Chapter 18

"Sir, I haven't seen your child. You'll need to ask someone here who knows what the little tike looks like," she glared. "Do you treat all your first day attorney's this way, Admiral?"

"DO NOT pretend with me young woman! Come into my office and explain what you did with our child!" he still had a hold of her arm and started to move the two of them into his office.

"Sir, unless you want to be charged with conduct unbecoming, in which case there are several witnesses to support how you are handling me, then drop my arm now," ordered Krystal. "I don't have your child or our child. So back off, Admiral, Sir."

AJ dropped her arm and looked at her sadly. "How could you abort our child? I know you had decided you didn't want it, but I told you that I was willing to raise it! How could you?"

"Admiral, Sir. I am not, nor have I ever been pregnant. And I think you owe me an apology for embarrassing me in front of these people," she stated. "If not, I will be forced to file charges and I may file them anyway. I've never been treated so rudely nor had anyone accuse me of something so outrageous in my entire career."

"Are you seriously going to try and tell me that you weren't in this office just four weeks ago accusing me of being the father of your child and offering to give it to me?"

"Sir, if I may?" Lieutenant Bud Roberts stepped forward, "Ma'am, I was here when you came in. In fact, I was the one that showed you to the Admiral's office. And you were pregnant then, but we might want to take this somewhere more private? Why don't we go into the Admiral's office and talk it over if that is okay with you, Sir?"

"I was not nor never have been pregnant! And four weeks ago I was in Hawaii! In fact I was there until the middle of last week!"

"Sir, Ma'am, I really think we should continue this in a more private forum," Bud suggested.

"I want a female officer present. I won't be ganged up on and harassed. It is my right to request one, and I want one, or you can have me arrested right now."

"Would my wife be acceptable, Ma'am?" Bud asked, motioning to Harriett who had come out of the break room when the commotion started.

The new arrival turned to Harriett and asked, "Ma'am, will you stand up against these men if they are found to be in the wrong?"

"Yes, Commander. It would be hard, but yes I would," replied Harriett.

"Then she'll do. Lets get this over with."

Once they were in his office, and AJ had had a minute to calm down, he turned to Krista as the door closed and softly asked, "Why? I told you that day that I would take the child if it proved to be mine, why did you destroy it?"

"I have never been pregnant, nor do I condone abortion, so whoever you talked to wasn't me."

AJ turned away to stare out his window; he didn't know how to handle this woman. Was she really in that much of denial as to what she had done to their child?

Bud looked from the man he admired so much, to the woman who he knew was lying, "Ma'am, I saw you that day too, you knocked files out of my hands as you rushed past. You were pregnant."

"Damn it! I couldn't have been pregnant that day or any day for that matter! I'm a virgin! Do you want a doctor's written statement?" she asked embarrassed she had to admit something so personal. "I don't know what is wrong with you people. But I want a transfer immediately to anywhere but here."

AJ turned around slowly, finally believing that this woman was telling the truth, or at least she believed that she was. "Alright, if that is what you want, I'm just sorry that you felt you had to do what you did instead of coming to me and letting me help you. I'll sign your transfer papers as soon as they can be written Krista."

To be continued…