A/N: Thanks for all the reviews -- please keep them coming! It's exciting
to hear what everyone has to say, and it gives me confidence that I'm on
the right track. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own JAG or any of its characters, and unfortunately never will.
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Friday; 1405 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
All the papers sitting on Admiral Chegwidden's desk were starting to give him a headache. One of the things he liked least about his job was the amount of bureaucratic red-tape he had to deal with on a regular basis. Most of the time he could pass the grunt work off onto Petty Officer Coates, but inevitably something would come up that required the personal attention of the Judge Advocate General himself. Although there were definite perks that came with the rank of Rear Admiral, on days like this, he sometimes wished he were still a SEAL.
Leaning forward onto his elbows, he pressed two fingers to his temples before snaking one hand toward the phone. He was about to page Coates when the intercom preemptively buzzed beneath his fingers.
"Excuse me, Admiral," her voice crackled through the speaker. "Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie are requesting an audience with you, sir."
"Fine, send them in. And Coates," he added, "bring me some aspirin, please."
"Aye, sir."
The door to his office swung open as Harm and Mac entered, Jennifer following closely behind. Judging by the uncertain look exchanged between his senior attorneys as they approached his desk, Chegwidden figured they had caught his last remark to his yeoman.
"Here you go, sir." Handing him the requested medication, Jennifer waited for his dismissal before turning to leave. She scurried out of the room and closed the door quietly. Tossing the pills into his mouth, the Admiral quickly swallowed them dry. Then he leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, and looked up at the two officers expectantly as they stood at attention before him.
"At ease."
Relaxing only marginally, Harm and Mac again looked at each other. They had agreed that Mac would do the talking, but she found herself frozen now that the time had come. The room remained silent for a few moments.
"You two wanted to see me about something?" their commanding officer prompted.
"Yes, sir." Mac looked over at Harm, but didn't continue further. Another minute passed before the Admiral's already strained patience began to wane.
"Well, Colonel? Sometime today would be appreciated."
"Sorry, sir," she apologized as she returned her gaze to his. "Permission to speak freely?"
"By all means."
Taking a deep breath, Mac came right to the point. "I don't know exactly how to tell you this, sir, so I'm just going to say it: I'm pregnant."
The Admiral blinked, momentarily speechless. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, sir. My doctor confirmed it yesterday morning."
A grin spread across his face. "Then I guess congratulations are in order, Colonel." As he stood to reach across the desk and shake her hand, he could not help but notice Mac's fleeting glance over at Harm. "When are you due?"
"Late March, sir." Mac beamed as he settled back into his chair. "I'm almost six weeks along."
Nodding, Chegwidden eyed her thoughtfully. *Pregnancy agrees with her,* he thought to himself. *She looks happier than I've seen her in a long time.* His gaze drifted over to Harm's awkward smile. *Rabb, on the other hand, looks nervous as hell. . . wait a minute. If the sole purpose of this meeting is to inform me of Colonel MacKenzie's condition, how is Rabb involved? Unless--*
"Commander, is there something I should know?" The abrupt change in his voice had both officers inwardly cringing. Harm swallowed uneasily.
"Actually, Admiral, there is." Squaring his shoulders, he met Chegwidden's gaze directly. "The baby is mine, sir."
Despite his outwardly stern demeanor, A.J. was in fact quite delighted that his two colleagues had finally stepped beyond the boundaries of friendship. He, like others at JAG, felt that Rabb and MacKenzie made a good team personally as well as professionally. However, as their commanding officer and mentor, he knew that his personal opinions were of little importance in the matter. Narrowing his eyes at them, he cleared his throat meaningfully.
"I see. And how exactly do you expect me to react to this news?"
"Well, sir, we had hoped you'd be happy for us," Harm said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Happy for you?" Mac's gaze flew from Harm to the Admiral, who suddenly looked ready to explode. His voice rose. "You expect me to be *happy* for you? To my knowledge you're still in the same chain-of-command, so be grateful that I don't bring you up on fraternization charges. As it is, I'm half-tempted to transfer BOTH of your sixes to the Aleutian Islands!"
"Sir, I--"
"But I won't," Chegwidden continued, ignoring Harm's interruption. "Because as much as it would please me to do so, I'd be losing two of the finest attorneys I have on my staff." He glared at both of them. "Have you informed anyone else yet?"
"No, sir," Mac interjected. "We'd like to hold off the public announcement until I'm past the first trimester."
"Good," he muttered. "That'll give me time to figure out how to handle this mess. Now, if you don't mind, I have paperwork to finish. Dismissed." He picked up a piece of paper from his desktop and looked at it intently. The discussion was over.
"Aye, aye, sir."
Each of them executing an about-face, Harm followed Mac out of the office. Glancing up at them as they left, Chegwidden waited until the door had latched shut before letting out a low chuckle.
"I wonder what brought them to their senses? It's about time," he smiled aloud into the empty room.
* * * * * * * * * *
Closing the door leading into the anteroom outside the Admiral's office, Harm turned to Mac. "I think that went well."
"Yeah, he only *threatened* to send us TDY to Alaska," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him. They strode out into the bullpen.
"Alaska might not be so bad."
"If you're a polar bear, maybe. I'd say we got off lucky."
"Lucky? Did you see the expression on his face?"
"I saw it."
"Mac--" He suddenly realized that the middle of JAG Ops was probably not the best place to be having this conversation. Grabbing her gently by the arm, he drew her into her office, shutting the door heavily behind them.
"All I'm saying is that. . ." Harm's voice trailed off as he took a good look at his partner. Rubbing her hand under her ribcage, Mac's features had suddenly gone pale. "Are you all right?"
"Just a little queasy is all. It'll pass."
Gingerly, he sat her down in one of the chairs facing the desk. "Do you want me to get you something?"
"No, I'll be okay."
From outside in the bullpen, Harriet watched as Harm sat down opposite Mac. She had witnessed the bizarre dialogue between them as they'd crossed the bullpen, and had seen Mac's subsequently submissive behavior once they'd reached her office. After a few moments, Harriet became conscious of Harm's gaze on hers. Turning back to her computer, she mulled over what she had just seen. So far, everything she had seen over the last few weeks had further strengthened her conviction that the Commander and Colonel had changed their relationship. Her only question: what kind of change had they made?
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To be continued . . .
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Disclaimer: I don't own JAG or any of its characters, and unfortunately never will.
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Friday; 1405 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
All the papers sitting on Admiral Chegwidden's desk were starting to give him a headache. One of the things he liked least about his job was the amount of bureaucratic red-tape he had to deal with on a regular basis. Most of the time he could pass the grunt work off onto Petty Officer Coates, but inevitably something would come up that required the personal attention of the Judge Advocate General himself. Although there were definite perks that came with the rank of Rear Admiral, on days like this, he sometimes wished he were still a SEAL.
Leaning forward onto his elbows, he pressed two fingers to his temples before snaking one hand toward the phone. He was about to page Coates when the intercom preemptively buzzed beneath his fingers.
"Excuse me, Admiral," her voice crackled through the speaker. "Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie are requesting an audience with you, sir."
"Fine, send them in. And Coates," he added, "bring me some aspirin, please."
"Aye, sir."
The door to his office swung open as Harm and Mac entered, Jennifer following closely behind. Judging by the uncertain look exchanged between his senior attorneys as they approached his desk, Chegwidden figured they had caught his last remark to his yeoman.
"Here you go, sir." Handing him the requested medication, Jennifer waited for his dismissal before turning to leave. She scurried out of the room and closed the door quietly. Tossing the pills into his mouth, the Admiral quickly swallowed them dry. Then he leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, and looked up at the two officers expectantly as they stood at attention before him.
"At ease."
Relaxing only marginally, Harm and Mac again looked at each other. They had agreed that Mac would do the talking, but she found herself frozen now that the time had come. The room remained silent for a few moments.
"You two wanted to see me about something?" their commanding officer prompted.
"Yes, sir." Mac looked over at Harm, but didn't continue further. Another minute passed before the Admiral's already strained patience began to wane.
"Well, Colonel? Sometime today would be appreciated."
"Sorry, sir," she apologized as she returned her gaze to his. "Permission to speak freely?"
"By all means."
Taking a deep breath, Mac came right to the point. "I don't know exactly how to tell you this, sir, so I'm just going to say it: I'm pregnant."
The Admiral blinked, momentarily speechless. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, sir. My doctor confirmed it yesterday morning."
A grin spread across his face. "Then I guess congratulations are in order, Colonel." As he stood to reach across the desk and shake her hand, he could not help but notice Mac's fleeting glance over at Harm. "When are you due?"
"Late March, sir." Mac beamed as he settled back into his chair. "I'm almost six weeks along."
Nodding, Chegwidden eyed her thoughtfully. *Pregnancy agrees with her,* he thought to himself. *She looks happier than I've seen her in a long time.* His gaze drifted over to Harm's awkward smile. *Rabb, on the other hand, looks nervous as hell. . . wait a minute. If the sole purpose of this meeting is to inform me of Colonel MacKenzie's condition, how is Rabb involved? Unless--*
"Commander, is there something I should know?" The abrupt change in his voice had both officers inwardly cringing. Harm swallowed uneasily.
"Actually, Admiral, there is." Squaring his shoulders, he met Chegwidden's gaze directly. "The baby is mine, sir."
Despite his outwardly stern demeanor, A.J. was in fact quite delighted that his two colleagues had finally stepped beyond the boundaries of friendship. He, like others at JAG, felt that Rabb and MacKenzie made a good team personally as well as professionally. However, as their commanding officer and mentor, he knew that his personal opinions were of little importance in the matter. Narrowing his eyes at them, he cleared his throat meaningfully.
"I see. And how exactly do you expect me to react to this news?"
"Well, sir, we had hoped you'd be happy for us," Harm said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Happy for you?" Mac's gaze flew from Harm to the Admiral, who suddenly looked ready to explode. His voice rose. "You expect me to be *happy* for you? To my knowledge you're still in the same chain-of-command, so be grateful that I don't bring you up on fraternization charges. As it is, I'm half-tempted to transfer BOTH of your sixes to the Aleutian Islands!"
"Sir, I--"
"But I won't," Chegwidden continued, ignoring Harm's interruption. "Because as much as it would please me to do so, I'd be losing two of the finest attorneys I have on my staff." He glared at both of them. "Have you informed anyone else yet?"
"No, sir," Mac interjected. "We'd like to hold off the public announcement until I'm past the first trimester."
"Good," he muttered. "That'll give me time to figure out how to handle this mess. Now, if you don't mind, I have paperwork to finish. Dismissed." He picked up a piece of paper from his desktop and looked at it intently. The discussion was over.
"Aye, aye, sir."
Each of them executing an about-face, Harm followed Mac out of the office. Glancing up at them as they left, Chegwidden waited until the door had latched shut before letting out a low chuckle.
"I wonder what brought them to their senses? It's about time," he smiled aloud into the empty room.
* * * * * * * * * *
Closing the door leading into the anteroom outside the Admiral's office, Harm turned to Mac. "I think that went well."
"Yeah, he only *threatened* to send us TDY to Alaska," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him. They strode out into the bullpen.
"Alaska might not be so bad."
"If you're a polar bear, maybe. I'd say we got off lucky."
"Lucky? Did you see the expression on his face?"
"I saw it."
"Mac--" He suddenly realized that the middle of JAG Ops was probably not the best place to be having this conversation. Grabbing her gently by the arm, he drew her into her office, shutting the door heavily behind them.
"All I'm saying is that. . ." Harm's voice trailed off as he took a good look at his partner. Rubbing her hand under her ribcage, Mac's features had suddenly gone pale. "Are you all right?"
"Just a little queasy is all. It'll pass."
Gingerly, he sat her down in one of the chairs facing the desk. "Do you want me to get you something?"
"No, I'll be okay."
From outside in the bullpen, Harriet watched as Harm sat down opposite Mac. She had witnessed the bizarre dialogue between them as they'd crossed the bullpen, and had seen Mac's subsequently submissive behavior once they'd reached her office. After a few moments, Harriet became conscious of Harm's gaze on hers. Turning back to her computer, she mulled over what she had just seen. So far, everything she had seen over the last few weeks had further strengthened her conviction that the Commander and Colonel had changed their relationship. Her only question: what kind of change had they made?
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
To be continued . . .
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