When the notification crossed AJ Chegwidden's desk on his first morning back from Russia, he couldn't believe it. Yet, when he read the paper that was attached to it, some sense started to be made of the situation. He knew he'd have to tell the staff, well maybe not the entire staff, but he knew five people he would definitely have to tell. Reluctantly, he pressed the button on the intercom and prepared to make the announcement. "Tiner, get Rabb, MacKenzie, the Roberts and yourself in here as fast as possible."
After what he'd just gone through with Rabb and MacKenzie in Russia he knew that they would take this worse than anyone else but the news had to be delivered and he was not one to shirk the responsibility of doing that. A little over a minute later, the door to the office opened wide and the five people he'd asked to join him stood before him. After putting them at ease he jumped right into it, deciding to start with the good news first.
"As I'm sure you're by now aware, Colonel Grant was called into the field last week to perform a task which required his special talents." At the conclusion of that remark, he saw smiles come to the faces of Harm and Mac.
"In his usual fashion, the Colonel felt it necessary to play the hero and as such, he was nominated by General Clark for the Medal of Honour. The Colonel and Force Recon X managed to rescue a trapped SEAL team, a CIA Agent and a weapons engineer who was defecting from Milosevic to hand over anti-aircraft sites. Not only did he and his team rescue the above persons, the Colonel himself personally braved enemy fire, even getting wounded to save the lives of three refugees two of whom were injured and would have succumbed to malnutrition and infection, had it not been for the Colonel." The Admiral took a breath and he looked up to see his people smiling.
"The Helo was overloaded and someone had to stay behind with the chance of getting picked up later. The Colonel volunteered and as of last night, he's officially MIA and presumed dead." He saw the faces of his people sink and he decided to continue only a little farther. "After doing what the Colonel requested of me before leaving, I'm granting you all a day's leave to come to terms with this." The Admiral reached into his desk and produced the will that had been drafted the previous week.
"I've been instructed to hand you all these letters. I informed the Colonel of this tradition of SEAL Team Two and he thought it would work well for us. His will stipulates that I'm to be the guardian of his son, something the two of us talked over for a good couple of hours and he wanted you to know that, he thought that little guy will need all of us to get through this. He knew it was a very real possibility when he took the mission but it doesn't make it any easier to accept." The Admiral stopped talking and he saw the people in front of him practically in tears. It amazed him how one man could touch so many people so deeply in only ten months. On the desk were six letters, one addressed to every one of them, they each stepped forward and took their letter.
"Now, you're all on leave until 0900 tomorrow. Rabb and MacKenzie, you'll do the Medal of Honour investigation for Colonel Grant. Dismissed." The Admiral took his letter off the desk and opened the envelope that had only two letters written on the front. "AJ". He unfolded the letter and read it.
Hey Admiral!
Sorry, but you know what a horse's ass I am. It was nice to come into an office like this after all the other duty stations I've had lately. You people met me at one of the worst times in my life and you made me one of your own. You may never understand how eternally grateful I will be for that. A lot of the atmosphere of this office is due to you AJ, I know that you're the CO and you're not supposed to get too close to those under your command, but you're more than a CO to us, you're a father, brother, comrade and friend. You would go to the wall for us and we would go to the wall for you.
AJ, I've entrusted you with care of David for a number of reasons. You're a good and honourable man and you would've given him the same kind of upbringing that I would have. You're a father and you know what it entails. Harm and Mac are young yet, they need to live lives of their own before responsibility saddles them too heavily. Bud and Harriet are Newlyweds and they need to enjoy that for a while first. You may turn my son into a Squid, but some Squids; you, Harm and Bud included are the best people I know and if he turns out as half the man that any of you are, I'll be happy with him. If he becomes a Squid, make him a SEAL, AJ. It's the kind of duty he'll live up to and the adventure he'll need if he's anything like me.
Upon news of my MIA status or worse, news of my death, you're to inform Harold O'Grady of Berkley, Massachusetts and he will send you a bottle Jameson's Irish Whiskey from 1815. Drink a toast to me, AJ, that is all I ask.
Sincerely,
Colonel James Tecumseh Grant
The Admiral folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope. He'd spent a lot of years in this man's Navy, but that didn't make losing a comrade any easier; but then again, it was never supposed to be easy.
At his desk, Petty Officer Jason Tiner opened the envelope that was addressed with his first name. There were a lot of horror stories, in the military about senior officers condescending to the enlisted but that wasn't JAG HQ. Here, the senior officers were kind, understanding and almost familial.
Jason,
You're a good man, Tiner. You'll make a fine officer. Enclosed in this envelope is a notarized recommendation, complete with my signature to put you into OCS. Use it whenever you want. You've been one hell of an uncle to my son in the time I've been stationed here. Please continue to be so, he loves playing that video game with you. Continue to keep everyone in line around here.
Sincerely,
Jim Grant
Tiner pulled the OCS recommendation out of the envelope and tried to stifle tears. In less than a year, a senior officer had gotten to know him well enough to think of him as officer material and actually sign his name to a recommendation that would make him an officer. They were right, a few weeks back, when they had called each other a family.
1520 ZULU
HARM'S APARTMENT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
Harm and Mac walked in to the apartment without having said a word since the bombshell was dropped in the Admiral's office. They put their stuff down on the floor inside the door and tossed their covers onto the counter in the kitchen before taking their seats on the couch. "You want to open yours first or do you want me to open mine?" Harm asked as he held the envelope in his hand.
"Maybe you should open yours first. We could read them to each other; I mean, we're supposed to be here to comfort each other in times of crisis right?" Her tone was uncertain and her eyes full of unshed tears as they sat on the couch. Harm cracked the seal on the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside.
Hey Pal,
Looks like I'm taking the big dirt nap, but look on the bright side, at least I get my chance to hit on Marilyn Monroe, right? Harm, in the last ten months you became one of my closest friends and for that I thank you. Never more had I needed a good friend and that's what you became. I wish you all the happiness and success that life can bring you. It's amazing how sentimental a man can get when he thinks about what he wants the last thing he says to his friends to be. I expect to see you in the CNO's chair in twenty years and I won't take 'no' for an answer, ha ha ha.
David is going to need all of you if he's going to get through this. In the course of two years he will have lost two parents but he's a trooper and if you're strong for him he'll surprise you.
Harm, take care of Mac. I know you've only been dating for four months but I also know that you've loved her much longer. In this letter I'd like to enclose a little advice on what it takes to be a good husband. To be honest, there are only three words to sum up what it is and they are: Listen, Laugh and Love. Listen to her, communication is one of the most important parts of a relationship. If you hear and understand what she is telling you, you will avoid unnecessary fighting and you'll save yourself from some pain-inducing nights on the couch. Laugh with her, be happy and remember the happiest moments of your life. Marriage, well relationships in general, are supposed to be happy times in your life and only you have the power to make them that way. Love, the greatest and most powerful of all human emotions. No matter what you do in life, put love in the centre of it and you shall be successful.
In my desk at work, there's the business card of a USO representative. She wanted the Duke Boys to record this year's USO Christmas album. Do it buddy, for all the servicemen and women who won't be home at Christmas. We still are under agreement for three more shows at McMurphy's, could you play "Walking in Memphis" one time, just for me?
Your Friend,
Jim
"I can't do it, Mac. I can't keep playing, every time I'll be up on stage I'll look over and expect to see that big, stupid Irish grin and those cheesy sunglasses. I don't know what I'm going to do, the first time I look over and they're not there." He collapsed into her chest and started to sob as she wrapped her arms around him to comfort him.
"Honey, it'll be okay." Those were the only words she could get out as tears threatened to overcome her as well. The two of them sat on the couch and cried together seeking comfort in a time of so much turmoil. Mac knew that this was the last thing that Harm needed, after discovering what really happened with his father and now losing a close friend it seemed that life was destined to tear those closest to the man she loved, away from him.
"Maybe, you should open your letter?" Harm swallowed the lump in his throat and curled himself up next to her.
Hey Mac,
Never easy news to hear is it? We all know the risks when we take the job and so many of us take the job anyway. It doesn't seem like all that long ago that we first met. You were this confused and angry girl who was trying to come to terms with what life had dealt her and I was an upstart Marine trying to deal with a life in the Corps that demanded so much of me and even more of my family. Amazing what can happen in a decade huh?
Mac, the best advice I can give you is to not be ashamed of your past. You've been through a lot but don't focus on the negative, focus on the positive. You managed to survive conditions early in your life that would've driven lesser people insane. Do not hide your past but wear your survival of it as a badge of courage. You're a strong person, do not let things over which you have no control hinder you as you walk through life.
Before I went on this mission, I had Harm added as David's Godfather and as you're well aware, you're his godmother, as such you two are going to play a central role in helping that little son of mine make it through this. Harm will be able to understand what's going on with him. That's a good man you've got there, Mac. Hold on to him and the two of you will be very happy in life and I would wish nothing less for you because God knows, the two of you have earned it.
I've given something of myself to everyone I left behind at JAG. I was trying to think of what I might be able to give you. To be honest, nothing sprang to mind right off until I considered this side project I've been working on since I got to HQ. In the black filing cabinet in my office, there are several red folders containing twenty-four thorough arguments for the mitigation of sentencing of Colonel Matthew O'Hara, USMC. It won't be enough to get Matt off the hook for the theft of the Declaration but it should be enough to bring the sentence down to five additional years after time already served. Not one of the arguments contests anything about Harm's competency as defence council which I never even considered to be anything less than perfect in what was a losing case. The court date for the hearing is two weeks to the day after I left for this mission.
Semper Fi!
Jim Grant, USMC
"That's great news, he's researched your uncle's case and he's created grounds to reduce the sentence!" Harm tried to sound enthusiastic but his previous sobs stifled his voice.
"I think my uncle would've preferred to have Jim alive, than get out early." Mac responded as she wiped her eyes.
"We don't know that he's dead, all we know is that he's presumed dead." Harm brought her in for a hug.
"Never lose faith do you?" Mac asked as she sniffled.
"Nope." Harm responded.
1530 ZULU
ROBERTS APARTMENT
ROSSLYN, VIRGINIA
"Bud, what are we going to do?" Harriet had cried in the car for most of the drive home.
"I don't know what we can do, Harriet." Bud stated as headed into the kitchen.
"Bud, isn't this affecting you at all? He was more than just your partner, Bud, he was your friend and you're not allowing yourself to grieve for him." Harriet protested.
"You heard the Admiral, he's only presumed dead. I know the Colonel, unless there's a body, he's alive, Harriet." Since being made Jim's partner, Bud knew the Colonel's survival instincts were strong.
"Honey, maybe you should at least open his letter, it might help you gain some perspective." Harriet suggested, obviously worried about her husband. Bud relented and pulled the envelope from his pocket. He opened it and began to read it.
Hey Bud,
You know, in my ten months at JAG, you were the biggest surprise. In ten months I've seen you turn into one hell of a junior officer, you're a credit to the Navy. You've also been one hell of a friend, even if I can't get you to stop calling me 'sir'. Bud, you've started a family of your own and that is among the most noble and enriching enterprises known to man. From what I have witnessed, you will make a very good husband and eventually, a very good father.
Children are God's greatest gift. They are every bit as physically complex as adults but they are emotionally innocent. They bare none of the scars which haunt so many of us. My advice to you Bud, is that when you and Harriet have children, love them but allow them to live their lives. You are here to provide them with wisdom and guidance so that they might make the right decisions, not to make the decisions for them.
Give of yourself, if I have learned anything in my life, that is it. As such, my gift to you Lieutenant and what would simultaneously be my last act as a JAG was to file a request, with both my name and Admiral Chegwidden's for your accelerated promotion to the rank of full Lieutenant.
Jim
Bud looked stunned, he knew that he and the Colonel were close but he never imagined that the Colonel thought well enough of him to recommend him for an accelerated promotion. Slowly, the emotions that he'd been pushing down, were creeping to the surface. Harriet noticed the quiver in his lower lip as he lowered himself down next to her and she took him into her arms.
On the way back to the apartment, Harriet had read the letter left for her. It was one simple sentence but it meant so much to her. "Harriet, take good care of Bud." She hadn't had much contact with the Colonel but that one sentence seemed to say it all. Slowly she felt her husband reach out for her and start to grieve.
SOMEWHERE IN ALBANIA….
"That blood-soaked sleeve should throw them off, if they find it but I think by now at least we should be in Albania." Jim Grant through himself down on a hillside.
"We've been walking most of the day. It's 1715, I think that's time for a break." Angela smiled and through herself down on the hill next to him.
"You're not supposed to have a watch on you." Jim had a bewildered look on his face.
"I don't, it's this weird little thing I've been able to do in my head ever since I was a little girl. My daddy says it has something to do with being raised on a Texas ranch and just getting used to sun positions." She looked over at the exhausted man propped up on his elbows next to her.
"You've got to be kidding me, I know a female Marine back home who's got the same kind of gift. She can do it with Eastern, ZULU and local if she's out of town." Jim responded before realizing that he might have just opened himself up for questioning. "Yeah, I bet she's really causing that boyfriend of hers some trouble." He recovered.
"What's for dinner, soldier-boy?" She gave him an encouraging smack on the thigh.
"Well, I can hear a river not too far from here. So, if you'll give me a second I might be able to fix up something." Jim got up from his place and broke off the branch of a nearby tree. Taking out the bowie knife that he carried with him on this mission the fashioned a crude spear out of the branch. "Come see this, I'll show you a trick that an old Cherokee taught me back when I was a troublesome kid hiking through the Tennessee back woods." Angela practically jumped off the ground and ran over to see Jim wading into the river up to his knees.
She stifled a giggle as she watched him use the spear to draw patterns in the water. The woods were completely peaceful, there was no gunfire, there was just this rather comical scene of a Marine Colonel and his stick. Suddenly she saw the spear lunge and come up with a fish skewered on the pointed end. "Dinner a la wilderness." Jim called as he waded ashore.
He found a flat, wet rock on the river's edge and cleaned the fish and eventually he was able to produce two fillets that would be suitable sustenance for the night. "I don't suppose that you have a lighter?" He asked as he tossed the unusable parts of the fish back into the river.
Angela reached into her pocket and produced a small disposable lighter. "Always prepared, soldier-boy." She tore a sleeve off her uniform and gathered up some kindling for a fire. She piled the kindling around the uniform sleeve and lit the sleeve aflame. Jim washed off the spear and turned it into a spit to cook the fish over the fire.
"And this, my dear, is how you survive a night in the wilderness." Jim turned the spit and they watched as the fire fried the fish. "You know, I meant what I said during the mission. You really are amazing." It even sounded random when he said it in his head but still seemed like the right thing to say.
"Not bad yourself, soldier-boy. Saving refugees, walking miles upon miles with a bleeding wound and on top of it all, spearing fish for dinner." She looked across the fire at him. He'd gotten cleaned up at another stream earlier in the day. "Do you feel like Davy Crockett when you do this kind of thing?"
"What kind of thing?" If his statement had seemed random hers was certainly more so.
"Rescuing refugees, carrying on despite being shot, taking another person's life in your hands as you and she make your way through endless miles of Eastern European back country, using your survival skills to keep you and she alive and fed." She supplied as she curled up next to him.
"This is just how I was raised. While most of my friends watched Andy Griffith and Hogan's Heroes, I navigated the country around the Mississippi river." Jim wrapped an arm around her and she propped herself up against his chest.
"You're dangerous, you know that?" She whispered in his ear.
"Why's that?" He noticed how close her lips were, he felt her breath running through the rough stubble on his neck.
"Because a girl could fall for you before she knew what was happening." She replied as her lips inched even closer. Jim leaned down into her and their lips met. Each experience of this sensation was new and it had its differing effects. This time it was like slow jolt of electricity crept up Angela's spine as her fingers raked through the hair at the back of his head. When their lips parted they were both gasping for air.
"I think dinner's ready. Now that you're done with the appetizer, I mean." Jim smiled as he pulled the spear back from over the fire.
"If you're good, soldier-boy, you might even get dessert." Angela smiled coyly and ran her index finger down the bridge of his nose. The two of them ate dinner and passed the time by telling a few jokes. After finishing their dinner they got up to keep going.
"Now, that it's safe to assume, after three days of hiking, that we're in Albania, it's safe to follow this river, especially since it flows westward. I'd like to get as much walking in before 2300 as possible. That gives us…." She cut him off.
"Five hours, three minutes and thirty-seven seconds." Angela chimed in.
"Alright, let's get moving, then." The two of them set off along the side of the river toward a sun that was fast beginning to fade on the horizon. As the river began to run a little faster, Jim's mind told them that they had to be nearing some kind of agricultural land. As the night washed over the Albanian countryside salvation lingered in the distance in the form of an old barn. The two of them ran toward the barn and Jim used what strength he had left to pry open the barn door.
"Well, looks like we've got a camp for the night." Angela said as she threw herself down into a pile of loose hay that lay on the barn floor. "We should still huddle together tonight, you know, to conserve body heat." The two of them laughed as Jim collapsed on to the hay next to her.
"Have I been a good, soldier-boy?" Jim asked with a smile.
"I suppose, why?" She inquired as she turned herself toward him.
"As I recall, I was promised dessert, if I was good." Jim brought his hand up to brush her bangs back behind her ear.
"Well, let's see what the kitchen can cook up." She ran a hand up his chest and brought her lips down to his.
1610 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
2 DAYS AFTER THE M.I.A ANNOUNCEMENT
"Major MacKenzie, Lieutenant Roberts and Lieutenant Commander Rabb to see you, sir." Tiner's voice buzzed in over the intercom.
"Send them in, Tiner." The Admiral replied. Harm, Bud and Mac had spent the last two days on interviews for the Medal of Honour; Congressman Drexler had thrown his recommendation behind it and even the President was endorsing the recommendation. Mac, Harm and Bud walked into the office and came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk. "At ease, what have you got for me?"
"No shortage of witnesses, sir. All the members of Force Recon X can attest to the Colonel's action, all the members of the SEAL team can attest to watching the Colonel jump off the Helo and run headlong into enemy fire to rescue a little boy. The mother, who was also rescued by the Colonel, along with her sixteen month-old infant can attest to their rescue. But our best two witnesses are Gunnery Sergeant Johnson and Sergeant Hill." Mac was right on the ball, as usual, she had taken the lead in the investigation as well.
"Our recommendation is that Colonel Grant receive the Medal of Honour for his actions, sir." Harm added as they saw the Admiral take all in the information in with a small nod.
"There's only one problem with that, Commander, there's no one to present the medal to." The Admiral stated almost sarcastically.
"What do you mean, sir? I'm sure if you called Midshipman Grant, she would…" The Admiral silenced Mac's little tirade.
"I called Midshipman Grant. She said that she would not accept her father's medal while there was a chance that he was still alive. Jim has no brothers or sisters, both of his parents are dead, his wife died, there is quite literally no one to present the medal to." The Admiral got up from his chair.
"What about David, sir?" Harm inquired like a realization had dawned on him.
"You want the President to present the Congressional Medal of Honour to a seven year-old? You've come up with some wild ideas in your time, Rabb, but his has to top it." The Admiral looked out the window behind his desk.
"Think about it from the President's angle, sir. The young man's father committed acts to merit being awarded the highest honour possible for a soldier and may have given the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. David is a representation of that man and if he has a replica of the Marine dress uniform, the press will have a field day. That picture will be all over the papers and the President's approval rating will go through the roof. I don't think you'll have to convince the White House that it's a good idea." Harm's argument was thorough and rational but it didn't cover the issue that was most worrying the Admiral.
"What about the effect it will have on the kid, Rabb? Do you have any idea the hard time I had last night trying to explain the concept of Missing In Action to a seven year-old?" The Admiral paused for a second when he remembered who he was talking to. "Think about it, Harm, when your dad went down, would you have wanted to be standing up in front of the President, accepting a medal for the very mission that took your father from you?"
"Sir, if I may?" Bud started before the Admiral motioned for him to continue. "Well sir, in the letter Colonel Grant left me, he said that children were given to us to be guided and advised but that ultimately the decisions were supposed to be theirs. I think he would've wanted his son to make the decision, whether or not to accept the medal."
"That's very wise, Lieutenant but surely you would agree that there are times we have to act in the child's best interest." The Admiral shot back and saw Bud become hesitant to respond.
"Yes, sir, but this isn't going to cause the child any physical pain and surely the actual idea of his missing father would be more harmful than accepting a medal ever could be. If David wants to accept the medal, shouldn't we let him?" In that instant, flashes of the litigator Bud Roberts was to become, came through.
"I'll talk to him about it tonight. I know that he indeed does have a replica of the dress black uniform so that won't be a problem. On another topic, Major, when does the O'Hara sentencing appeal come before the MCA?" Admiral Chegwidden had been made aware of the appeal earlier that morning.
"Monday, sir." Mac replied with a smile on her face.
"Good, that will be all, you're dismissed." The Admiral sank back down into his chair. Tonight's talk was going to be interesting.
SOMEWHERE IN RURAL ALBANIA….
Jim awoke to the feeling that someone was kicking his foot. He looked up to see a very angry farmer standing over him. Trying to remember something from his winter of being chased through Eastern Europe by Parlovsky, he figured German might be his best bet for a language. "Ich heisse Colonel James Grant und wie heissen Sie?" I am Colonel James Grant and who are you?
"Sie sprechen Deutsch. Ich heisse Erik Rados." You speak German. I am Erik Rados
„Sprechen sie Englisch?"Do you speak English?
„ Ja, ich spreche Englisch." Erik replied
„Danke Gott! " Thank God! Jim smiled as he got up out of the hay. "My girlfriend and I got lost in the woods; can you take us to Tirana?"
"My English is, how you say, not good. But you wish to go to Tirana?" The older man asked with a caring tone in his voice.
"Yes, will you take us?" Jim shook the man's hand.
"Yes, of course, I will get my car." The man wondered off toward the farm house. Jim knelt down to stir Angie.
"What's going on, it's not time to walk again, is it?" She mumbled as she stirred out of sleep.
"No, I talked with the farmer, he's going to take us to Tirana." Jim smiled as her eyes brightened up. "Nice guy, speaks English and German." He helped her get up out of the hay. "A lot of farmers behind the old Iron Curtain, speak German because that's where they get their pesticides and farming supplies." Jim added so she'd understand.
"Why do you speak German?" She asked with an inquisitive tone.
"That's a story I'll save for when we're back in the States." Jim said as they headed toward the farm house. They saw the old man coming out of the house toward them. With clothes in his hands.
"My wife insists that you change before I take you. She does not want the car dirty. She also thinks that you want out of your uniforms." The man handed them the clothes and they went back to the barn to get changed. After getting their new duds on and making sure that they both still had their military IDs and any other necessities they ditched their uniforms in the barn.
"Looks like this little hiking and camping adventure of our is over huh, Angie?" Jim put his hand at the small of her back to guide her toward the car.
"Hey, I'd get lost in the woods with you anytime, soldier-boy." She responded and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
1510 ZULU
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Alongside Admiral Chegwidden and the other Medal recipient for the day stood David Grant in a pressed replica of the Marine dress black uniform complete with the white cover. The media had jumped on this photo op and they were all simply waiting for it. The President had began his description of the actions which had earned Colonel Grant the Medal of Honour and than he knelt down to the child and pinned the medal around his neck.
David, having been coached by Harm on the protocol for receiving the medal, snapped to attention and saluted the President. That was the moment that Harm dubbed 'the minute of a thousand shutter-bugs' as every camera in the cemetery snapped a photo of a seven year-old David Grant, in uniform, with his father's medal around his neck, saluting the President of the United States who was knelt down to his height. The President returned the salute and closed the proceedings for the day.
In talking to David about the receiving the medal, AJ Chegwidden had learned that the orders of a two-star Admiral had nothing on the temper-tantrums of a seven year-old future Marine. David had demanded that his dad would want him to get the medal and that he wanted to get it to 'keep it safe for when Daddy came home'. That had been too much for the two-star to say no to. The child had such hope that his father was the superhero that he'd always heard the Marines were and AJ vowed that once David was old enough, he'd understand exactly how big of a hero his father was and what he'd done to earn the country's highest honour.
David ran toward Harm and Mac once the ceremony was over and attached himself to Harm's leg. "Did I do good. Uncle Harm? I saluted just like you told me, did you see?"
"I saw, buddy, you did great." Harm took the child by the hand.
"Do you think daddy, would be proud of me?" David's words had caused Harm to stop and lower himself to the child's height.
"You know what, buddy, I don't think we'll ever really be able to measure how proud of you, your daddy is." Harm smiled and it caused David to smile to. Harm scooped the little guy up and he walked alongside Mac toward the parking lot.
UNITED STATES EMBASSY
TIRANA, ALBANIA
When Clayton Webb first got the call he couldn't believe it. The JAG personnel were starting to become more hassle than they were worth. Admiral Chegwidden had broken his nose ten days earlier and now he had to travel out to Albania because the Marine Colonel that everyone believed dead was alive and kicking and sitting in an embassy in a country that he had no business being in.
Webb, opened the door to the main conference room at the embassy to see Colonel Jim Grant and Lieutenant Angela Harris sitting and calmly chatting and eating lunch with the Ambassador. "Colonel, Lieutenant, nice to see that you're alive. Especially since all the evidence suggested that you were dead."
"See, that's why I'm the lawyer and you're not, Clay. You'd always be misreading the evidence." Jim stuffed the hamburger into his face and smiled.
"In any case, I guess I had better call Falls Church and inform Chegwidden that you'll be returning after your wounds are treated and you're debriefed." Clay went to open his cellphone but Jim closed it.
"Don't call ahead, I've already got my entrance in mind and I'd like it to be a surprise." Jim and Angie exchanged smiled and Clayton Webb just looked on in confusion and annoyance.
0159 ZULU
MCMURPHY'S TAVERN
WASHINGTON, D.C
THE NEXT FRIDAY
Harm, Bud and Tiner took the stage for the first time since the news of Jim's disappearance, everyone from JAG was there because they knew how tough this was going to be for these boys especially. Harriet and the Admiral sat at a table, the Admiral had David perched on his knee. Mac sat on a stool at the bar. This week had been a good one, Jim's notes and arguments had allowed her to mitigate her Uncle Matt's sentence to only an additional five years after the two years already served.
The guys had the stage set up for the night. They had decided to set up the second microphone tonight in an homage to their fallen comrade. Harm had his acoustic guitar out and on his lap as he started to speak into the microphone. A man entered the bar at the back but he went largely unnoticed, he wore a black cowboy hat, a black golf shirt and blue jeans. Harm's voice claimed the microphone as he went to introduce the set.
"This song, is for a friend of ours, he's off fighting for freedom on a different front and uh he asked us to play this for him so here it is." Harm cleared his throat and Tiner counted them in. Bud's keyboard mastered the intro and Harm's guitar caught him as they lead into the vocals.
Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded a plane
Touched down in the land of the delta blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
W.C. Handy, won't you look down over me
Yeah, I got a first class ticket
But I'm as blue as a boy can be
Then I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
The man in the cowboy hat began to weave his way through the crowd from the door and over toward the bar. He pulled up next to Mac, and looked down so that his face was hidden. Mac's attention had been drawn by the mysterious man next to her.
Saw the ghost of Elvis
On Union avenue
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland
And I watched him walk right through
Now security they did not see him
They just hovered 'round his tomb
There's a pretty little thing
Waiting for the King
Down in the jungle room
When I was walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
The man in the cowboy had drawn Harm's attention too. Being male and getting that close to Mac nowadays tended to draw Harm's attention and put your six in his crosshairs.
They've got catfish on the table
They've got gospel in the air
Reverend Green be glad to see you
When you haven't got a prayer
But boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis
The man in the cowboy hat raised his head to reveal a familiar face that automatically brought and overjoyed smile to Mac's face she wanted to scream or reach out and hug him. Jim just raised his finger to his lips and indicated for her to be quiet and act normal.
Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would –
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
And she said –
'Tell me are you a Christian child?'
And I said –
Jim whipped his hat off and turned to face the stage. "Ma'am I am, tonight!" He sang at the top of his lungs and his appearance and participation brought the action in the bar to a stop as he went up and joined the band on stage. "Well, let's keep going, these people came to see a show." Harm and Jim joined together to do the last bit of the song.
Now I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
Walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel?
Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded a plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
As the song ended the band all left their instruments and walked over and wrapped their friend in a big group hug, happy to see him again. As the hug broke, Tiner ran to grab Jim's bass from the back room.
"Back from the dead, Jim?" Harm asked with a smile.
"I live in a realm of ghosts and legends, Harm. Sometimes it just gets hard to separate the two." Jim shot back with a smile as Tiner handed him his bass.