on with his own work.
Sue followed Tara out of the office, and Levi made to follow. Jack automatically called out to the golden retriever to 'stay', without thinking about his actions, and it was the sudden silence in the room that drew his attention to his colleagues.
"What?" he asked, and then realised that Levi had come to lay beside his desk instead. "So, it's 'girl's-only' out there," he defended, reaching down to pat Levi's fur, and to hide his own small smile as he realised just how easy it was becoming to fit into Sue's life and how comfortable it felt. Myles scowled, and Bobby hid a grin of his own. 'Lucy is going to be so mad she missed this!' he thought to himself.
Tara and Sue walked back into the office together, and while Tara sat in her chair and shrugged her shoulders at Myles and Bobby, Sue went across to Jack's desk and bent down to Levi.
"What are you doing over here, Levi? Moved house, huh?" Getting to her feet she called the golden retriever to heel and leant over Jack's desk, blocking Myles' and Tara's vision. Bobby, however, caught fully the wink that Sue gave he and Jack.
"Jack, could I have a word, please? Now?"
"I… I guess so. Let's use the conference room."
Sue was out of the office and across the passage into the conference room while Jack was still getting to his feet. As he left the room to follow Sue, Tara jumped up and walked over to Bobby.
"What did Sue say to Jack? We saw you looking at her," Tara demanded.
"Tara, I have absolutely no idea what's going on between them, but maybe you're right – this could change things," Bobby replied, grinning.
"You think so?" Tara looked doubtful.
Across the corridor Jack saw the conference room door was closed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he figured he was about to find out. As he opened the door and walked through he found Sue with her hand over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears and her shoulders shaking.
"Sue? What's wrong?"
Sue shook her head, and managed to calm herself down before she answered. Jack could see the amusement on her face, and began to breathe a little easier.
"Nothing's wrong, at least not with us. But poor Tara, Myles and D think we've had a big disagreement and haven't resolved the issue. Tara's idea was to get us together in here and not come out until we were friends again!"
"Oh," said Jack, turning the key in the lock of the door. "That poses a problem then."
"It does?" replied Sue, watching his eyes darken as the pupils dilated. "Jack… we can't…" her voice dropped to a husky whisper as Jack bent his dark head to hers.
"We have to do something while we're in here, or they won't believe we've… resolved matters." Jack whispered back, his eyes alight with mischief, as he lowered his head a fraction further and Sue met his mouth with hers.
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To be continued