To Hell and Back

by byrhthelm

A favour refused and a chance meeting with an old and dear friend turns Harmon Rabb's world on its head.

9. Chapter 9

To Hell and Back

Chapter 9

After a quick lunch of a bowl of noodles spiced up with a dash of tabasco sauce, Harm set to work on ripping out the door that led from the second apartment to the hallway, while Beth, following the instructions on the bag, mixed a bucket full of mortar ready for the bricklaying that had to be completed before any thought could be given to finishing work for the day, or even to dinner.

The demolition didn't take long, but the bricking up over the resultant hole took appreciably longer as bricks had to be cut in half to fit at the end of each row of bricks in order to achieve what Harm called a 'simple stretcher bond'. But at last the gap was bricked over, although not without some anxious glances at the level of mortar in the bucket as Harm finished off the last couple of rows of bricks, and Harm and Beth could turn their attention to cleaning up the debris, cleaning themselves up and thoughts of dinner.

It was while Harm was in the shower that inspiration struck. Hurriedly shaving – and praying that he wouldn't cut himself – he scrambled into a pair of pants and an Oxford shirt, and almost raced through to Mattie's bedroom where he knew Beth would be getting dressed after her shower and tapped on the door, "Man on deck!" he called out.

"Come ahead, I'm decent!" Beth replied

harm cracked the door and breathed a relieved but silent sigh as he saw that Beth, sitting on the end of Mattie's bed while she fiddled her feet into her shoes, had chosen a blouse and slacks rather than a t-shirt and jeans, as her choice of clothes made it more likely that she would accept his idea, which if she felt she had to change her clothes would have been more problematical.

"Is there something wrong?" Beth asked, the beginnings of a frown on her forehead

"Uh… no… why… should there be?" Harm asked in some confusion.

Beth stood, "Well… you've been stood there in the doorway for so long that I was sure there was something wrong. If we'd just eaten, I'd have had to ask if I had spinach or something stuck to my teeth!"

"Ah… no… Nothing wrong… and it was about dinner I wanted to speak… uh… ask you something…"

"Well, go ahead!" Beth said, the beginning of a grin twitching the corner of her mouth as Harm seemed to be floundering, an comparatively rare experience in the petite RIO's dealings with the normally cocksure aviator turned attorney.

"Well… here's the thing… I figure I've done enough work for today, and achieved a pretty good result, so partly as a reward for that result and partly because I don't feel much like cooking… I was wondering if maybe you and I could go out for dinner… I mean somewhere local, so we wouldn't have to change again…"

"Like on a date?" Beth asked with a grin.

Harm gulped nervously and nodded, "Yeah, like on a date… we did say that we'd start dating at some time, and as Mattie's not around this evening, and we wouldn't have to go far, there's some pretty good places to eat down on H Street and…"

"Harm! Harm! Stop! Breathe!" Beth chuckled. "Yes, I'd like to go on a date with you! Did you have anywhere particular in mind?"

Harm nodded, "Yeah, there's a French place – Le Grenier – down on H and they have a pretty good sea-food menu… it's all traditional French cooking, a family run place…"

"Sounds good… but won't we have to have a reservation, especially on a Saturday night?"

"That could be a problem, but if it is there are other places on H, the Ethiopic for a start, and the beauty of it they are all no more than five, maybe ten minutes' walk away…"

Beth grinned again, "Okay, you've sold me on the idea… What time did you want to go?"

"Um… how about now? That would give us plenty of time to enjoy the evening and I would want to be back by ten… for Mattie."

"Yes, of course! I'll just grab my coat!" Beth said and then as she passed Harm in the doorway, she sopped, turned and standing on her tip toes, reached up and dropped a kiss on his cheek!

"Uh… what was that for?" Harm asked in pleased surprise.

"Later!" Beth flung over her shoulder as she headed for the row of coat pegs by the apartment door, leaving Harm to wonder if she meant that an explanation would come later, or if it was the kiss that was a hint of what was to come later.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

True to Beth's concerns when they had arrived at the restaurant they were greeted by the maître d'hôtel who had looked dismayed when she heard that they didn't have a reservation, and had started to explain that the restaurant was fully booked for the evening, only to be interrupted by a grinning waiter who had muttered something into her ear. The effect was magical, the maître d'hôtel turned back to Harm and Beth and with a huge, and somewhat relieved, smile said, "You are very lucky, sir! We've just received a cancellation! And we can now fit you in, if you don't mind waiting ten, maybe fifteen minutes?" she indicated some rather comfortable looking seats set to one side and shielded from the door by a planter containing pampas grass.

"Quite happy to wait!" Harm agreed.

"And can the sommelier get you anything to drink while you're waiting?" the maître d'hôtel asked.

"Oh… Beth?"

"Yes… a Blue Tarantula, if you have one?"

"Of course! And you, sir?" she turned to Ham.

"A bourbon, on the rocks, please. Wild Turkey, if possible."

"Certainly, 'Fredo will bring your drinks on a minute."

The wait stretched to nearly twenty minutes and although Harm had been growing a little restive, he was swiftly comforted by the apology that was offered as well as by the courteous, friendly and above all efficient service he and Beth encountered. The service was more than matched by the food, they shared a large bowl of moules mariniere together with a green salad and freshly baked baguette, which Beth followed by trout meunière in a brown butter, lemon and caper sauce, accompanied by sauté potatoes, while Harm contented himself with plain grilled lemon sole with scallop potatoes au gratin and on the sommelier's recommendation, the two of them shared a bottle of Condes de Albarei Spanish Albariño wine.

Despite the cold, dreary rain that was falling "sicim gibi yağmur yağyor", in Beth's words, ["it's raining ropes"], both she and Harm were laughing as they rushed to get home. Beth because she was enjoying snuggling in to Harm's warmth as they strode briskly along the sidewalk, and Harm because he was relishing the feel of his arm around Beth's waist. Furthermore, neither were in the mood to allow a little rain to spoil what both separately considered to have been an excellent evening. By the time they returned to the apartment Beth's hair was plastered to her head and the water was running in rivulets from the hem of her coat. Harm's jacket was soaked through and his shoes squelched as he walked. Beth took one look at their reflection in the three quarter length mirror next to the door, and burst into a peal of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Harm demanded, even as his own grin blossomed.

"Gods above! Just look at us!" Beth gasped through her laughter, "Drowned rats aren't even in the race!"

"True," chuckled Harm, as he toed his shoes off, "Wait there." he instructed as now in his socks – also soaking wet – he helped Beth out of her coat and carefully draped it over one of the kitchen stools. "I'll hang our clothes up in the bathroom in a minute or two, but first…" he sat on the edge of one of the chairs and peeled his socks off his feet, and then barefoot crossed to the bedroom, returning with four huge towels in his hands.

"Here," he passed to of the towels to Beth, "Go, get dry and change into something dry, and I'll make some hot chocolate as soon as I've done the same!"

Still laughing, Beth took the two of the office towels and beat a hasty, giggling retreat to Mattie's room while Harm, shaking his head indulgently retreated to the sanctuary of his own bedroom, emerging five minutes later in a pair of old tracksuit bottoms with a faded 'Navy' printed down the right thigh, and a sweat shirt, a recent present from Mattie, emblazoned with the legend 'DADD – Dads Against Daughters Dating'.

Beth was only a few minutes behind him, having opted for a faded pair of jeans and a crimson crew neck sweater, but although now in dry clothes, she was still vigorously towelling her hair dry. Seeing Harm's smile she shook her head and said ruefully, "This is going to look like a complete mess in the morning!"

"Never going to happen!" Harm smiled, "Beth, you couldn't look a mess if you tried!"

""Why, Mister Rabb, I do believe, I really believe you're flirting with me!" Beth replied, deliberately broadening her southern accent so that she sounded like Hannah Harper from the old John Wayne movie.

"Well, I do believe you're right!" Harm smiled as he held out a hand to her.

Without thinking Beth took the offered hand and allowed Harm to draw her towards him and the couch, and once sitting, she just as unthinkingly allowed herself to rest her head on Harm's chest while he looped his arm around her shoulder.

Beth let out a deep sigh as she snuggled in as close as she could get.

"What was that all about?" Harm asked her softly.

"Oh… just a sigh of contentment…" Beth said dreamily, craning her head so that she could see Harm's eyes.

The upturned face, so near to his sparked a reaction in Harm and he instinctively dropped his head towards Beth, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss, and then realising what he had done, and fearing that he had overstepped a mark, he was about to draw back and apologise when Beth's hand snaked around to the back of his neck, holding him captive while she determinedly but just as gently returned the kiss.

They spent the next twenty minutes using lips and tongues to discover the taste and feel of each other, but were finally forced to break apart in red-faced confusion as the door to the apartment opened framing Mattie, who immediately took in the situation and then turning nearly as red as Harm muttered, "Oh God! Good night!" and fled to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

Harm looked at Beth, somewhat self-consciously, to see that the irrepressible RIO was on the verge of open laughter.

"We've probably scarred her for life, and you're laughing?" Harm demanded incredulously.

Beth giggled and sat up, straightening her sweater as she did, "I think we just took her by surprise. But maybe we do need to talk about this with her, so if you finally want to get around to making that promised mug of hot chocolate, I'll go drag her out of the bedroom."

"Are you sure she'll come out without a fight?" Harm asked.

Thinking back to the conversation that she had with Mattie that morning – was it really only the same morning? – Beth smiled and nodded, "I reckon," she said confidently.

The debate however, was rendered academic as Mattie's voice floated through the archway, "Are you two decent?"

Harm looked at Beth, who chuckled again, "Yes, come ahead Mattie!"

The teenager cautiously poked her head around the corner of the room and seeing that Harm and a very much tousle-haired Beth had resumed a vertical position, advanced into the room, an accusatory gleam in her eye, a grin on her face and Beth's slacks and blouse in her hand. "I found these, soaking wet, on my bedroom chair. Just what the heck have you two been up to?"

Harm drew a breath and took the plunge, "Nothing reprehensible, Mattie," he declared, and deliberately ignoring the sceptical look on the teenager's face, continued, "It's just that after I finished bricking up the doorway, neither of us felt much like cooking, so we went out for dinner. We walked down to H Street, and while we were in the restaurant it started to rain. We got a little bit wet walking home."

Mattie dropped into one of the armchairs, ignoring Beth's wet clothes which were now crumpled in a ball on her lap, "You guys went out to dinner? As friends? Or, considering the display you were putting on when I got home, you went out on a date?"

"Oh, definitely a date," a grinning Beth answered Mattie's question, but with her eyes fixed on Harm's face, "I even let him pay for it all!"

Mattie's grin was even wider than Beth's, "Oh wow, you've actually started dating! That is so cool… But, guys, it's okay me hearing that you're dating, but seeing you making out like that, well... that's kinda not in the top half of my bucket list!"

Beth just shook her head and reaching up planted another soft kiss on Harm's cheek, "get used to it, short stuff, because I have a sneaky feeling that there's going to be a substantial amount of making out for the foreseeable future!"

"Traumatised, that's what I'll be," Mattie said mournfully, but the gleam in her eye and the grin on her face belied her claim and the sole result of her pronouncement was a shout of laughter from the two adults on the couch, who still had their arms around each other.

While the last ripples of laughter subsided, Harm reluctantly disengaged himself from Beth and got to his feet, "Beth and I are going to have a mug of chocolate, can I fix you one?"

"Oh, yes please!" Mattie answered.

"And you can give me those," Beth nodded at the wet ball of cloth that Mattie was still holding, "and I'll go hang them on the airer in the bathroom…"

"Don't forget your coat!" Harm recommended from behind the kitchen counter, where he was pouring milk into a pan.

Ten minutes later, each cuddling a mug of hot, sweet chocolate in their hands and with a decorous twelve inches between Harm and Beth on the couch, Mattie twinkled across the occasional table at them, "So?"

"So what?" Harm asked.

"So, how was it?" Mattie asked and then as her brain caught up with her mouth she blushed furiously and hastily added, "The dinner I mean!"

"Ah, I thought that's what you meant," Beth murmured just loud enough for the teenager to hear and so deepen her confusion.

Harm sent Beth a reproving look, "It was a very good dinner! It was a very good restaurant, the wine was good, the food was good, the servers were good, the company was…"

"Good?" Mattie suggested with a slightly too innocent and slightly too helpful air.

But to her surprise Harm shook his head, "No… the company was not good. The company was wonderful!" he smiled at Beth and held his hand out to the brunette, who unhesitatingly took it in hers.

"Hey, people! I'm still here!" Mattie interjected in some alarm.

"Well, so you are! And isn't it past your bedtime?" Harm said.

"It's not a school night, Harm," Beth defended Mattie and then spoiled the effect by saying, to Mattie, "And anyway I want to hear all about your afternoon and evening!"

Mattie's eyes lit up, "It was great! Jennifer is fantastic! She told me everything about herself… well almost everything… she wouldn't explain what a five-finger discount was," the teenager creased her brow showing her confusion while Harm and Beth, both of whom had understood the reference, snorted in an effort not to laugh out loud. Mattie gave them a further puzzled look and then dismissed the entire matter as being of no further concern and ploughed on with her story, "Yeah, she told me all about how you saved her from the brig, and then she told me all about Lieutenant Roberts… man that blows!" she said bitterly.

"Mattie! Language!" Harm rebuked her.

"Sorry, but it was so unfair. He was trying to help a little kid!" the remarkably unrepentant looking teenager answered before she took a sip of her drink and then continued, "Anyway, we spent most of the afternoon on H Street, just window shopping for the most part – oh and that reminds me! Hang on!" And with that the teenager placed her mug on the coffee table and bounded to her feet, disappearing in the direction of her bedroom, to return in less than a minute carrying the burlap tote bag she'd had hung over her shoulder when she first returned to the apartment. Sitting down again, she suddenly seemed afflicted with a bout of nervousness as she hesitantly cleared her throat, "Uh... Beth, I felt bad about not having a Christmas present for you, so when I saw this in a curios shop, I thought it kinda suited you, and might even come in handy…."

She delved into the bag and brought out a gift-wrapped box about nine inches by three inches by three inches and offered it to Beth.

The brunette took the gift, a smile of pleasure on her face, but a protest on her lips, "Oh, Mattie you didn't need to…"

"Uh… Beth… yes, I did!" Mattie interrupted Beth as with quick fingers she undid the wrapping to reveal a plain, white cardboard box. Opening the lid, she gasped with pleasure.

"Well seeing as how you're flying a desk these days, I figured it might kinda come in handy…" Mattie said in a slightly nervous voice.

"Mattie it's beautiful, it must have cost you a fortune!" Beth said as she held up, for Harm's inspection a desk-top pen set holder consisting of a block of polished walnut, in the centre of which was a square recess for an ink bottle flanked by two pairs of silver niello decorated sockets evidently designed to hold pens and pencils, and the underneath of which was protected by a layer of green baize..

"Uh… the ink bottle's in the box too…" Mattie interposed, worried that the discarded box, lying on Beth's knees was in danger of sliding off its perch and falling to the floor.

Beth delved back into the box, into the welter of tissue paper that had protected its contents and came out holding the desired object in her hand, a nearly silent "Oh…" on her lips as she showed Harm the little square crystal, multi-faceted bottle with a silver niello-work collar connected by a hinge to the bottle's lid, "Oh… Mattie…"

"Yeah, well, it ain't much," the teenager announced in rather gruff voice, "and yours isn't quite as… well… it's not like that…" Mattie nodded at the pen set now sitting on the coffee table and handed Harm a flat package in a brown paper bag.

Harm took it from Mattie, "A book?" he queried with a smile, as soon as he felt the weight in his hand

Mattie shrugged, "Yeah, a book… Like I said, not as… as… dramatic, maybe as the ink stand, but I hoped you would like it…"

Harm grinned, "I'm sure I will," as he slid the book out of the bag and then gave a crack of laughter as he saw the title, "And I do! Mattie, I love it! Beth, you'll enjoy this too!

Beth looked curiously at the book in Harm's hand and her face cracked into a grin as she read the title out loud, "The F-14 Tomcat (US Warplanes)… Oh, Mattie that's superb!"

Mattie blushed with pleasure, "Ya think?" she asked.

"No, I know!" Harm declared, "So, squirt, thanks! Thank you very much!"

"And that goes in spades for me too!" Beth said warmly, but then noticing that Mattie was becoming increasingly embarrassed, she smoothly changed gear, "And so… after your marathon down H Street…"

"And back up the other side!" Mattie insisted.

"Indeed! What else did you and Miss Coates get up to?"

"Well… I bought myself a CD, but Jen was pretty loaded down with groceries and stuff, so we caught a bus back to Florida and Fourth, then Jen cooked us dinner…"

"Of?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… you wouldn't have liked it, but Jen's a pretty good cook…"

"And if I wouldn't have liked it, just what did she cook?" Harm persisted.

Mattie sighed, "Not junk food, like you're thinking! We had a proper dinner, pork steaks with mushroom sauce, mashed potato, collard greens and carrots! Then we talked for a bit before we cleared up, and then this evening we watched a movie on DVD and had some popcorn and a soda." Mattie carefully glossed over the fact that they had about four sodas each during the course of the afternoon and evening, as well as coffee, and that the popcorn had been well buttered.

"Well… sounds like you had a full day! Did you have fun?" Harm asked.

Mattie nodded, "Yeah we had fun, and Jen said we can do it again sometime, and next time I get to meet her house-mates. One was on duty and the other two were away for the weekend with their boyfriends…"

"Well, that will be for another time! From the sounds of it, you've run around half the city, and I have a sneaky suspicion that you're more tired than you're letting on!" Beth said in a severe tone.

Mattie grinned and held her hands up in surrender, "Hey, what can I say? You got me!"

"Yep, thought so!" Beth said with immense satisfaction.

"So… bedtime!" Harm commanded, "And have no fears, as soon as I've tidied the mugs and the pan, I'm heading for my bed!"

"Likewise! Well as soon as Harm here shifts his six and I can make my bed down!" Beth laughed as she nudged Harm with her elbow.

"Hey, I can take a hint! I'm going, I'm going!" Harm laughed.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Fifteen minutes later Mattie lay under her coverlet in the darkness of her bedroom, her hands linked on the pillow beneath her head and with a smile on her face as she recalled seeing Harm and Beth so engrossed in each other that it had taken them a good five seconds to become aware of her presence. Maybe, given that performance as evidence, then just maybe, Beth was being overly pessimistic this morning when she talked about the difficulties inherent in transitioning from friends to lovers! And with a satisfied sigh the teenager closed her eyes and turning onto her side, snuggled deeper into her bed and drifted blissfully off to sleep.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Mattie may have drifted off to sleep blissfully enough, but her Sunday morning awakening was far from blissful, and she decided, after blearily squinting at her watch, it was also far too early! With a muttered curse which would have brought Harm's wrath crashing about her head if he had heard her, she swung her legs out of bed and shrugged into her bathrobe. Shoving her feet into her slippers, she belted the robe tightly around her and followed the sound that had woken her to what had been the kitchen and would shortly be Beth's bedroom.

Blinking sleepily and still knuckling her eyes Mattie stood open-mouthed in the doorway from where she could see Harm pushing what seemed to be an oversized upright vacuum cleaner along the floor while Beth held something that looked a bit like a large brush in her hand and, on her hands and knees, was running it along the floor next to the skirting boards. Both were wearing paper masks tied over their mouth and nose and both were wearing plastic goggles to protect their eyes. And both devices were producing the racket that had disturbed Mattie's slumbers.

"Harm!" Mattie yelled, but to no effect as he seemingly ignored her. "Harm!" she repeated, yelling even louder, and again increasing the volume of her voice until she was practically screaming, "Harm!"

Her voice eventually penetrated Harm's ears and he looked around and seeing Mattie in the doorway, he immediately hit the kill switch on the machine he was using and moved the mask away from his mouth, "'Morning, Squirt!" he greeted her with a smile, "Um… glad to see you're up, but you can't be in here without protection…"

Beth, realising that Harm had stopped work also switched her machine off and squatted back on her heels, raising a hand in greeting to the teenager.

"Why not? What's going on here?" Mattie demanded. Still suffering a sense of injustice at having been woken early she was in no mood for flowery commonplaces.

"You can't be in here without a mask and goggles because we're sanding the floor, and yeah, we've got vacuum suction to get the dust, but it doesn't all get sucked up. So that's what's going on, too. Now… There's fresh OJ in fridge, there's plenty of bread to make toast, and you know how to brew coffee. Give us half an hour and we'll be done here and then we can all sit down for some eggs and pancakes."

"Yeah, okay…"

"But a shower and some clothes might be a good idea too," Beth grinned.

Mattie shook her head in resignation, "Seeing as how you two are making way too much noise, trying to get back to sleep is a non-starter, so I reckon I will take that shower! That-aways I'll be all squeaky clean for when you two are ready for breakfast!"

Harm and Beth watched as Mattie disappeared from the doorway and then waited until they heard her bedroom door close behind her. "Of course," Beth said, with the air of someone making an earth-shattering scientific discovery, "By dawdling over her shower and getting dressed, she also gets out of having to fix her own breakfast and make a pot of coffee!"

Harm grinned, "Yep, she's smart kid, is our Mattie!" and flicked the switch to restart the sander.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Jen was on her way to the utility room in the basement of her apartment building, she was dressed in her usual Sunday morning household-chores gear, a pair of running shorts, a Great Lakes Boot Camp hooded sweatshirt and a pair of battered sneakers. Slung over her shoulder, in a Seven Dwarfs manner, was a makeshift sack, actually the cover from her duvet containing the sheets and pillow slips from her bed as well as her Johnny Cash uniform blouses.

She had enjoyed yesterday afternoon's shopping expedition with Mattie, as well as the evening curled up in an armchair, while Mattie sprawled on the floor on her stomach, her chin cupped in her hands as they watched the "Labyrinth" DVD, devoured a huge bowl of popcorn and sunk enough soda to float the Seahawk – as Jen had remarked to a giggling teenager. As far as Legalman One Coates was concerned, Mattie was good company. The teenager was bright, lively, engaging and a staunch believer in Harmon Rabb, a belief that Jen shared wholeheartedly.

As she negotiated the last flight of stairs to the basement Jen's mind drifted back to Friday night and the surprise appearance of Danny Scott at Commander Singer's wet down and she admitted, if only to herself, that it was kind of flattering of him to have deliberately sought her out, but by the same token it was slightly less than flattering that despite having been given her telephone numbers, he still hadn't called her thirty-six hours later. Jen nodded glumly, it looked like she had been right in not letting Staff Sergeant Scott know where she lived, and in refusing his offer of a ride home. From Jen's viewpoint it seemed as if the Marine had just been looking for a one night stand, and Jennifer Coates had given up that kind of behaviour a long time ago.

Jen loaded her uniform blouses into one of the washing machines, and her bedding into the other. Feeding both machines the necessary quarters, she added detergent and started the programs, retreating to the cheap easy chair in the corner of the room, pulling a well-thumbed, if not battered, paperback copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion from her hip pocket before she sat down, opening the pages at a bookmark consisting of a till receipt from a local store.

As many times as she had read the book before, Jen still could not prevent herself becoming absorbed in the absurdities of life at Kellynch Hall, so it was with a flash of irritation that she realised that the cell phone in the front pocket of her hoodie was buzzing and vibrating against her stomach.

Jen grabbed the phone and frowned when she saw the unrecognised number on the display, but just as she was about to dismiss the call she realised that it might just be Danny Scott. With a snort of displeasure at his failure to call previously, she decided that if it was him, he might at least come up with an amusing or original excuse for his failure to contact her.

"Coates!" she snapped into the phone.

"Uh… Jennifer? Hi, this is Danny Scott."

"And what can I do for you, Staff Sergeant?" Jen said stiffly.

"Wow… that's… that's a bit hostile… I thought we parted on reasonably friendly terms on Friday?"

"Yes, we did, on Friday, it is now Sunday!" Jen emphasised the names of the days.

There was a few moments of silence at the other end of the line before Danny spoke again, "Um… I thought you were busy yesterday… which is why I didn't call… but I've had to fight my impatience this morning until it was a reasonable hour… I'm pretty sure you'd have been pee'd at me if I would have called the moment my eyes opened!"

Jen stared at her phone in amazement, she wasn't sure, but she thought she'd just heard a tinge of amusement in Danny's voice, "Are… are… you laughing at me?" she demanded indignantly.

"Oh, no, ma'am, I wouldn't dare!" Danny protested, and this time Jen was certain she could hear him struggling not to laugh.

"Hah! I'm beginning to think, Daniel Scott, that there isn't much you wouldn't dare to do!" Jen snorted.

"Well, that's true enough, but I dassn't laugh at you Jennifer Coates, on account of iffen I did, then you'd most likely yell at me again!" This time there was a definite chuckle even as Danny deliberately deepened his accent, and despite herself, Jen couldn't help the sympathetic grin that fought to grace her lips.

"You… you…" Jen struggled to find the words.

"Marine?" Danny suggested helpfully.

"Yes! Damned Jarhead!" Jen spluttered.

"So… Can I take it from that term of endearment, that you are now at least prepared to talk with me?" Danny asked hopefully.

Jen glowered at the phone and then gave a helpless little chuckle, "Oh… okay… I'll talk with you!"

"Well praise the Lord!" Danny chuckled, "I was beginning to think that I'd gone into auto-rotation for a while there! Now… talking on the phone's okay, but it's no substitute for a real face to face conversation… Would you like to do something today?"

"Well… I'm a little busy this morning," Jen replied slowly, "But maybe we could meet up somewhere for lunch or something…"

"Sounds good to me," Danny agreed, "It's your town, where do you suggest?"

"Well… there's not a lot around here… mostly burger places, you know, McD's, BK, Wendy's…"

"Not a fan?" Danny asked.

"No… not so much as you'd notice, Jen admitted."

"H'mm… tell you what, normally when I talk with a gir… with people I like to walk, but it's a bit cold and wet for the Mall or anything like that… How about a walk somewhere indoors, like the aero-space museum? And there's even a food court there where we could get a sandwich and a coffee…"

"The air and space museum?" Jen asked with a slight overtone of surprise in her voice, "Um… yeah… it'll be different, anyway."

"Okay, where should I pick you up?"

"How about the entrance to Gallaudet University on Sixth North East, say at thirteen hundred hours?"

"Thirteen hundred at sixth North East, aye, ma'am!" Danny repeated obediently.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

True to his word Ham worked on for just under the half-hour, finishing off the sanding of the floor. With a sigh of relief, he switched off the sander, and pushing his goggles to the top of his head, he pulled his mask off and turned to Beth, "Well?"

Beth once again sat back on her heels, switched off her hand sander and pressing both fists in the small of her back, she stretched and groaned in relief before holding out a hand for Harm to help her to her feet.

Harm took the extended hand and braced his feet as Beth pulled herself upright, but once she was on her feet Harm surprised her. Instead of letting her go, he swept her into his arms and bent his face to hers. Thrilling to his touch, Beth kissed him back just as earnestly and they stood, their arms around each other, lip locked, until the need to breathe forced them apart.

"Wow…" Beth murmured shakily.

"Uh… yeah…" Harm agreed with a grin.

"And how are you going to top that, Mister?" Beth challenged, with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Uh… Breakfast?" Harm suggested.

"Oh, yeah! Feed me!" Beth gurgled.

"Insatiable, that's what you are!" Harm grumbled, with a contradictory smile on his face.

"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet!" Beth grinned, as Harm slipped an arm around her waist and turned her towards the door.

"Any time, baby!" Harm grinned back, indulging in what had become the F-14 pilots' traditional response to a challenge.

"Yeah, bring it on hotshot!" Beth returned the challenge only to squeak in surprise as, heedless of the fact that they were now in the middle of what was going to be the new lounge area, Harm did just that by sweeping Beth back into his arms and once again kissing her soundly.

Mattie's jaw dropped open in sheer surprise. Sure, Harm and Beth had been making out on the couch when she got home last night, but that was last night after their date and this was broad daylight, and they were so… so… so old… it just wasn't natural. She was on the verge of yelling at them to get a room, but then recalled that Harm's room, complete with a huge bed, was only a few steps away and her brain shut down, refusing for even a second to contemplate what could happen if they did decide to follow that piece of advice and move to the bedroom.

Making a major effort, Mattie rebooted her brain so that it was operating on least at a basic level, "Um… I've started the coffee," she offered somewhat tentatively, "So if anybody felt like it, making a start on breakfast might be a good idea…"

Entirely unabashed at being so unceremoniously interrupted, Harm let go of a faintly pink-faced Beth and nodded, "Good idea, Squirt! What you prefer this morning, eggs or pancakes?"

"Or both?" Mattie suggested with a gleam of amusement in her eye," with a side of toast and maybe some bacon or sausage?"

Harm gave a theatrical shudder, "Barbarian!" he proclaimed, only to receive an elbow in his ribs as Beth gently nudged him. "What?" he asked.

"Hey, I would like some bacon, or sausage or ham, too! And don't you ever think of calling me a barbarian!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Harm said virtuously and ignoring Beth's look of scepticism, moved into the kitchen area, "Okay, Squirt, breakfast coming up… just as soon as you let me through!"

Twenty minutes passed in almost complete silence as a mountain of eggs, three stacks of pancakes and a plate of bacon were prepared and almost as quickly disappeared, mostly to Beth's awe onto Mattie's plate. "Where does she put it all? And how come she's so damned thin!" Beth mourned.

"I have great metabolism!" Mattie answered smugly scooping the last of her eggs onto a fragment of toast.

"For the moment!" Harm rejoined.

"Well," Mattie said comfortably, pausing before she took a mouthful of coffee, "It's partly your fault for being such a great cook!"

"I have to be!" Harm protested, "We daren't leave the cooking to Beth, she's the only person I know who could burn water while trying to boil it!"

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Beth yelped in mock indignation.

Mattie swallowed her coffee, "There's a story there, right?"

"Oh, yeah…" Harm chuckled.

"It was a dumb mistake. A mistake that anyone could have made!" Beth protested.

"Do tell…" Mattie grinned.

"We'd been on a late hop and had a little engine trouble on our way back to the PH," Harm smiled, "And so we were back later than everyone else, except for Tuna, our wingman who kept us company to keep an eye on us…"

"And so the SAR would have co-ordinates if we went down," Beth added.

"Anyway, by the time we got back on deck, got the 'Cat squared away and had been debriefed, the rest of the squadron had emptied the coffee jugs in the wardroom. Anyhow, Beth decided that she wanted a cup of coffee, but she was in a bit of a snit with the other guys, and the hell with making a pot just so the others could freeload. So she decided to boil the water, in a mug in the micro-wave. So she set it to boil and sat down to wait and got into an argument with one of the other guys, Painter wasn't it?" he checked with Beth.

"Nope, it was that royal pain, X-Man!"

"Anyway, Beth got involved in the argument and clean forgot about the microwave, and the water in the mug boiled dry and then the damn mug exploded, in the micro-wave! So that is why I am not letting Beth anywhere near the kitchen… at least not while she's unsupervised!"

Beth pound that Mattie was looking at her with an expression that bordered on awe, "Is that true?" she asked.

"Well… Harm has sexed it up a little, but basically, yeah, that's what happened," Beth admitted with an embarrassed grin.

"Cool! Way to go, Beth!" Mattie enthused.

Harm and Beth just looked at each other, and then at Mattie and burst into laughter.

Beth was still chuckling a couple of minutes later as she started to clear away the breakfast dishes, but she asked, soberly enough, "What's the programme for the rest of the day?"

"Well… I figured you could start staining the floor at the far end of the room, under the window while I measure up for the closets at the near end. We are going for the built in option with the sliding louvre doors, right?"

Beth nodded, "Right, that gives me more closet space."

"That's the way we go then," Harm confirmed.

"What about me?" Mattie asked.

"Well… haven't you still got homework to finish?" Harm asked.

Mattie nodded glumly, even as she turned on the hot water faucet, "Yeah, geometry. I hate proofs. They suck!"

"Language!" Beth and Harm chorused.

"Sorry," Mattie said perfunctorily, looking remarkably unrepentant.

"Give 'em your best shot," Harm encouraged her, "And I'll look 'em over after dinner, okay, Squirt?"

"Okay," the much put upon teenager sighed.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Jen stamped her feet against the cold, and using her teeth pulled the back of her right glove down just far enough so that she could see her watch, it was still four minutes before Danny was due, but, as she acknowledged, she had only herself to blame for turning up a good six or seven minutes early, but she hadn't reckoned on it being quite so cold and damp outside, not helped she acknowledged by the north easterly wind that swept across the open expanse of the Gallaudet campus behind her.

Just as she was beginning to regret being ahead of time a dark blue BMW M3 coupe growled to a halt and Danny Scott unwound himself from behind the wheel and hurried around the car to the sidewalk, "Jennifer? You look great!" he enthused as he took in her olive reefer/pea coat, white turtleneck sweater and jeans, tucked into knee high boots, the ensemble being topped off by a knitted olive watch cap. Her cheeks had a healthy glow, occasioned by the chilly temperature, her eyes seemed to sparkle and her hair hung in a loose cascade down her back.

"Danny, hi! Right on time!" Jen smiled moving towards the car, eager to get out of the cold.

"I'd say score one for the Marines, then!" Danny smirked.

"Except that the Navy was here first!" Jen smiled as Danny opened the car door for her.

"That's true" Danny admitted, "so, score one for the Navy!"

"Of course!" Jen smiled.

"Nice car," Jen commented as Danny fired up the engine again and engaged the gears, "Manual too!" Jen said approvingly.

"Yeah, thanks! But she's getting a little long in the tooth now. They stopped making this model back in 'ninety nine, and I haven't come with anything I want to replace her with yet."

"Why replace her at all?" Jen asked as Danny made the right turn into Florida Avenue, "One of our guys has a sixties model corvette that he still drives."

"Ah but that's classic!" Danny objected.

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't when it was new or even four or five years old!" Jen pointed out reasonably.

"Good point!" Danny said approvingly, and flashed a quick smile at Jen.

Jen smiled back as the pair fell into a comfortable silence as Danny piloted the BMW the two and half miles or so towards Independence Avenue and the Air and Space Museum.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

"Eww! That stuff really stinks!" Mattie complained as she answered the summons for dinner, emerging from the refuge of her room where she had, with mixed success, been battling most of the day with her geometry proofs.

Harm smiled in sympathy, "Yeah it's not very pleasant, but this time of year, we can't open the windows and let the smell dissipate. It's so cold and damp out there that if we opened the windows to air the place, it would take days for the stain to dry. Still… the first coat is done now…"

"You mean there's more coats to put down?" Mattie asked in horrified dismay.

"Just one more, Mattie," Beth assured her, and we'll get that done tomorrow evening, okay?"

"S'pose…" the teenager pouted.

"Hey, we're going to be working flat out tomorrow evening when we get home, so you'll have to do the cooking… or we could order in…" Harm said, adding the last phrase as if it had been an afterthought.

Mattie's eyes lit up, "Order in? Pizza, maybe?"

"Maybe!" Harm chuckled, and ruffled the teenager's already unruly hair, "but for this evening, come and sit down and eat!"

Lunch had been no more than a sandwich and a glass of milk, so despite the formidable breakfast Mattie had devoured, she was more than ready for her dinner. "What we got?" she asked.

"Moussaka, salad, baguette then fresh fruit salad with natural yoghurt to follow," Harm told her.

"Moussaka? Really?" Mattie beamed.

Beth was forced to laugh, "Reduce power, Mattie, it's Harm's vegetarian Moussaka… Not the real thing at all."

"Hey! Vegetarian is the real thing! When we were in Greece I got the recipe from a Greek chef who assured me that the only correct Moussaka is a meat-free one!" Harm protested, "and besides, it's better than all that dead cow."

"Ya think?" Mattie murmured mutinously.

Beth gave her a consoling hug, "Thinks of it this way, Mattie, his vegetarian cooking is pretty darned good, and anyway, think of what happens when he goes TAD somewhere… think of all those lovely burgers and fries we'll be having… and they'll taste so much better because they'll be such a rare treat!"

"You had to go and put that idea into her head?" Harm complained.

"Hey, I was waaay ahead of her on that one!" Mattie smirked.

Harm shook his head despairingly, "Beth, would you pour the drinks while I serve up, please!"

Beth poured Harm and herself a glass of Californian Bonny Doon Contra red wine and retrieved a can of Sprite from the fridge for Mattie, while Harm loaded three plates with a generous portion of his Moussaka and presented them with a flourish. "Here ya go!" he grinned.

"Somewhat dubiously Mattie stuck her fork into her dinner and cautiously tried a taste, "Hey, not bad, Harm!" she exclaimed in some surprise.

"Hey, what can I say? Other than 'told you so'!" he grinned.

Dinner over, Beth and Mattie piled into the sink area, this time it was Beth who called out, "Dibs on the washing!" leaving Mattie to dry the dishes, a task which the youngster hated.

Mattie stood back, leaning against the breakfast counter and grimly eyed Beth and Harm, "Ya know, if Beth just stacked the dishes in the sink tidy and left them there, a combination of evaporation and gravity would dry the dishes just as effectively as me wiping them with a dish towel – probably more so. So, using a dish towel is just a waste of energy really, and besides, if we don't use a dish towel, then it won't have to be washed at the end of the week, saving detergent, water and electricity and helping the planet!" Mattie concluded with a virtuous air.

Harm and Beth listened in admiration to Mattie's impassioned advocacy and at the end merely looked at her and then at each before Beth calmly handed Mattie a dish towel, smiled and said, "Mattie, dry the dishes!"

"And while you do that, I'll fix us up a jug of coffee, and then you can choose a DVD for us all to watch before it's bedtime. It is a school night, Squirt, and you've had a long day!"

With her choice of movie as an incentive, Mattie bent to her chore with a will, and even helped Beth to return the clean (and dry) pots and dishes to their proper stowage before checking the DVDs on Harm's shelf.

"The Mouse that Roared, what's that about?" Mattie asked intrigued by the title of a movie she had never even heard of before.

"Um… it's a comedy, about a small land-locked European country that declares war on the USA," Harm said, "But it's not mine…"

"No, it's one of mine!" Beth said as she took her place on the couch, "It's not as grim as it sounds, Mattie, and I haven't watched it for a long time, so go, fire it up!"

"Uh… before you do…" Harm interrupted, leaning forward to pour three mugs of coffee, "Tomorrow, either Beth or I will give you a ride to school, are you sure you'll be okay to get back here under your own steam after school?"

"Sure will!" Mattie assured him.

"And I mean straight home… no window shopping or stopping for a coffee and a doughnut with your friends on the way home!"

"Not to worry!" Mattie beamed, "About the only person I'd stop off for a coffee with is Andre, and he's off sweets – he's worried about his weight preventing him from getting to the academy!"

"H'mm… that's not a bad idea, you know Mats. Hey, I know you're nowhere near having a weight problem, and you're pretty fit, but it wouldn't hurt to work on the fitness a little, and watch those sugars and calories…"

"Well, we do have gym class twice a week, and don't forget I'm trying out for the volleyball and swim teams, plus the way you rule the kitchen, calories aren't going to be a problem…"

"Until I go TAD!" Harm pointed out with a grin.

Mattie grinned back, "Yeah, gives you an incentive to wrap up the investigations and get home quickly, doesn't it?"

Beth smothered a chuckle, attracting a reproving look from Harm, who said in a tone of weary resignation "Alright, Squirt, just put the movie on!"

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Harm drove to JAG the following morning with a cheerful smile on his face. He had just dropped Mattie off at her school and as well as reminding her of the need to come straight home once the school day was over, he had also presented her with a whistle and a pepper spray dispenser.

"Now, remember, this is for self-defence, don't go fooling around with it, and in fact, don't even go showing it off. Part of a pepper spray's effect is the surprise factor, so if word gets around that you're carrying one then you've lost one of its tactical advantages! As well as risk having it stolen.

"Okay, got that!" Mattie said seriously, and looking Harm straight in the eye, and then she suddenly leaned in a planted a kiss on his cheek, "You're such a worrier!" she scolded him gently, "I'll be good, and I'll be careful!"

"You just make sure you are!" he said gruffly, moved by her sudden and unexpected gesture. Mattie Grace was not much given to physical displays of affection.

He still had a slightly bemused smile on his face as his ID was checked and he was waved through the VCP at the JAG HQ Parking Lot. Parking the car in his assigned spot, he grabbed his cover and briefcase and trotted up the steps to the main door, returning the marine sentry's salute as he passed into the warm interior of the building, but stepping aside at the CP to allow Jen Coates, who had arrived at almost the same second as he to sign in first. She then smilingly held the elevator for him, "Good morning, sir!" she beamed.

Harm automatically returned the greeting and then looked a little more closely at the Legalman. She was usually bright and cheerful, too damned cheerful for this early in the day, he sometimes grumpily complained, but there was an extra something about her this morning.

"Had a good weekend, Legalman One?" he queried.

"Oh, yes, sir! I really enjoyed spending Saturday afternoon and evening with Mattie! She's a great kid!"

"Yeah, she is," Harm agreed with a sappy smile which didn't go unnoticed by Jen, "Thanks for looking after her!"

"Nearly the other way 'round, sir!" Jen smiled, "She wouldn't let me stop at any place that sold doughnuts or Danish, so we grabbed a carton of fresh grapefruit juice from that veggie juice shop on H Street and waited for coffee until we got back to my place!"

"You did a fair bit of shopping too, so Mattie tells me…"

"Well, I did my week's grocery shopping!" Jen laughed, "but about the only thing Mattie bought was an inkstand and a book… oh… and a CD… but she did give me a hand to tote the groceries back to my place!"

The soft ping of the elevator as it shuddered to a halt at the Ops floor brought an end to their conversation, and with a smiling, "By your leave, sir!" Jen stepped out of the elevator and headed for the bull pen and her little cubby hole of an office.

Harm gave his head a slight shake and headed for his own office, where depositing his cover and his briefcase he turned on his heel and made a bee line for the galley, to find that Harriet Sims was ahead of him and waiting patiently for the coffee machine to finish brewing the first of what would undoubtedly be the many jugs of the day.

"Good morning, sir!" the blonde Administration Officer greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, Harriet!" he paused, "Tell me, is there something in the air that's affecting all you women-folk?"

Harriet's forehead creased in frown, "Not that I know of. Why would you ask such a thing, sir?"

"Well you're normally a cheerful sort, and so is Jennifer Coates, but there just seems to be something extra bright about you both today!"

Harriet's forehead smoothed as if by magic, "Oh, my case is easily solved, sir! Absolutely no mystery there! Jimmy has just started sleeping right through the night. He was still awake with the baby-sitter when we got home Friday night, so we put him straight to bed, and he slept right through until seven Saturday morning – of course he was nearly two hours later than usual going to sleep, so that helped. But then on Saturday, we put him down at about twenty-one thirty and crossed our fingers, but he slept like an angel until zero six, and the same again last night!"

"Ah… that does explain your bright and bouncy self this morning!" Harm declared as he poured two mugs of coffee, "Creamer and sugar for you Harriet?"

"Oh, yes, please, sir. I know I probably shouldn't, but I just can't drink coffee the way you do!"

"Ah… so a sugar rush might help explain the bubbly high spirits… but as far as I know, Jen hasn't got a baby that's just started sleeping through the night, and as far as I can recall she doesn't use sugar in hot drinks!"

"Oh…" Harriet thought for a moment and then her smile widened, "Well in Jennifer's case, it might just be that the arrival in DC or a certain good looking, young Marine helo pilot has something to do with her added cheerfulness!"

"He's not that young – he must be thirty if he's a day!" Harm bristled.

"I know you think Jennifer is a special person," Harriet said carefully, "And she is, but sir, she's also a grown woman, she is twenty eight, you know!"

"Um… yeah… of course she is…" Harm mumbled, having overlooked that key fact.

"And Staff Sergeant Scott seems a nice enough guy…" Harriet added helpfully.

"M'mm…Not that you're biased, of course," Harm grinned.

Harriet grinned too, "Well, maybe I am, just a little. But if I am, who could blame me?"

"Not me, Harriet, not me!" Harm agreed with a laugh, and picking up his coffee cup he flipped a casual salute in Harriet's direction and wandered back to his office to prepare for staff call, bit as he did the smile left his face to be replaced by an expression of resolve. 'A nice guy he might be, but if that Jarhead hurts Jen then mister hotshot helo pilot had better damned well watch his damned six!'

With that decision firmly fixed in his mind, Harm slid into his office chair, and for once, disdaining his computer he reached for the top file from the stack in his in-tray, and within minutes was involved in he said, she said dispute between two petty officers at the Navy yard over the ownership of a Honda 125 motor cycle. Shaking his head in disbelief he grabbed the file and took it across to Jen Coates,

"Legalman One, Why is this on my desk?"

Jen looked up at the file and managed a half-hearted smile, "I don't know, sir. What is it?"

"It seems to be a Legal Services File, not a Trials Office one!" Harm spluttered.

"Ah… in that case, Commander, it is in your in-tray, because Legal Services are again swamped and have asked for assistance!" The Admiral's voice was gently reprimanding.

"Sir!" Harm felt like he'd nearly dislocated his spine, he about-faced so quickly to face his CO.

"Just so, Commander!" A J Chegwidden pronounced, his eyes flickering momentarily to Jen, a subtle hint to Harm that if the Legalman One hadn't been present, the Admiral's reprimand would have been delivered in a much more forthright manner.

"I'll… ah… I'll go and start reading up on the case, sir!" Harm managed.

"Good choice, Commander, good choice! So you'll be able to brief me at staff call I take it?"

Harm shot a horrified look at the office clock, there was less than forty minutes left before staff call, but there was only one possible answer he could make, "Yes, sir!"

"Very well, Commander, dismissed!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" Harm gulped and fled the scene.

Chegwidden watched him go and to Jen's surprise he allowed himself a soft chuckle before he turned and tipped a broad wink in her direction before disappearing back into his own office.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Mac didn't need to look at her watch to know that she had timed her journey to Bethesda to perfection. It was now thirteen twenty-five hours, five minutes before her appointment with Commander Elgin. For some reason Mac had felt apprehensive about this appointment, and although off-duty had taken comfort – or refuge – in wearing her Class A uniform rather than the civilian attire she could have worn.

Taking a deep breath she grasped the door handle and turned it, opening the door and stepping through the doorway into the waiting room and seeing the same Corpsman behind the desk at the far side of the room.

Looking up from the file in front of him, the Corpsman rose to his feet, "Colonel Mackenzie, isn't it, ma'am?"

Mac nodded and gave a terse, "Yes!" in reply.

"If you don't mind waiting a moment, Colonel, I'll let Commander Elgin know you're here."

Mac nodded her assent and the Corpsman soft knock on the other door opened it, and Mac could quite clearly hear him say, "Colonel MacKenzie's here for her thirteen thirty, ma'am."

Commander Elgin appeared in the doorway and offered Mac a friendly nod, "Come on straight through please Colonel, take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Mac perched on the very edge of one of the comfortable-looking armchairs, her back ramrod stiff. In contrast Inez Elgin perched on the corner of the desk her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. "You gave me a lot to think about over the weekend, Colonel. And as a result, and for the moment, I'm inclined to agree with you that you do not have PTSD. However, you do seem to have a lot of unresolved issues from your younger years."

Mac frowned, "Like what?" she said challengingly.

"Well, like that for instance – I realise that you are a Marine, and that probably, as a woman, you have had to overcome a great many barriers to advance as far and as fast as you have. Barriers that men, with exactly the same qualifications and experience as yourself, do not have to face. That has left you very defensive, harbouring a lot of hostility and a lot of anger. You also seem to harbour a lot of resentment over being abandoned, not just once in your life, but on several occasions. I firmly believe that you need to deal with those abandonment issues, your resentment, your hostility and your anger."

"That's bullsh…" Mac began, but hastily corrected herself, "That's pure psychobabble!" she declared.

"Is it?" Inez asked mildly, "You said on Friday, that you had been relieved of duty. Has that status changed at all over the weekend?"

Mac frowned the sudden change of subject, a seeming non sequitur, "No, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, that being the case, I wondered why you chose to wear your uniform this afternoon, could it be part of your defensive posturing, a shield behind which you can hide, perhaps? To prevent people getting close to the real Sarah Mackenzie?"

"That's preposterous!" Mac spluttered.

Inez Elgin stared in silence at Mac for so long that she became uneasy, and seemingly unconscious of her actions started twisting her Garrison cap into a rope.

Inez had been waiting for just such manifestations before she spoke, "Is it, Colonel? Why would you say that?"