Okays! I am hoping this posts! Had some issue with the site posting the story.
I usually post over the app which in and out of itself is a PITA but... I like reading on it. So here goes. :)
Chapter 26 - Return
Never since leaving the academy did Harm ever believe he'd stood at attention this long. He wasn't quite sure how long Chegwidden held him there, only that his feet were beginning to hurt, his calves were cramping and his low back was protesting.
A bead of sweat trickled down from his brow and things that no longer hurt started to. His CO merely sat behind the desk, leafing through pages of the Navy Times at his leisure. "So. Mr. Rabb."
Harm suppressed a cringe. Senior officers were never called 'mister' as it was almost insulting. It was deserving, he supposed, the way he left JAG was swift in order to chase a dream that wasn't his anymore to chase. Chegwidden had reason to be upset and even more reason to punish him. They had a brief meeting a few days ago, when Harm had handed him the paperwork to change his designator back to JAG. That conversation had been palpable with a gruff 'Come back on Monday with the milrinde on your sleeve.'
And that was all. Harm couldn't have known that Mac had cautiously been hinting to her CO that Lt. Commander Rabb wanted back in. He had grown up, had seen the folly of his ways, he enjoyed the law, loved it at JAG - eventually Chegwidden caved in mostly because they needed a senior attorney as Mic was heading back to Australia in one months time. "Care to tell me why you are suddenly back on my doorstep? Was life on a carrier not all you expected it to be?"
"It was, sir. I got to prove to the Navy and myself that I can still fly, I can still hold my own and I'm damned good at it."
"So why the about face if you're so good at it? And don't tell me it was the mishap. Flyboys like yourself have come back from worse."
It wasn't the crash per se, Harm indeed had fared worse, the ramp strike was a testament to it. Back then he didn't have much to lose just needed to start over when his eyes wouldn't adjust and the misdiagnosis had him sidelined.. Back then he wasn't...in love. Although he had designs to attempt a future with Diane. But, it was nothing like this. He wasn't constantly thinking about her the way he did Mac. She wasn't in his dreams, that longing desperate desire to be with her wasn't prevalent.
This time he was really in love, really knew what it felt like to want a life with a good woman on his side. Equally exciting and terrifying, he needed to come back because it was that woman that miraculously plucked him out of the ocean. "I have come back from worse, sir but, at the risk of sounding foolish…"
"Too late…"
"JAG is where I belong. I just needed to step away for a moment to see it."
Chegwidden put down the paper and studied the younger officer. Harm still stood perfectly at attention, never wavering. "Take a seat….You scared the hell out of us, Harm and I don't know what kind of...link...you have with the Colonel but you better have thanked her."
"I did, sir. Repeatedly." And he would continue to do so for the rest of their lives if she let him.
"Good." The gruff CO noticed something different in the man sitting before him, a change that was inherently good. He seemed much more at ease, happy and he wondered if the Marine standing outside pacing was a reason for that. He wasn't stupid and realized there was something going on between the the two officers what came next was anyone's guess but, he wouldn't pry. "What really happened out there? And I don't mean the crash. Why are you back?"
Harm grinned. "You told me it was a younger man's game. I didn't believe it but it was. I never quite fit in and besides that...I like my own bed not squeezing into a rack. The catapult during maneuvers was giving me a headache and I may have developed a skin rash from the onboard water."
Chegwidden had the audacity to laugh heartily. He once commanded a ship and, like Harm found himself disliking life at sea after a while. "One does get homesick after a while."
"Even the smell on a ship began to nauseate me. And then there's one other thing…" He knew this was a topic better to be discussed with Mac so he kept it simple. "There's a woman in my life now. It's not gonna work out if I'm out there."
"Understood." Chegwidden motioned to the pile of files neatly stacked on the corner of his desk. "I won't put you on investigations yet, duty or not, you left and need to work your way up from the bottom."
Case reviews were literally one of the most boring tasks at JAG save for the budget report. In the past Harm would have protested and cringed, pawned it off on someone else but he was simply grateful. "You'll report directly to Lt. Colonel MacKenzie. Since you left she's chief of staff."
He couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Aye, sir."
"Commander, I know you're good friends but please remember that Mac is now your superior. I don't want head butting. I don't want you pushing her buttons. You're a Naval officer, act like one."
"Of course sir."
When Harm stepped out to the anteroom he was balancing the large stack of files one of which managed to slide off. He was surprised someone caught it, pleasantly surprised to find it was the Marine they were just speaking of who seemed rather glad to see him. "Lt Commander Rabb, welcome back."
He stole a glance at her silver oak leaf and smiled at her formality. "Thank you, ma'am. Glad to be back. Congratulations on your promotion."
"Thank you. Let me show you to your new office." She weaved past the bullpen leading him through the double glass door and turning right to the tiny office once occupied by Brumby. While he didn't expect to have his office back, Harm would miss being one door away from her. He would miss peeking at her through the blinds on the window that separated their office. "Unfortunately your old office is occupied but I managed to find a spot for you."
"I'm sure any accommodation will be suitable, ma'am." At least it was clean, had a window and was devoid of any odd smells that had permeated the place when Brumby had it. There was always some sort of stench no maintenance personnel could find. He also found a small plant on the windowsill, its leaves a bright green with a sprinkling of white accents. "A little welcome back gift." She said with a shrug and shut the door behind her.
Harm dropped the files on the desk and turned in the small space. It was cramped, barely fit the two guest chairs and his desk needed to be set in an odd angle but he was back. And he had a gorgeous Marine to boot. Life was good. "I missed you."
Mac rolled her eyes playfully and as Harm tried to pull her close, she put one of the chairs between them. "You saw me on Saturday. We talked on the phone all day yesterday."
"And I still missed you." He pulled the chair out of the way, reaching for Mac again. This time his arms circled her waist as he dropped the softest of kisses on her lips. "Are you happy I'm back?"
"You know I am. This place isn't the same without you." She sighed and pulled out of his embrace after another kiss because if they held on much longer she would do something stupid and this wasn't the way to hit restart. "We can't do this. Not here. We're behaving remember?"
Reluctantly, he dropped the hands that were still on her waist and took a step back. "How can I forget?" They stood there shyly staring at one another as if this were the first time they'd touched and kissed or perhaps it was that feeling of losing control that was growing between them. that made things suddenly awkward? "You don't want to behave either do you?"
"No. I want to kiss you but, Marine's don't just go around making out with sailors."
Harm grinned, clearly that statement had been challenged in the last weeks and absolutely obliterated several months prior when they did more than just kiss. But, he would behave, he promised her so and shifted conversation to something mundane. "So. You're chief of staff now. Congratulations."
"Came with the promotion." She shrugged, surprised he wasn't much more pained that she took his old job. "All of those times I criticized you, please accept my sincere apologies. Sometimes dealing with the staff is like wrangling kindergarten babies."
"Worse. At least you can put the kindergarteners on nap time and time outs. Wait until scheduling conflicts come up, those are fun."
The air around them changed and it was oddly charged. Mac shifted from side to side suddenly at a loss of what she should say. She was unable to move although everything in her told her to back away and head out - they were spending far too much time alone in a closed room. "I have to go. I don't want to but..."
"Have dinner with me on Friday." Harm said suddenly and he saw the apprehension wash off her beautiful features. She smiled at him, bright and sweet and it made his heart race to see that smile directed at him.
"Yes. Of course...I'd love to." Mac was entirely too enthusiastic but it would be their first real date.
"Good. Now get outta here, I have a rubber stamp with my name on it."
They glanced at each other for a short time, that desire to rush into his arms again was so overwhelming. Eventually, Mac turned without another word and then paused with her hand on the doorknob as a thought came to mind. "Commander, I forgot to mention something… I bought a red dress for you. Please let me know if I should wear it on Friday. Have a great day."
Harm sank into his chair and glanced out the open door, his heart hammering hard against his chest. Mac in a red dress? Sarah MacKenzie in a red dress that she'd bought for him? Grinning like an idiot, he grabbed the phone and dialed the now familiar florist. "Emily, hi it's Lt Commander Rabb again. No no, four dozen today. And please have the note say: You'll look amazing in red."
Jordan was glad that her current client liked to ramble with their eyes closed. It allowed her mind to drift elsewhere and ignore the young Ensign who kept blathering on about not fitting in with her crew. She kept on and on about the Navy, her dislike of it. The fact that her father forced her to stay in because he was a two star, the other officers that teased her because of it. "And how do you feel about that?"
She tuned out the rest, occasionally interjecting a word or two while her thoughts went to Harm. She'd fucked up royally and any designs on getting him away from the whore Marine's clutches were met with resistance. The woman had a stronger hold on him than Jordan thought possible. Infatuations were like that, she knew having dealt with several patients who had that obsession that was just short of unhealthy. "What? What was that?
Jordan wasn't listening at all but the last statement caught her interest. "Can you repeat what you just said."
The young officer opened her eyes and turned to her. She had the look of an annoyed child and she breathed out heavily as she recounted her father's latest antics. "My dad. I said he had my sister pretend to be me...even fooled the building manager into thinking it was me so that daddy could get access to my apartment. He thinks I'm screwing around with a senior officer. I'm not that stupid."
"No, you aren't… of course you aren't. Leslie, let's leave off here if it's alright with you." Jordan's heart was hammering hard, so much so that she was sure the woman could hear it thundering. She apologized vehemently for cutting the session short and then began to pace the office.
It couldn't be that easy could it? Her hands were clammy, heart beating harder and a chill ran down her spine. It was illegal and other than her little stupid stint with cough syrup, Jordan had always been the goody goody kind. Then again, it wasn't like she was looking to steal anything or cause undue harm. She was merely investigating what exactly her lover saw in another woman. Okay, maybe she was desperate but she needed to do something because that damned Marine did not belong with Harm. Why couldn't he see that?
The clarity of it call came more and more as she recalled a lengthy conversation she'd had with him over his ex, the woman that had died by a gunman's bullet to the chest. The woman that, oddly enough, looked just like that whore Marine. It was clear he was enamored with… with… what was her name? Diane Schonke, right!... She'd left a stain on his soul, a void that she believed he was trying to fill with that Marine.
Jordan could help him through that process, make him see the obsession that Sarah MacKenzie clearly was. The need to possess the woman with the face of another when she was anything but. And so she's spent most of the weekend finding old documents, news paper clippings, articles, anything on Diane Schonke. She equally found the same type of information on Sarah MacKenzie. Professionally, they both had impressive resumes in their own right each with sections that were redacted from official documentation. For Schonke, it came with her crypto job and select information few were privy to. For MacKenzie, it was much more difficult to pinpoint, a lawyer shouldn't have as much clearance as she did and yet, there it was - assignment after assignment stricken from her record. Assignments she'd been on with Harm.
"Of course." The pair were never sent anywhere without the other. Partners. She scoffed at the word that had taken another meaning since MacKenzie had her way with Harm.
Sliding coolly into her chair, Jordan reached for the phone, shaky fingers dropping the receiver twice before she took a breath to calm her nerves. An officer wouldn't do this. A doctor shouldn't do this. It was wrong. Stop! Her conscience was screaming, making her fingers tremble more as she threw open the file she'd collected with Mac's information. There was an address in Georgetown and with a quick search on the computer - she found the building manager's name.
She coughed a few times hard enough to make her voice slightly raspy as the saliva thickened at the back of her throat. Taking a few wads of tissue paper, she pressed them against the receiver further muffling her voice.
Stop this now. Let him go.
Too late, the other line was ringing, a cheery male voice greeting her at the opposite end in only three chimes. "Hello, this is Sarah MacKenzie in 201...I'm terribly sick and need to send a friend over to pick up my medication... Can you let her in?... Can't miss her, blond, dressed in Navy blues. Lt. Commander Jordan Parker is her name…Yes, thank you."
Either the man wasn't too clever or he simply didn't care because no less than an hour later Jordan had access to Mac's apartment along with a shiny new copy of the key.
A key that would begin to mock her with its shiny luster and innocuous appearance. Jordan set it at the edge of her desk when she returned to the office staring at it as if it held all the mysteries of Sarah McKenzie that she wanted to unravel.
Part of her knew she wouldn't use it. Frankly she wasn't the type of person that had the guts to do those sorts of things. Key or not, it was still breaking and entering. Her curious mind, however, wondered what she could find if there were any secrets that bound her sailor to the Marine.
Perhaps Sarah MacKenzie was a witch, weaving a spell to keep a man that did not belong to her? She actually laughed at that notion and the ridiculousness of it all.
Carefully she slid the key into her palm and then screwed it onto her key ring next to Harm's. Oh yes, she also had a copy of his which was easy enough to acquire seeing as he always left a spare in the junction box outside of his loft. Back then they were dating, it didn't seem illegal. Having a copy of Mac's had a flare of wrongdoing that was slightly exhilarating.
Jordan raised the keys which now dangled from her keychain and sighed. Why couldn't she just let it go? She should let him go. Why be so fascinated over a man that didn't want her?
Because she was convinced they wouldn't last. Convinced that Mac would eventually tear his heart to shreds because he wanted her for the wrong reasons. Jordan loved him and things would have been just fine if that whore Marine didn't mettle.
"One time." She told herself in a low tone. One time to step into Mac's apartment and one time to try and break them apart. And then she would let him go. An alarm sounded from a small digital clock at the edge of her desk prompting her to open the drawer to the left.
Inside in neat little rows were prescription bottles all filled to the top. Antidepressants and mood stabilizers which she hadn't taken in months.