Title : Where Do We Go From Here… (at last, Part III of the Trilogy!)
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG and NCIS 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. (I remembered to add NCIS to the Disclaimer – missed it for a few chapters. Sorry!)
Rating : T (I think!)
Thanks for the reviews to : jtbwriter; Radiorox; DD2; Nikki; froggy0319; anna7; Jbird7986; beegirl; JAGFANWI; Abigaile; Judy; roxy; KJFlygirl87; mayaresi; alicia; starryeyes10; skyefire; jnp; JAGJenni; laura carr; AnniGH4ever; Arian04; aserene; rosan; achaon; martini1988; Sarah; wheels04; BlueJay; chawkchic; Manda; BrittanyLS; jaggurl; DushiNoSushi; prymtns; Mey80; kchs123; Sariana of Wind; daisymh
pryrmtns
Sorry I didn't get to make you smile. The 'situation' between Bobby and Jen is something that has come out of the blue! But the more I write, the more it makes sense, and builds tension! Thank you for your comments; shows me I'm getting the characters over the way I want to. Hope you like this next chapter!
daisymh
Thank you for your comments. More to come!
MiDushiNoSushi
Hello and welcome to the story! Thank you for your comments. Definitely 'tres chaud!' on the horizon! Sue and Jack are back in the picture in this chapter. Hope you like reading it! More to come!
jtbwriter
Hiya! There's going to be a bit more angst for Jen/Bobby – but you know the way I write. Something good's going to come along eventually.
Your new job sounds very nice – nice people, lunch treats, and my stories! Whoo hoo, indeed! (Pinky luck's still holding!)
Thanks as always, and I hope you like this next chapter!
froggy0319
Much more smiling coming up! Jack and Sue are back, Harm and Mac are their usual loving and loveable selves, and even Jennifer gets to have some fun! Light at the end of the tunnel for her and Bobby eventually, but in the meantime… Hope you like this next chapter!
Mey80
Thanks for your review and wonderful comments, and to know that you picked up on the 'girls' comment! Well, they are his, aren't they? To hell and back:o) Hope you like this next chapter!
BrittanyLS
Thanks for your review and wonderful comments. I write for fun – I enjoy it – but it makes it even more enjoyable when I get to share with others, and they enjoy my writing too! Hope you like this next chapter!
starryeyes10
Thanks for your review. Hope you like this next chapter, and please keep reading!
Harm's Apartment – Early Saturday Morning
"Mac?" Harm had rolled over in the bed. When he came up empty he pushed himself up on one elbow in the space where Mac had been sleeping. "You all right?"
"I'm fine. Go on back to sleep. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay…" Harm murmured, still half asleep, and when Mac returned from yet another visit to the bathroom she smiled as she looked down at the bed. Harm had literally gone back to sleep in the space she had left, seeking her warmth even though she had left the bed.
"Hey, move on over, Sailor. I need room for three here…" Mac murmured, bending down as much as she could so she was almost eye level with Harm. When he opened one eye slowly and took in her disheveled hair and bright smile he grinned at her and rolled back enough so that she could fit herself and the bump into a comfortable space in his arms. When Harm nuzzled her neck as she settled down again she gave a husky giggle. "Keep that up and we're going to have an early wake up call here…"
"Nah, it's Saturday. Mattie's away, and we don't have visitors until this afternoon. We can sleep as long as we want, and do what we want, at least until lunchtime."
"Sleep in? You? Mr-I-Need-To-Keep-Fit-For-My-Kids–Rabb?"
"Sleep in. Me. As in Mr-I-Want-To-Make-Love-To-My-Wife-Rabb…" Harm retorted softly, and as he managed to get the words in the right order, considering he was still half asleep, Mac was quite impressed with his verbal dexterity. Of course, she was even more impressed with his manual dexterity a few moments later, and they both got to sleep in late!
When they eventually woke up Harm got out of bed to go get the morning drinks started. Coffee for him, herbal tea for Mac, with an extra dollop of honey – the nearest thing to a sugar boost he knew she could stomach – for his Honey.
"You realize I can't come to this meeting," Mac called out from the bedroom, as she was getting dressed, and Harm stuck his head around the end slat to look at her.
"Why not?"
"Technically I shouldn't even know what you're planning, but it can be termed hearsay – only you and I were privy to the conversation. If I hear any more than I know already, I would have to recuse myself from the case."
"Are you sure?"
"About recusing myself? Of course…" Mac began, but Harm shook his head.
"No. I mean about the case itself. Are you sure it's going to be on your docket?"
"It will be, when I request it. I want to take this guy down, Harm. The sooner, the better. Does that surprise you?"
"Nope. It would surprise me more if you turned it down," Harm answered honestly, and Mac smiled.
"That's why I love you, Counselor."
"Yeah. Me too!" Harm leaned in and gave Mac a swift, hard kiss before stepping back down to the kitchen and continuing with making the drinks. When Mac appeared a few minutes later he helped her up onto a stool and then went to take his own shower and get dressed. "Don't you dare move from there, Marine. I want to pamper you this morning, and so you can be reading the paper and drinking your tea while I get ready."
"Ooh, pampering! I like the sound of that!" Mac retorted, laughing, and knowing full well that today was no different – Harm always found ways to pamper her. When she took a sip of her tea while she read the morning paper, she immediately tasted the extra sweetness, and knew that this was the first of his 'treats' for the day. Hearing his voice as he sang in the shower, she glanced in that direction and gave a soft smile as she brought her attention back to the words on the paper.
"Hey, how about inviting Jack and Sue along to Annapolis tomorrow? Mattie would be pleased to see them."
"You just want to show off your Alma Mater…" Harm gave a quick grin and pointed a finger in Mac's direction.
"You keep that up, Colonel, and I'm going to have to bring you up on charges of conduct unbecoming!"
"Oho, you're pulling rank, Captain?"
"Would it do me any good?" he asked, walking down the steps from the bedroom and putting his arms around Mac from behind, leaning in to breathe in the scent that defined his beautiful wife.
"Nope," said Mac promptly, and they both laughed. After a few minutes of silence in which Harm covered Mac's lips softly with his own, a gentle kiss for no other reason than he wanted to and she welcomed it, and then Mac spoke again. "I'll ask Sue what plans they have for tomorrow."
"Good. Okay, how about a trip down to the mall today, pick up some brochures on baby stuff, and salad for lunch?" While Mac was happy to visit baby furniture stores, and look at clothes and such, she had already expressed to Harm that she didn't want to 'jinx' them and buy anything ahead of time. Even though Harriet had already purchased some items for her friends, she had respected Mac's wishes too, and the items in question were packed away until the twins' arrival. Harm understood Mac's reasoning, and he was happy to go along with her, but he did have one surprise for Mac, for when she returned to the apartment with the twins.
"Works for me!" Mac nodded. They both knew that they also had house-hunting on their agenda, and in a way they had already started; as they traveled to and from work they would usually detour around areas and pick out locations, take note of houses for sale, and generally wonder what their lives were going to be like when they eventually didbuy a house together. In the meantime, they had enough room in Harm's apartment to cater to twins and as they still had Mac's apartment to hand, that was always a back-up location until they found the house they wanted. It was a given that neither wanted to just buy a house for the sake of it. They wanted their dream house, and they would know it when they saw it. Until then…
"Ready to go?" asked Harm, bringing Mac back to Earth, and more relevant, back to his amused gaze.
"Yeah," murmured Mac, slipping off the stool and picking up her purse as they left the apartment.
Jennifer and Mattie's Apartment – Saturday Afternoon
"So, you're okay with all this, Jen?" Harm cocked an eyebrow and looked at her as Jennifer nodded her head.
"We meet up in a corner booth, I start a stink about you only wanting me while your wife is pregnant," Jennifer murmured, even as she looked in the direction of her apartment door, and Mac in the apartment beyond. "Sorry, Mac…" she muttered, and grinned at Harm. Jack noticed the byplay, and understood the bond between Harm and Mac was solid enough to withstand this 'act', and the trust Jennifer held for Harm was strong enough also for her to do as he asked, without question. Silently he hoped that his relationship with Sue could be as strong. Their bond was still 'new' in comparison to Harm and Mac's nine years, but it had strength nonetheless. Already they had faced some demons; more his than Sue's, he was the first to admit! They had conquered them, however, and moved on. With their own marriage to plan for, he smiled to himself at the thought of being with Sue for the rest of his life. Their lives.
"Something funny, Jack?" asked Harm, aware that his friend was not quite with the plan…
"Huh? Oh…yeah," Jack answered, realizing he'd been caught out day-dreaming, and reddening slightly. Harm gave him an understanding look, and then picked up the conversation with Jennifer again, including Jack this time.
"We'll need to let Gibbs know what we're up to," Harm pointed out, and Jack nodded.
"How about we get Jennifer over to our office on Monday, go through the plan with the others, so everyone is up to speed, and then clear it with the Admiral for the fraternization. Once we have all that sorted, we can go ahead with the surveillance on Torrance, to pick out his favorite watering hole. I want to bring DeAndres in too; we still need his help with this." Jack's quick run through made Harm realize that although the man's mind may have wandered a little, he was totally focused on the case, and knew exactly what he was doing, and why.
"That sounds good. Okay, folks, how about we rejoin Mac and Sue and order something to eat?"
"Lead on, gentlemen," answered Jennifer, smiling at the two men in her apartment, thinking briefly of the one man she wished had been there…
Harm's Apartment – same time
"Sarah?"
"Huh?" Mac's somewhat inelegant reply made Sue laugh, and Mac joined in with a hint of blush in her cheeks. "Sorry," she apologized, and Sue shook her head.
"No need. I guess you wish you were in on this too?"
"Yes, and no. I want to help with the investigation so much, but I also want this man to come up before me in court so I can hammer him in there. If I were to be more involved there would be no way I could hear the case. I do miss working with Harm, though…"
"He won't be allowed to represent in court, will he?" Through her friendship with Mac and Harm, Sue had picked up on a lot of legal jargon, and Mac was amazed by just how much she understood the procedures involved in Mac not being the judiciary presence in court when Harm was representing a client.
"He's more likely to be called as a witness now, working with Jen as he will be."
"It's a shame that she and Bobby won't…be working together." Sue's observation wasn't lost on Mac, and she nodded her head in silent acknowledgement.
At that moment the door to the apartment opened, and Jennifer appeared ahead of Jack and Harm, and with a shared glance both women shelved the topic.
As the case couldn't be discussed in front of Mac the conversation turned to Mattie, her visit to Annapolis, and the invitation to Jack and Sue to join the group the next day.
"Have you heard from Mattie?" asked Sue, and Mac nodded.
"It would appear she's having a great time, realizing just what she's letting herself in for, and learning lots more about Harm in the process," Mac's recap on Mattie's much longer monologue was precise and to the point, and as usual Sue didn't miss a thing.
"Learning what about Harm?" she asked, and gave Harm a guileless grin to boot, which didn't fool him for a second. Wagging his finger at Sue, and giving Mac a raised-eyebrow look, he spoke up in his defence.
"Let's just say I had a 'good' time at Annapolis, Sue," Harm murmured, and then sat back in shock as Mac regaled the group with a story from Keeter about Harm's 'good' time!
"How much did Keeter tell you exactly, Mac?"
"Well, we were with the Bedouin for a long while, Harm. We had to talk about something to pass the hours!" Mac's retort had Harm groaning, and the others leaned forward, eager to hear at least some of Mac's recollections.
"I'm going to order food while you dissect my past!" Harm got to his feet and walked across to the kitchen island to place an order. "Any preferences, Mac?" he asked, knowing Mac's appetite had developed some interesting diversions.
"Not at the moment. Whatever you get will be fine." Mac answered Harm without breaking stride in her story-telling, and Harm even rejoined the group, adding extra details here and there, and vehemently denying others! By the time the food had been delivered and duly eaten, the five of them were still talking, but none of them were in the least bit surprised that they had so many different topics for conversation. Jennifer was the first to call it a day.
"Thanks…for everything," she said, taking in the four of them as she spoke. "If you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep. Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a full day!" With a wave, and a promise to come have breakfast with Harm and Mac, Jennifer let herself out of the apartment and crossed the corridor to the apartment opposite.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Jack's question took Harm by surprise, but he smiled and nodded.
"Jen's going to be just fine. I'm sure she and Bobby will work out their problems."
"I hope so. They make a great couple, and it's a shame…" Jack paused, and Sue gave him a questioning look. "It's a shame they can't work the case together," Jack added, giving Harm and Mac, and Sue, a reassuring smile. If Harm and Mac were fooled by his amended sentence, Sue wasn't.
Jack's Apartment – Washington DC – Saturday Evening
"Okay, Jack, what's going on?"
"Hmm?" muttered Jack, not quite focused on Sue, and she came around to stand in front of him. As he looked at her, he gave her a small smile. "I see you didn't miss my little faux pas, did you?"
"You were going to say something else, weren't you? Do you know something about Bobby and Jennifer?" Sue wasn't asking for the purpose of gossip. Jack knew she was genuinely worried about Bobby, and that like himself she had come to like the young Petty Officer.
"Nothing I've heard specifically. Just the look I saw on Bobby's face one day, and the row at the party. I just wish I knew what was on his mind."
"I can understand why you didn't invite him along today, but he does have to be in on the briefing next week. Just because he's not working with Jennifer on this, he is still involved in the case."
"Of course," Jack acknowledged. What he didn't tell Sue was that he had tried to contact Bobby, but there had been no answer at his apartment, and his cell phone had been switched off. He just hoped that Bobby hadn't done anything stupid.
In the meantime…
"Enough about Bobby. He'll be in on Monday, so we'll get matters sorted then." Jack brought his arms around Sue, tugging her closer to him as he spoke. "Have I told you lately how much I love you, Miss Thomas?"
Sue pretended to consider. In the back of her mind was the thought that she knew Jack was worried about his best friend, but if he could put it to one side for now – especially for now – so could she! "Hmm," she began, and got no further as Jack gave a groan and dropped his lips to hers. While Sue gave a husky laugh initially, her response soon turned to an echoing groan as she gave in to Jack's kisses. When they surfaced for air, Jack touched a finger to her full lips.
"You were saying?" he asked, a little breathless, and Sue nodded.
"I love you too, Mr Hudson," she responded, and then all conversation ceased as they settled on the couch and went back to the kissing!
To be continued