11
Harm awoke slowly, reluctantly even. By his body clock's reckoning, it had been well into the early hours of the morning by the time he had gotten to bed, and although it was still quiet in the house the sunlight peeping around the edges of the heavy drapes told him that it was time to get up and out of bed.
Remembering to wrap himself in the bathrobe – one of Bud's he suspected – that Harriet had pressed on him before he went to bed, he left his room and made his way across the landing to the second bathroom, where he rapped gently on the door and waited for a non-forthcoming answer before he tried the handle.
Fifteen minutes later showered, shaved and dressed he quit his bedroom for a second time and made his way downstairs. At the foot of the stairs he hesitated looking at the door on his right which led to what had been Bud's den cum study, but had now been turned into a temporary bedroom for Mattie.
A swift grin for remembrance sake passed over his face as he knocked and called out, as he used to do back at the loft apartment, "Man on deck!"
The reply came in the form of a muffled shriek and then a hasty "Wait!"
Harm grinned and waited patiently for about thirty seconds before a somewhat calmer "OK, you can come in now!" reached his ears. Opening the door he was greeted by Mattie in her wheelchair, in one of her favourite sweaters, a nubbly yellow, orange and red thing which clashed horribly with her hair, a plaid car blanket neatly draped over her legs and her sock-clad feet peeping out from its bottom edge. Jennifer Coates looking up from where she was just finishing tidying Mattie's bed – a fully equipped hospital type bed, which he could only assume the Roberts had on rental – was clad in a pair of faded grey jogging bottoms with "Navy" printed in dark blue lettering down the right thigh and a faded blue, almost grey, "Raptors" squadron sweat shirt. Harm's eyebrow arched but he held his peace for the moment, "Good morning ladies,"
"Hiya, Harm!"
"Good morning, sir!"
Harm looked around the room, in addition to Mattie's bed, complete with a hanging trapeze to help her sir up while she was in bed, Bud's treasured large-screen television with its associated DVD recorder/player and audio system were still in place, as was his computer, there was also a folding canvas cot, presently made up with sheets and a comforter that he guessed was where Jen had spent the night. He grinned as he took in the overall tidiness of the room; it looked as if Jen's training was paying off. He certainly didn't remember Mattie's room at the loft being so neat and squared away. But the of course, she's only been in residence here less than twenty-four hours and hadn't had the chance to make it untidy!
Finishing his perusal of the room he turned his eyes back to the two young women's noting that their hair showed signs of not being completely dry, something that Mattie had impressed upon months ago was of the utmost importance. "Ah, you're not quite ready yet, are you ladies? What say I go and see if I can whip up some breakfast for all of us while you two finish getting yourselves ready to face the rest of the world?"
Jen grinned, "Sounds like a plan, the only thing is…"
"Yes?" Harm inquired mildly.
"I'll bet Lieutenant Sims is already in the kitchen, and won't take kindly to you interfering!" Jen twinkled.
"Ah…" Harm felt the blood rise to his face, "Yeah, you're probably right, but here's the thing, I've gotten so used to living on my own the last couple of months, that I kinda forgot about…" he waved a vague hand around, "things…"
"All on your own, Harm?" Mattie asked innocently.
"Yeah. All on my own!" Harm affirmed.
"Really?" Mattie asked sceptically, but with a teasing light in her eye.
"Mattie!" Jennifer interrupted with a shocked gasp and a sternly reproving look.
"Oh… a little too much?" Mattie asked in a crestfallen voice.
"A little," Harm agreed affably, "But yeah, really, all on my own!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
At just about the same time as Harm was saying 'Good morning' to his girls, Julia Martinez turned her rented Nissan Micra into the Red Lion's parking lot 'that's car park, Martinez,' she told herself with a shadow of a grin, and getting out of the small vehicle she grabbed her overnight bag and looking around nodded as she saw the door marked 'Reception'.
"Good morning, I'm Julia Martinez, I' meeting with a Mister Walker…" she offered to the duty receptionist.
"Oh, Miss Martinez, we've been expecting you! Your room is ready; I'll just check you in…" The young women tapped a few keys on her computer keyboard and handed Julia her key-card. "You're in room fourteen, that's on the first floor – oh, sorry, second flooring for you… Can I get someone to carry your luggage?"
"No, that's fine, thank you, I can manage… Can you tell me where Mister Walker is?"
"Oh… no… I haven't seen him since breakfast…"
Julia found the room without difficulty and using the key card let her in and stopped and gasped… The bed was huge, a solid wooden construction that glowed in the sunlight streaming in through the window and was impressive in its own right. But what had caught Julia's eye was the arrangement of orchids that stood on the dresser. The flowers almost overflowed the basket that contained them, and which also supported a white envelope. Julia crossed the room, dropping her sea-bag at the foot of the bed as she did so, and picked up the envelope that was addressed to 'Julia'.
Slipping her finger under the flap, she tore the envelope open, her half-smile broadening into a grin as she read the short note.
"Hi Beautiful. Welcome to Salisbury. Call me when you read this!
J
xxxxx"
Julia sat on the edge of the bed and fished her cell 'phone out of her purse. The number dialled, she waited for the answer,
"Hi, Julia?"
"Hey, Johnny, yeah it's me… I'm here…"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Gill eased herself down into the steaming hot water with a satisfied groan. She had finally accepted an invitation to ride out from Norman Barrington, the Centre Section Commander, and now, as she had known she would, was paying for it in terms of outraged and long unused muscles. She could only hope that the therapeutic properties of steaming hot water and essential oils would prevent her from stiffening up too much. The one consolation she had was that she and Roberta were the only two female officers currently in residence at the Wood, and this bathroom had been set aside for their use only. Roberta, with a quick grin of sympathy had been in and out of the shower in a matter of minutes, stopping to poke her head around the door to Gill's room to say, "The bathroom's all yours, Gill! Take as long as you want, I shan't be back until dinner!"
"Thanks, Bobbie," Gill replied, "If I'm not out by then, you'll probably have to come and help me out of the bath!"
The hot water was helping, Gill decided, although it was getting a little cooler. She dithered for a moment between adding more hot water to the tub or finally getting out, getting dried and into something casual before dressing for dinner. A look at her prune-like fingers was the deciding factor, telling her that she had probably spent too much time in the bath as it was, so with a sigh, she heaved herself out of the water and pulled the plug. Drying herself while water drained, she slipped on her bathrobe, and with a slight effort – those muscles were beginning to stiffen up, despite the long hot soak – she grabbed hold of the bottle of cream cleaner and a couple of 'J' Cloths and knelt at the side of the bath to clean it.
Ten minutes later found her in a pair of pyjama bottoms and a T-shirt, sitting with her feet curled up beneath her in the chair in her bedroom tying to interest herself in a very old, very battered paperback edition of one of Desmond Bagley's blood and thunder style action novels. Trying not to burst out laughing as she came across the author's mistakes in trying to depict the military, she had just about decided to re-categorise the genre as Thud and Blunder when a knock at the door broke her concentration.
"Yes, who is it?" she called out cautiously. Yes, she was in the Officers' Mess and it was broad daylight, still there was no harm in being careful.
"Open the door! Or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll…"
But Gill was across the room and flinging the door open before the well-known voice could finish the sentence, "Sue! What on earth?"
"Am I doing here?" Sue finished for her with a gurgle of laughter, as she stepped into the room "I've come up to Town for the day, and seeing that you're here, I thought I might as well drop in and see that you were making the most of your opportunities!" She paused and sent a mock frown in Gill's direction, "Which I see you are not!"
"Or maybe I'm just hoarding my strength before a wild night out on the town?" Gill suggested.
"Really?" Sue asked excitedly, but then taking in Gill's little smile, she let her shoulders droop dramatically. "Oh no you're not! You're probably just going to curl up with some terrible – hah!" she finished triumphantly as she pointed an accusing figure at the tattered paperback that Gill had thrown onto the bed once she'd heard Sue's voice at the door.
Sue had dropped her collection of carrier bags, some of which bore the names and logos of some of London's finest – and most expensive – stores, on Gill' bed and stood, hands on hips as she contemplated Gill's attire. "Well that's no good!" she tutted and turning to the wardrobe, she threw the doors open and critically regarded the clothes hanging neatly inside.
"No… no… h'mm… maybe," a second's pause for thought and then ."No! Let's see…"
Gill had collapsed back into her chair and was shaking her head in indulgent amusement at her friend's antics, "You can 'no' and 'maybe' to your heart's content Susan Marshall, but you're on to a hiding to nothing!"
"Oh, and why, pray, should that be?" Sue asked archly.
"Because I have absolutely no intention of going out on the razzle tonight!"
"What?" Sue said indignantly, "After I've made all this effort to get here and prevent you from sinking into a nun-like life of… of… deprivation!"
Gill just chuckled and shook her head, "Did you ever think that I might just be saving myself?" she asked.
"For what?" Sue demanded, "or should that be for whom?"
"Well… it might be that dishy Yankee Captain…" Gill suggested.
"Oooh! I knew it!" Sue squealed, "I knew you couldn't be as blind as…" then she became aware that her friend was helplessly shaking with laughter. "Oh! That is just not fair, Gillian Anne Shephard!" she said.
"Oh, God, don't call me that!" Gill begged through her laughter, "You sound just like my mother!"
"Well! You shouldn't wind me up like that!" She complained as she plumped down on the end of Gill's bed.
"But you're such a tempting target!" Gill grinned, "And you bite so quickly!"
"H'mph!" Sue snorted.
"I tell you what," Gill suggested, "To make it up to you, let's go out for dinner this evening. Not on the razzle but a quiet dinner and a glass or two of wine?"
"H'mm… sounds good to me," Sue conceded, "Anywhere special in mind?"
"There's a place a couple of streets away – no more than five minutes' walk – where I'm told the steaks are out of this world…?"
"Well… OK… but the wine's on you!" Sue agreed.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Harm pushed his chair back from the breakfast table, "Thanks, Harriet, good pancakes! But then again, you always did have a light hand with baked goods!"
The grin he wore on his face wasn't occasioned simply by the food at breakfast. It had been a totally new experience for him. The kitchen table had been a trifle cramped with himself, Bud, Harriett, Jen, Mattie and the four young Roberts all vying for elbow space. Of course the twins hadn't really been a problem, securely strapped into their high chairs as they were, but AJ and Jimmy with flying elbows and excited chatter more than made up for their younger siblings. So, noisily chaotic it might have been, but it had been a cheerful noisiness that a quietly spoken "AJ, Jimmy!" from Bud had reined in it on a couple of occasions when it seemed as if the mood might get out of hand.
Harm grinned at the two elder children, neither had mastered the knack of eating pancakes without smearing copious amounts of maple syrup on themselves, and Harriet following his line of sight sighed and said, "OK, you two – with me! Bud… can you make a start on the dishes!"
"Leave 'em, Bud. The girls and I can handle this, right girls?" he asked looking at Mattie and Jen.
"Sure, you wash, I'll dry and Jen can put everything away – she's such a neat freak, you know," she added an aside to Harm, "I don't remember her being this bad when we were roomies!"
"Hey! I heard that!" a grinning Jen protested.
"You were supposed to!" an entirely unrepentant Mattie grinned up at her.
With three pairs of hands the clearing up – and the cleaning down – of the kitchen took no time at all, and by the time Harriet and two remarkably clean small boys returned from their trip to the bathroom, Harm, Jen an Mattie had joined Bud on the sun deck overlooking the back yard.
"Oh… I don't know why I bother!" Harriet groaned as she settled herself into one of the garden chairs clustered around the table.
"Oh, why?" Harm queried in some surprise.
"Just look at 'em!" Harriet said as her two sons made a bee-line for the sand box, "I'll give 'em… oh… say, ten minutes before they'll look like that hadn't seen soap and water for a month!"
"And another twenty minutes on top of that before they'll be back wanting something to drink!" Bud grinned.
"Don't you dare encourage them, Bud Roberts! I just hope they'll have grown out of this phase before the twins grow into it!" Harriet said with a glare at her husband.
Bud looked at her consideringly, "What you need is a good…" he paused for effect, waiting until Harriet's eyes grew large and round and her mouth opened to deliver a blistering rebuke, "cup of coffee!" he finished with a grin.
"Bud Roberts!" a now furiously blushing Harriet exclaimed in protest.
"That's a pretty good idea, ma'am," Jen said standing up, "I'll put the coffee on, but then by your leave, sir," she turned to Harm, "I've got a couple of errands to run and I need to finish packing for Wednesday!"
"Wednesday, Jen?" Harm queried.
"Yes, sir! Got my movement orders all signed and sealed. I report to MCCP at Andrews on Wednesday for an AMC flight to RAF Station Lakenheath. Is that near London, sir?"
"Um… I'm not sure, Jen, but we'll get Bud to check it out for you. That OK, Bud?"
"Yeah, sure, if Mattie doesn't mind me trespassing into her domain?" Bud asked, making to get up from his chair.
"Oh, no, sir!"! Jen protested, "I've got my lap top, and if you don't mind me piggy backing on your wi-fi signal, I can check it out myself?"
"No… go ahead Jen; I've got an unlimited bandwidth deal with my provider, so use it all you want!"
Jen nodded, "Thanks, sir!" And then turned back to Harm, "One thing I don't understand is why we have to fly into an RAF Station, aren't there any US bases over there anymore?"
"Uh… yeah…" Harm rummaged in his memory for pertinent facts from his in-briefing, "Lakenheath is, in fact, a USAF Station, but during the cold war the Air Force kept their British titles for their bases to try and fool the Soviets, and the names have stuck ever since."
"Thanks, sir, that helps…" Jen gave a smile, in which Harm thought he detected a touch of relief, and turning away from the group disappeared into the kitchen
"So… sir… uh… Harm, sorry…" Harriet smiled apologetically, "How are things in England?"
"Well workwise, there's plenty to do, and of course I'm still reading myself in. If I had one real complaint it's that base housing is quite a trek in and out of the office, it's only about fourteen maybe fifteen miles each way, but it can take up to an hour in bad traffic. Fortunately, I don't have to try and drive myself; I've got a driver for that!"
"You don't drive, sir?" Bud asked in disbelief. 'The Commander, no, Captain now, had always been a keen driver, he's never really been happier than when he's got his corvette – well, never happier on the ground, he loves flying his Stearman, and the whole world knows about his love affair with Tomcats!'
Harriet gasped, "But if you don't drive, Harm, how do you get out and about in the evenings?"
"The short answer to that Harriet, is that I don't. I work late on average three days a week. Don't forget, I'm still trying to read myself in. Other evenings by the time I get home, I'm too tired for anything other than a light meal an early shower and then bed. Especially if traffic on the way home is bad! And it can be – trust me – if you think the Beltway is bad, you want to try the M25 – that's the London equivalent! My driver once described it as the only six lane parking lot in the world!"
"Ouch!" Bud grimaced in sympathy, but Harriet sat with a frown on her forehead.
"Sir – Harm, that's not good. You need to get out. There's got to be more to life than eat, work and sleep!"
"Oh, there is… Last week I was detailed to attend a British Army Artillery firepower demonstration about one hundred miles from London. Two days of feeling the ground shaking beneath my feet and having my ears battered! Still, my driver seemed to enjoy herself. If I'm not mistaken, she's got a date with Captain Shephard's driver for this weekend!"
"Captain Shephard, sir?" Bud asked.
"Oh, yes. Captain Shephard… she was my host officer for the two days…" Harm allowed his voice to trail off as a soft smile curved his lips and for a few seconds he appeared to be contemplating something in the far distance.
Mattie's eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead and she exchanged a significant look with Harriet.
Bud looked puzzled, and glanced at his wife for some sort of clue, but all he received was a patronising smile and a slight shake of her blonde head.
"Coffee's ready!" The introspective mood was broken as Jen returned from the kitchen, carrying a tray on which sat the coffee pot, mugs, sugar and creamer. She picked up almost instantly on the mood and glanced quickly at Mattie, but received on a puzzled smile and a shrug in return.
"So…" Harriet resumed the conversation after coffees had been handed around, "Apart from baptisms of fire, what's the London Office like?"
"Well it's not as big an organisation as JAG HQ, naturally," Harm said, swallowing a sip of his drink, "And it's not full manned yet, either. But my Legalman arrives next week," he winked at Jen, "and after this week's startling disclosure, a fair amount of peace and tranquillity should prevail! Well… at least a greater amount than before!"
"What the goodness do you mean, Harm?" an intrigued Harriet asked.
Harm grinned and sat back in his chair, "Well… I've got these two hot-shot attorneys who couldn't decide whether they loved or hated each other. Tierney and Sullivan, or 'Trouble and Strife' as they are known around the office, although that might be changing soon…"
By the time he's finished relating the stormy relationship between the two fighting Irish, Bud was grinning too, as was Mattie. Harriet had a half smile on her face, 'I wonder if he realised he could just as well have been talking about himself and Mac – as they were five or six years ago!'
But Jen looked slightly troubled, and it was with an effort that she mustered up a smile, "Well, at least that's one problem less to deal with, sir. I'll just gather up this stuff and then, unless you have anything else for me, I'll get back to the apartment and get on with…"
"No, Jennifer!" Harriet interrupted, "You've done quite enough around here today… Go on, you skedaddle! But make sure you're back in time for dinner at nineteen hundred!"
"Aye, aye, ma'am!" Jennifer grinned, and ducked back indoors before Harriet could reprimand her for her slip.
"That girl!" the blonde former officer said fondly, shaking her head.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Jen hadn't been gone more than ten minutes or so, before a large hand appeared over the top of the yard gate to fumble for and release the catch, allowing the gate to open to reveal the figure of Admiral A J Chegwidden USN (Retired), dressed comfortably in well washed faded jeans and a black T-shirt worn under an equally faded jean jacket.
His appearance was the signal for an excited scream from his juvenile namesake, who tore across the yard towards him screaming "Uncle Admiral!"
The next few minutes were spent in an exchange of greetings and AJ squatting down to inform an inclined to be disappointed Jimmy Roberts, that "No, I didn't bring Damage with me today. I know I got my blue jeans on, but I got to do some work with Uncle Harm. But I tell you what; she'll be with me for the picnic – OK!"
"When the picnic?" Jimmy demanded with a pout.
"The day after tomorrow," A J explained with a degree of patience he never shown any of his subordinates, that means you have to go to bed tonight, and then again the next night, and then when you wake up, it'll be time for the picnic!"
"OK." the little boy said solemnly, "Day… after… 'morrow?" he asked in confirmation.
"That's a promised, Tiger!" the former SeAL grinned, straightening up and turning towards the sun deck.
Harm and Bud instinctively rose to their feet as their former CO stepped up onto the deck.
AJ grinned and nodded "Bud… you're looking good! Hello Harm, how are you doing? And sit down, the pair of you!""
"I'm doing pretty good Admiral, and you?" Harm replied, taking AJ's offered hand in a firm grip.
"I'm fine, son… and… drop the 'Admiral' and 'sir' cra… uh… stuff!" he hastily corrected himself with a guilty look at Mattie and Harriet, "Remember, I'm not in your Navy anymore!" he redirected his attention back to Harm.
Harm felt the tips of ears burn red as he recalled exactly, when, where and most especially exactly how he had said those self-same words to the older man, "Um… yeah… I'm… uh… sorry about that…" he began.
Chegwidden waved off Harm's attempted apology, "It's all water under the bridge, now Harm; we both said a lot of stuff about that time that we didn't necessarily mean! Now… was that Jennifer Coates I just saw peeling out of here?"
"Uh… yeah, I guess…" Harm agreed, "She's got a couple of chores to do, but she said she'll be back for dinner…"
"Yep, thought I recognised that wreck she drives! Burning a hell of a lot of oil these days! Now, Bud, I need to speak with Harm and Mattie about the adoption appeal, can you let us have a room, please?"
"The formal dining room?" Harriet suggested, "We don't use it much these days, not with the children… it's easier to clean up the mess if it's the kitchen!" she finished with grin.
"Thank you, Harriet," AJ replied and turning to Mattie said, "Would you care to lead the way, Miss Grace?"
"Thank you, Mister Chegwidden!" Mattie replied with a grin, "If you'll follow me, gentlemen?" and she turned her wheelchair on the spot.
Harriet waited until the three had crossed the kitchen and closed the dining room door behind them before she turned to her husband. "Did you see the look on the Comm… uh… the Captain's… Oh, drat! I mean on Harm's face while he was talking about that British Officer?" she asked him.
"Huh? He hardly mentioned her!" Bud objected, fidgeting uneasily in chair, "And don't you either!" he warned his wife, "You know that Harm isn't comfortable talking about feelings, and I'm not comfortable when you try to get involved in his personal life. Look at all those years you invested in trying to foster his relationship with Colonel MacKenzie, and look what came of that!"
Not for the first time Harriet Roberts wondered at her husband's capacity for obliviousness, to her, Harm's reticence in connection with the British Officer was a huge beacon lighting up the sky, but no, not for Bud.
Harriet's shoulders slumped slightly as she pondered what had caused what at the time seemed to have been just another bump in the road, but what was now taking on the appearance of a final and irrevocable rift between the two former partners. "I wonder what did happen between those two in the end! Mac won't say…"
"No, and it's a damn' sure thing that he won't say anything either!" Bud said forcefully.
"True," Harriet agreed mournfully, and then taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, "Are you just going to sit there all day, Bud Roberts, or are you going to shift your six and give me a hand with lunch?"
"Oh… I thought I'd just sit here and let you fix lunch," Bud replied nonchalantly.
"Bud Roberts!" Harriet exploded indignantly
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Gill cautioned her friend, "Nothing too girly! We're going to dinner and then we're coming back here. I am not going to spend the night visiting half a dozen clubs just so you can find the one with just the right 'ambiance'!"
"Sometimes you take all the fun out of life!" Sue complained as she stepped out from behind the wardrobe door, "There how's that?" she demanded as she performed a twirl.
"It'll do, I suppose!" Gill conceded as she regarded her friend's trouser suit and cream blouse.
"It'll do?" Sue asked incredulously, "Gill, do you have any idea how much exquisite tailoring like this costs?"
"No, I don't, and I don't want to know!" Gill answered with a grin, "but yes, it'll do!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
"Oh… wow!" Johnny Walker almost leaped to his feet as Julia entered the resident's lounge, "You look fantastic!" he said enthusiastically.
"What, this old rag?" Julia asked demurely, but with a twinkle in her eye. It was true; she'd had the wine red silk dress for nearly a year now, but had only worn it on a couple of occasions. It was sleeveless, but with two-finger-wide straps and a fitted bodice with a modest square-cut neckline that clung to her body down to her hips from where it floated in a confusion of folds down to her knees. She had left her hair loose and it fell in a soft, wavy, shining curtain that framed her face and rested gently on her shoulders. In her hand she carried a black lace mantilla which she had pressed into service as a wrap if the evening should turn chilly, and the neat black pumps gave her an extra inch or so of height.
Johnny shook his head, glad that he'd decided in favour of his dark suit so that he wouldn't embarrass Julia by being shabbily dressed.
"If that's just an old rag," he told her, "I can't wait to see what you look like when you're all dressed up!"
Julia flushed pink with pleasure, and her heightened colour with her shining eyes just added to the assault her appearance was wreaking on Johnny's senses. "Umm… shall we go in?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the dining room.
"That would be nice," Julia agreed softly, and then with a grin she confided to him, "I'm starving!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Harm's head was reeling; the session with AJ had been intense, broken only by a brief interruption for lunch, taken with all the chaos of breakfast time in the kitchen, and then a return to the dining room.
AJ went over the Judge's reasoning behind her refusal to permit Harm to adopt Mattie and while Harm formulated a rebuttal to each point in turn, AJ made notes of what he said and turned them into counter-arguments.
On the matter of suitable accommodation for a teenaged girl, Harm had taken the precaution of bringing with him photographs of the O-6 Base House which he had been allocated, along with notations as to room dimensions and ease of wheelchair access, pointing out that British houses rarely had the raised porches that were so typical of American designed dwellings, and that a simple ramp could be installed at both front and rear entrances while they were need.
"Not for long!" Mattie interrupted determinedly, "I'm going to be out of this damned contraption by Christmas at the latest!"
Both men grinned in approval of the girl's spirit, and Harm reached across to ruffle her curls, "That's the stuff squirt!
AJ coughed, drawing Harm's attention back to the matter at hand, "There are just two more points for rebuttal in Judge Smith's summation," and he fixed his dark eye on Harm, "First there's the matter of you flying fast jets…"
"Well… I'll tell you AJ, I'm thinking of giving up my flight status…"
"Harm! No!" Mattie interjected fiercely.
"Think about it squirt… I'm forty-two coming on forty-three and my reflexes are slowing down. Flying fast jets is a young man's game… If I keep going back into the air, not only will I deserve my old 'Pappy' call-sign, but there's an ever-increasing risk that something might go wrong and that I won't be quick enough to react to it. Besides, I'm in command over there, I have extra responsibilities, I can't just drop everything and scoot off to a carrier for two or three days just to keep my hand in. And anyway, I doubt that the Navy will be happy for me to play with their jets for much longer. I know Admiral Taylor won't be keen on the idea!"
"Who he?" Mattie demanded.
"He's the USN attaché to the Embassy in London, and as the highest ranking officer on station, he's the guy who has the final say-so as to what I can and can't do." Harm paused to reflect on that last sentence, "Except, of course, unless it's a JAG matter, and then it's General Cresswell!"
"Well… Taylor you say?" AJ asked, diverted for the moment from the business at hand. "Is that JJ Taylor the Third, Old Lardasss Taylor – oops! Sorry Mattie!"
"Yep! The very one!" Harm agreed.
"Well, I'll be…" AJ breathed and then shook his head, "Let's get back to business. The last point is the only one you can't rebut, Harm. Judge Smith doesn't like it that you're single."
Harm sighed, "Yeah, well, when I petitioned for adoption, I'd hoped that my bachelor days were numbered. I guess you could call it a triumph of optimism over experience!" he added with a tinge of bitterness in his tone.
"Mac?" AJ asked.
"Yeah, Mac!" Harm agreed.
"What happened there, son?" AJ asked gently.
Harm fought his words past the lump in his throat, "Turned out in the end she didn't love me." He said flatly. He then seemed to realise how much he had revealed and with what might have been a muffled obscenity, he pushed his chair back from the table and stalked out of the room. Seconds later the front door banged.
Former Admiral and teenaged girl stared at the door for long moments before they looked back at each other.
"Well!" Mattie puffed.
"Yeah!" AJ nodded in agreement.