Guest Starring: Elizabeth Rohm as Stacy Anderson
"What do you think of Bev?" Mac asked and Nate stopped washing the dishes.
"Bev is my sister and I love her dearly, why?" Nate retorted.
"What do you think of the Admiral?" Mac seemed to ignore his question.
"Having only talked to him a handful of times, he seems like a nice enough guy, kind of gruff but that's expected from a SEAL." Nate admitted.
"I think we should set them up." Mac admitted aloud.
"No, I have a very strict agreement with my sisters, I don't set them up and they don't set me up." Nate turned to face Mac.
"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure? I bet I could do it without Bev or the Admiral ever knowing." Mac boasted.
"Isn't fixing up, something that busybodies and married people do because they're bored with their own life?" Nate questioned.
"Something you're trying to say, Major?" Mac placed her hands on her hips. It would of course be that second that Nate's cellphone rang. "I'm regretting teaching you to forward calls to that thing now." Mac muttered.
"You got Nate……when?...yeah, yeah, I'll be right there……Mercy…...are you sure?...time frame……that little? I'm on my way." Nate snapped his phone closed. "That was Gavin Ahrens, the President's Chief of Staff, he just told me that Malcolm Anderson is in the hospital."
"Oh my God, what happened?" Mac raised a hand to her mouth .
"Veronica Anderson took her husband to the hospital. He was complaining of fever, headaches, he'd get chills, he's lost his appetite recently and even I've noticed that he's been more tired recently. Well, the doctors did a bone marrow biopsy along with a full slate of blood work. Apparently, he's been battling Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Because the disease comes on slow, no one saw anything until he passed out at the house this afternoon. According to the doctors, he's had it for years. They're giving him six hours to live, he's not making it through the night." Nate answered, lightly stroking his beard.
Mac knew how close Nate was to Malcolm who'd been one of his professors at Princeton. She knew that he must be going through a pretty thing right now. "Come on, I'll drive you to Mercy." Mac offered having remembered hearing him mention the hospital.
"Thanks, Mac." Nate solemnly slipped his shoes on and the two of them drove down to Mercy Hospital.
0234 ZULU
MERCY HOSPITAL
WASHINGTON, DC
Nate came running down the corridors of the hospital to see Gavin, The President, a bevy of Secret Service Agents around Veronica Anderson. "Nathan!" Veronica screeched as she threw herself into Nate's arms. "Oh God, Nathan, they say my Malcolm's going to leave me!" She cried into his shoulder. Nate closed his arms around her back.
"It's okay Ronnie, I'm here. Does Stacy know?" Nate asked softly.
"She's on a place in from New York right now." Ronnie answered with a nod.
"Nathan, Malcolm is asking to see you." The President interrupted the moment. Nate nodded and backed away from Mrs. Anderson. He walked over to Mac to whisper something to her quickly. "If you're going to stay, please help Mrs. Anderson. She's not strong like you are. I need you, Mac. Because I'm not sure I'll get through this, I need one person here who knows how to be the bedrock because I'm not sure I will be able to."
Mac nodded and the Secret Service Agents led Nate in to see Malcolm Anderson. Nate opened the door to see his mentor lying on the bed with tubes and wires running in and out of his body. "Hey kid, how's life outside that door?"
"Just like Hobbes said; nasty, brutish and short." Nate replied and the two men chuckled.
"All these years and you still remember that first lecture?" Malcolm questioned. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You always were my best student. Listen to me, Nathan and listen as well as you did all those years ago, my boy. You're the best in the game, bar none but don't let your work be your life. Let it reflect your life. You're a good man, much better than the twenty-one year-old who first walked into my classroom. While in many ways, you're still the same. The same sense of humour, the same density with the opposite sex. None of that is why I called you in here. You're strong, Nathan. Be strong for Veronica and Stacy, they'll need you." Malcolm reached out and grasped the younger man's hand.
"I will." Nate promised.
"Now, would you send Veronica back in? I may wish to die in peace but I surely do not wish to die alone." Malcolm smiled weakly and sent Nate out of the room. Nate walked out of the room slowly and with heavy breaths, he turned toward Mac with tears in his eyes, he bit his lip and nodded.
"He…uh…he wants to see you, Ronnie." Nate stuttered slightly. Mrs. Anderson lightly touched Nate's shoulder before heading into the hospital room. Once she was inside, Nate collapsed into Mac's arms. "It's never easy, Mac. It's like Preston all over again, watching someone die and knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it." He cried into her shoulder.
Mac hushed him and slowly ran her fingers over the back of his head. The two of them sat like that for well over an hour as the action around them seemed to stop. The President's staff slowly filled the corridor. After a few hours, the doctor came by and entered Malcolm's room, emerging moments later with Veronica Anderson by his side. "Time of death was 1:34 am." The Doctor stated solemnly.
"Thank you, doctor." Nate nodded and composed himself. "When's Stacy expected in?" Nate turned toward Ronnie.
"Inside the hour, Nathan. Do……do you think you could talk with her. She always was so fond of you." Ronnie Anderson asked, pleading with the young man whom her now late husband saw as a son.
"I will, absolutely, Ronnie." Nate nodded slowly. Nate was tapped on the shoulder by Gavin Ahrens only a few seconds later. Nate walked back over toward where the President, Vice President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court were standing.
"Alright, without Anderson, we have no Secretary of State. Which is bad because with the way of the world now, we definitely need a fully functioning State Department that is active in the War on Terror." President Russell started.
"For God's sake, Andrew, Malcolm's not even cold." Nate reeled back with a bad taste in his mouth.
"We need to be on top of things, Nathan, we're talking about lives that hang in the balance with every decision we make." The Vice President charged.
"The laws governing succession state that the Deputy Secretary of State takes over when a Secretary is unable to perform their duties." The Chief Justice added.
"The problem here being that since Paul Williams' car crash earlier this year, we have no Deputy Secretary either." Gavin huffed.
"Nathan?" The President turned toward Nate.
"You want me to be the Acting Secretary of State?" Nate was incredulous.
"It makes sense, Nate. No one's more qualified then you are. You've got the languages and the expertise in the Middle East which is our hot region right now. You've got massive clout with Democrats and your service in the Marine Corps gives you credibility with the Republicans. Plus, after Faraz, you've got a national profile." Gavin chirped in.
"Doesn't change the fact that I'm a Democrat and this is a Republican administration, gentlemen." Nate reminded everyone.
"Inessential. We would be governing in the national interest instead of in a partisan way." The President argued. Nate paused for a second and raised his hand to his chin.
"Only interim, we all know that I'm not ready to be the Secretary of State. I can't do this on a permanent basis." Nate admitted.
"I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Nate." Gavin commented. "Alright, we've got our Acting Secretary of State, now, when do we go on the air with the announcement?
"We don't. My condition for taking the job is based on the fact that I'm able to tell Malcolm's daughter in person first. They don't hear about it until she does." Nate interjected.
"We can't hold off much longer. The press is already here, they want to know why the President is visiting the hospital. If Stacy Anderson doesn't get here by five o'clock this morning, we have to go ahead with the announcement. Not everything can wait for his Democratic conscience." The Vice President indicated Nate.
"It's not conscience, it's called human decency. I'd ask you to understand but that would imply you were actually human." Nate jibed and the President got between them.
"Gentlemen, we should hold off until five anyway. Give the country something to wake up to, allow us to get some rest and allow the family to start grieving. We can't act too early on this but we have to leave the country with the impression that we have everything under control." The President intervened on the behalf on intelligent conversation.
"Nate!" A female voice called from the other end of the hallway. Nate turned to see the familiar face of Stacy Anderson. Stacy was a young woman in her late twenties with long flowing golden blonde hair. She ran towards Nate who collected her in his arms and let her weep. Her mother had told her the truth. That her father had died an hour earlier.
"I can't believe I didn't get to see him one last time." Stacy pouted into Nate's shoulder. Nate hushed her.
"Be grateful for the time you had together." Nate whispered into her ear. "Remember, I blamed myself for Preston's death for years. It didn't help me deal with it. We should not seek blame in death but only solace that one whom we loved now enjoys paradise." He was quoting Bev on this one.
"You really believe that?" Stacy sniffled slightly and looked up at his eyes.
"My sister's a minister, I kind of have to." Nate joked before hugging Stacy tightly again. After a few hours consoling Ronnie and Stacy, the President decided that the time had come to make the announcement. Nate walked over to Mac to update her on all that was going on. Mac nodded supportively and hugged her friend as he stepped out to face the press with the President.
"I have a statement which I would like to make at this time." The President stated, then brought his glasses up to rest on his nose. "Yesterday afternoon, Secretary of State Malcolm Anderson was brought here to Mercy Hospital to be treated for a wide range of symptoms. It was discovered later that Secretary Anderson was suffering from a sudden onset of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, which doctors estimate he had been suffering from, unknowingly for several years. Secretary Anderson died at 1:34 last night. Malcolm was an essential part of this administration and he will be dearly missed. I'm sure I speak for the entire nation when I say that our prayers are with his wife and daughter. As many of you are I'm sure aware, the State Department has been without a Deputy Secretary since earlier this year when Paul Williams was severely injured in a car accident. As a result, at 4:23 this morning, the Chief Justice swore in Nathan Ross as the Acting Secretary of State. Thank you, that is all for today." The President was whisked away form the cameras by his security detail, leaving a long line of questions in his wake.
1346 ZULU
ANDERSON HOME
GREAT FALLS, VIRGINIA
"Thank you for taking us home, Nathan. I don't want you to think you're obliged to remain here. You're a very important man now. Malcolm would be very proud of you." Ronnie cupped his cheek maternally. "I'll go make tea, dear. Would you like some?"
"Sure, Mrs. Anderson." Nate nodded.
"I'll help you, Mrs. Anderson." Mac rushed into the kitchen. This left Nate and Stacy in the family room sitting on the couch.
"She's very pretty, Mr. Secretary." Stacy toyed lightly.
"She certainly is." Nate nodded. "I can't believe I'm the Secretary of State."
"Acting Secretary." Stacy corrected. "Nate, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Stacy." Nate pursed his lips.
"Was I special?" Stacy asked. Neither of them was aware that Mac was standing around the corner.
"In every conceivable way, you were the most special. What happened between us was based on trust and a mutual admiration for each other. Don't ever doubt how special you really are to me, Stacy." Nate assured, taking her hands in his.
"What about this 'Mac' is she the one for you? The next Mrs. Ross? You seem to be fighting an attraction to her from what I've observed." Stacy commented.
"Mac is the most extraordinary person I've met in a long time. I can't help but admire her but the situation with Mac is too complicated for words right now. I can't let myself love her romantically……at least not until I'm sure of quite a few more things then I am right now." Nate reflected.
Mac was taken aback. It wasn't an admission of love, well, not quite. What was standing in the way was the same obstacle that would always be in the way. Harmon Rabb. Harm's presence was always there, preventing them from getting too close. After all, what else could Nate be talking about when he said that there were things he was unsure of?
"Four years and no one ever knew that we did." Nate reflected. "I've always felt bad for leaving it like we did after that night. You deserved so much more from me."
"I took all you could have given me. Neither of us was ready to face the world with someone else yet. You made me feel cherished and that was all I could ask from you; every time you touched me you were so loving and so caring and so tender that without needing to tell me, you showed me how much I meant to you." Stacy took his hands.
"We never really talked about it before and now we talk about it as though it's merely a memory." Nate looked up at her.
"It is, it's a very good memory but that's all it is. One night where something of ourselves got lost in the other. You went back to Washington." Stacy's voice lowered.
"And you left for New York." Nate added.
"Leaving Philadelphia somewhere in the middle." She waxed poetic. "Go home, Nate, take Mac with you, I can take care of my mom. Find your future, my dad always knew that you would be great, he was right." Stacy let go of his hands.
"He was a great man." Nate got up from the couch.
"Made greater by those around him." Stacy lightly stroked Nate's arm as he rose and let him leave the room. Nate ran into Mac on the other side of the archway between the room and the hallway.
"You want to go home? You look beat." Nate asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Mac tugged on his sleeve and the two of them left the house. Mac wondered silently if Nate was considering what she had overheard. What if was becoming a permanent fixture when it came to him anyway.
1557 ZULU
THE PENTAGON
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Harm and Mike stood with the President and his Chief of Staff in the Three Wise Men offices. "With Nathan Ross' temporary promotion, this project will be put on hiatus until his replacement is chosen and has had time to catch up with the rhythm of this office. For the next two weeks, Mr. Bradley, you will be back at Langley and Mr. Rabb you will be back under AJ Chegwidden's command. At the end of that two week period, you will return here and assume your regular duties. Is that clear?" The President asked.
"Yes, sir." The two men replied.
"Good, you may go. Take today but report at your temporary stations first thing tomorrow." The President tossed them a flippant wave and they ran off.
THE NEXT DAY
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
"Lieutenant, can you tell me where I might find Colonel MacKenzie's office, we were supposed to have lunch?" Beverly Ross addressed Harriet. Harriet had been apprised of Mac's plan for setting up the Admiral. With Tiner out for the day, Harriet was pulling double duty as the Admiral's yeoman.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, Colonel MacKenzie will be delayed in court for a few minutes. You're more then welcomed to wait in her office." Harriet pointed over toward Mac's office.
"Would there be anything for me to read while I wait, Lieutenant?" Beverly asked. There it was. Mac was right, Beverly Ross wasn't the kind to just sit idly and like her brother she was just academic enough to prefer reading to that. This was where the plan kicked in.
"Yes, ma'am the Admiral should have something in his office." Harriet directed Beverly over toward the Admiral's office. Bev knocked and the Admiral bellowed 'enter!' Bev cautiously opened the door and walked in.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Admiral. I was just waiting for Colonel MacKenzie to get out of court and I asked your yeoman if there was anything to read. She suggested that I ask you if I might borrow one of your books for the time being." Bev explained. The Admiral looked up from his desk slightly awestruck. This woman was in her late thirties or early forties. She was tall and graceful with an inherent delicacy.
"Uh……yeah, feel free." The Admiral answered and watched as the woman perused his books. Beverly Ross reached up among the top shelves to reach for a book that caught her eye. "Here, let me help you with that." The Admiral got up from behind his desk and walked over to help Beverly. Their hands met as they both reached for the book. The atmosphere crackled around them with offsets of electricity. "Plays of George Bernard Shaw? You intend on reading this while you wait for the Colonel?"
"Starting it." Beverly chuckled nervously and tucked her hair in behind her ear.
"I tend to prefer Shakespeare." The Admiral commented in a light-hearted way.
"Don't let my brother here you say that, he's nuts about Irish literature." The two of them were by now only millimetres apart.
"When God made the Irish he made them very mad. For all their wars are happy and all their songs are sad." The Admiral quipped.
"Chesterton, I'm impressed." Bev chortled. The two of them started talking and laughing together. Bev forgot all about the plays of George Bernard Shaw.
Mac came out of the elevator and walked across the bullpen into her office. She was just going to drop off a few things before heading out to lunch with Bev. She threw herself into her chair for a few seconds of relaxation before heading out when what had started out as a good day, looked like it was about to go south in a hurry.
"Hello, Sarah." A familiar accented voice greeted. Mac closed her eyes and willed away the man she knew that she would see if she looked up. "Time for lunch with an old friend or has Rabb got you on a pretty tight leash these days." The voice joked.
"Hi, Mic." Mac raised her head to face the Aussie. "What are you doing in town?" Mac was making a grasping attempt at being polite.
"I had to square up some legal dispute with Commander Turner. Seems a few Yanks got in a brawl with a few of my boys while they were on liberty in Sydney." Mic explained. "So, how about that lunch."
"Actually, I was just heading out to lunch with someone." Mac answered.
"Rabb?" Mic replied.
"No, uh, someone else." Mac was grateful that had a way out of this situation and her saving grace came when the two men who represented the Secret Service security detail for the Secretary of State began to walk into the JAG bullpen. "Nathan!" proclaimed as she walked into the bullpen and launched herself into Nate's arms, kissing him on the cheek.
"Mac, what's going on?" Nate whispered quickly.
"Just play along." She replied. "Ready for lunch?" She asked, this time at a normal volume.
"Absolutely. I never thought running the State Department was so intensive." Nate tossed a crooked smile Mac's way.
"You're the Secretary of State." Mic recovered from the initial shock.
"Yes, and who might you be?" Nate replied.
"Honey, I told you about Mic." Mac had her arm around Nate's waist.
"Ah yes, Mr. Dumby." Nate nodded in apprehension.
"Brumby." Mic replied, unamused by Nate's little diction mistake.
"Of course. Well, nice to meet you.." Nate offered his hand and Mic shook it forcefully. Not to be swayed, Nate poured all the Marine that was in him into his half of the handshake. Eventually Mic relented.
"You've done well for yourself, Sarah." Mic stated, trying to maintain some air of dignity.
"I know." Mac shamelessly brought her hand up to Nate's chest. Mic skulked off toward the elevator. "How badly do I owe you for that?" Mac whispered quietly.
"I think a few massages should cover it." Nate replied, trying to hide the devilish smile that was peeking up on his face.
"You don't come cheap." Mac joked as the two of them headed over toward Harriet.
"I'm the Secretary of State, a high maintenance boy-toy, my rates have to be higher." Nate joked as they approached Harriet.
"Ma'am, Ms. Ross is in with the Admiral, she went in to get a book but that was almost a half hour ago?" Harriet and Mac exchanged knowing smiles and winks.
"Ms. Ross?" Nate questioned aloud. Mac merely walked toward the Admiral's office. "Mac, what are you planning?" Nate called after her and chased after her toward the Admiral's office. Mac noticed the door was open and poked her head into the Admiral's office to find the Admiral and Beverly Ross in the midst of a quick kiss.
"Sorry, I'm interrupting, sir." Mac said, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Bev and the Admiral broke away quickly.
"Mac, I just came in here to get a book and…" Bev started. "Never mind, are we going to lunch now?"
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Bev. When Admiral Morris gets going, you can't shut him down if you try." Mac explained with a light chuckle.
"That's perfectly fine, Mac." Bev got up and walked toward the door.
"Admiral, sir, if you'd like to join us?" Mac invited.
"No, Colonel, that's fine, I wouldn't want to be a third wheel." The Admiral quickly answered.
"You wouldn't be." Nate pushed the door open wider so that he could step out from behind it.
"Afternoon, Mr. Secretary." The Admiral offered, seeing Nate standing in the doorway.
"AJ, come along for lunch because if you don't, I'll never hear the end of it. So, I'm begging you, please spare me my sanity." Nate cajoled.
"Alright, I'm in." The Admiral headed over to the door and out to lunch with Beverly, Mac, Nate and his security detail.
When Harm stepped into JAG that day, the rumours were swirling about the incident at lunch. Harm being Harm, got curious even though he tried to dismiss what he was hearing as being mere scuttlebutt. Her figured he should probably check in with Sturgis anyway.
"Hey buddy, I'm hearing some weird rumours over the grapevine. Someone said that Mic Brumby was in here and something about Mac kissing Nate?" Harm had to chuckle a little as he sat down in Sturgis' office.
"Well, Brumby was in here earlier. I now understand why you weren't particularly fond of him, the man is annoying as all hell. Yeah, I think he tried to take Mac out but then the Secretary of State showed up and Mac played him up as her boyfriend in an attempt to get Brumby to shove off. At least that's what it looked like to me." Sturgis replied, believing that his friend had earned the truth.
"What happened after that?" Harm inquired.
"Mac, Nate, the Admiral and this woman Mac was trying to set up with the Admiral, all went out to lunch." Sturgis answered.
"Mac is trying to set up the Admiral? Talk about playing with fire." Harm laughed.
"You don't mind that Mac played up Nate as her boyfriend." Sturgis was slightly puzzled.
"To get rid of Brumby, she could play up Nate as my boyfriend." Harm joked and got up out of Sturgis' office.
1503 ZULU
BETHESDA NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
"Alright, Mr. Secretary, you're making progress. Why don't you rest for a few moments while I go and get the ball for our next exercise?" The nurse was way too cheery for 10am on a Saturday morning. Nate was in the middle of the Physical Therapy to get his knee back into working order. He threw himself down on the hard blue gym mat on the ground next to another man who seemed to be going through similar experiences with the PT staff.
"You're him, aren't you, sir?" The Hispanic man asked.
"I'm who, Marine?" Nate asked, noticing the USMC t-shirt.
"The Secretary of State, sir." The Marine offered his answer.
"Nathan Ross, and who would you be?" Nate shook the Marine's hand.
"Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez, sir." Gunny replied.
"What happened to your knee, Gunny?" Nate asked point at the brace on Gunny's.
"It looks like the same injury as you, sir. I got mine by being tossed from humvee after a mine exploded on a road a few miles north of Kabul." Gunny explained, wincing slightly as he extended his leg. "How'd you screw up your knee?"
"Protecting a Marine." Nate answered.
"In combat?" Gunny asked.
"A drive-by shooting outside of a Washington theatre." Nate explained. "I landed on the knee wrong. Tore the ACL."
"I landed wrong too, tore the same ligament." Gunny started to gently rub his leg. "Not as young as I used to be."
"None of us are." Nate chuckled.
"Going back to an old duty station of mine for a while until my knee's healed up. Doctors say it could be a year before I can go back to an infantry unit." Gunny leaned back on his elbows.
"From what I remember of my days with the 1st MEF during the Gulf, an infantry unit isn't a place I would be too all-fired to head back to." Nate yawned.
"You were a Marine, sir?" Gunny was taken by surprise.
"An officer in the Sniper Corps, Gunny." Nate nodded and the Gunny smiled.
"Good to know that there's someone running the store with a little Semper Fi in them, sir." Gunny chuckled.
"You wanna grab a beer after PT, Gunny?" Nate asked.
"I'd be a fool to turn down a beer with the Secretary of State, sir." Gunny answered.
"You're right, you would be a fool. But you'd still be a Marine so God would forgive you anyway." Nate replied and the two men shared a laugh before having to continue on with their PT.