Harm climbed into the pool car with a broad grin on his face. The afternoon with Gill had ended with a coffee in her room, which she called her 'bunk', in the Ordnance Hill Mess, after which, and a gentle kiss on his cheek he had driven back to Northolt. This morning after an early wake up and a restricted run – the RAF were flying today, he had showered, feeling that all – or nearly was well with his world, and had even had time to snatch a hasty breakfast and two mugs of coffee before Julia Martinez arrived to take him to work.

Even the news that greeted him at the CP that Admiral Taylor wanted to see him 'at his earliest convenience' couldn't diminish his sunny mood, and with a cheery, "Go on up Yeoman Two, and start the coffee, I doubt I'll be long," he had turned on his heel and cut through the rear entrance of the wing that housed Jag and across the inner courtyard to the rear entrance of the embassy. Returning the Marine sentry's salute, Harm had made his way to the suite of offices that housed the Naval Attaché and within a few minutes was cloistered with Rear Admiral John Joseph Taylor III to receive the good news that COMNAVFOREUR had decided that the Labour Day holiday this year should be marked by a softball game between Navy and Marine Corps teams and that having seen what a good job JAG had made of their own softball game on July Fourth, he had decided that JAG should have the privilege of organising the Labour Day game. This included trawling all ships and USMC detachments afloat and ashore for nominations for the teams, and organising temporary accommodation for the players for the week prior to the game so that the ad-hoc teams had a chance to settle down into cohesive units.

His cheerful "Aye, aye, sir" had left Admiral Taylor almost gawping at him in disbelief as he had tucked the outline document into his shirt pocket and left the Admiral's office, a plan to resolve his problem already formulating in his head.

Harm's good mood was further enhanced when left the Embassy main building and cut back across the yard toward the wing that housed JAG HQ, barely aware of the squad of Marines who stood in formation, until the NCO in charge of the formation suddenly about-faced and shouted "JAG on deck!"

As the formation braced to attention the NCO executed a perfect salute, but it was the voice that brought Harm's to a precipitate halt and his head whipping around to stare at the Marines. After a couple of seconds of incredulity, Harm returned the salute, and a huge grin creased his face.

"Gunny!" he exclaimed, "Front and centre!"

Victor Galindez snapped, "At ease!" to his Marines and then marched across the stretch of tarmac towards Harm and halted just in front of the smiling Naval officer. "Not Gunny, any more, sir!" he grinned, "First Sergeant Galindez reporting sir!"

"By all that's holy, it's more than just good to see you Gu... uh... First Sergeant... but what are you doing here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but...uh... I guess more than a little surprised!"

Victor Galindez grasped Harm's offered hand in a firm grip and allowed a fleeting smile to cross his rather stern featured face, "Well, sir, with the increase of anti-American attacks on Embassies worldwide, the security detachments have all been increased. Here in England, they've bumped it up to a full company strength, and I got chosen to fill the billet!"

"And the extra rocker to go with the billet?"

"No sir, this is my second tour as First Shirt, my other billet was downrange sir!"

"Well, it's good to see you First Sergeant, no matter what the circumstances. Once you've gotten yourself settled in, come and visit with us in JAG! It's not quite Falls Church, but we try!"

"I'll do that, sir!" The Marine promised and taking a step back, he whipped up another drill-field standard salute, "By your leave, sir?"

"Yes, Gunny, dismissed!" Harm again returned the salute and watched the NCO about-face and return to the waiting formation.

One more reason to be cheerful on a Monday morning, Harm thought as he climbed the stairs to the third floor JAG offices. He had to get rid of the extra calories he'd eaten and drunk over the weekend he told himself!

"Good morning Legalman One!" He called out to Jen as he whisked into his office before Jen or Julia had a chance to do more than half rise from their seats, but barely had he closed the door behind him when he opened it again, causing both young women to abort their return to their chairs and start to stand again.

"Any sign of that Coffee, Yeoman Two?" he smiled.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" a slightly flustered Julia replied, but as soon as he closed his office door both she and Jen collapsed back into their chairs.

"What's got into him this morning?" Jen asked bemusedly. "He's not normally a morning person, and the last time I saw him this cheerful was when he got guardianship of Mattie!"

Julia shrugged, "I don't know... he's been like this ever since he left his quarters this morning! And I swear he positively bounced down the steps and along the path to the car! Not even a summons to Admiral Taylor upset him – and that usually does the trick!"

Jen grinned and shook her head, "That all may very well be true, but I do know one thing that will sour his mood – and that is if he doesn't get his coffee PDQ!"

"Good thinking!" Julia agreed as she once again rose from her seat, this time to head for the galley.

Harm looked up from the first of the many folders that required his attention this morning, calling out "Enter!" in response to the knock at his door.

Julia Martinez let herself in, a mug of steaming coffee in her hand,"Ah... put it on the desk, please Yeoman Two, and then pass the word for Lieutenant Sullivan, and then when she arrives, come in with her!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" Julia said, as she was duty bound to, although Harm could see the curiosity building in her eyes.

"Nothing to worry about, Yeoman Two, I'll explain everything to you both once the Lieutenant gets here!"

Harm smiled as Julia let herself out of the office. He knew it was childish of him, but he was in that sort of mood today, and he was anticipating enjoying the moment when expressions of consternation filled their faces as he dumped the whole thing in their laps.

He had just enough time to finish his coffee, when the eagerly awaited knock at his door announced the arrival of Sullivan and Martinez. It was obvious that the Yeoman had clued the Lieutenant in that he'd wanted to see them both, as the dark-haired officer came to a halt, "Lieutenant Sullivan and Yeoman Two Martinez, reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Stand easy, at ease!" Harm instructed and then sat back in his chair. "It will shortly be Labour Day, and once again NAVFOREUR will be celebrating a Federal Holiday, but to make it a particularly noteworthy holiday, COMNAVFOREUR has decided that there will be a softball game between Navy and Marine Corps Europe. To that end all Corps units and naval ships in the command will be trawled to produce individual stars. The teams will assemble here in London the week before Labour Day in order to select the best players from each pool. JAG London has been nominated to organise this event. And I...," he couldn't quite resist the beginning of the unholy grin that threatened to consume him, "Am nominating the pair of you to organise this... contest, right down to providing uniforms, equipment, transport, accommodation and even the diamond! I would do it myself, of course, but I'm afraid I have a court date in DC on the Friday before Labour Day, and I regret that I shall not be on station for the holiday! Carry on!"

The dumbfounded looks on Sullivan and Martinez face were all that he could have desired, and their chorused, "Aye, aye, sir" seemed a little... breathless, but he was confident that all would be completed on schedule, and that if they did hit any major snags they would have the sense to come to him before any glitches snowballed into problems. He was also willing to bet that Lieutenant Tierney would be roped in, quite unofficially, to help with the planning and execution.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

The next interruption to Harm's day didn't come until after lunch when the buzz of the intercom distracted him from reading an After Action Report from the Skipper of the Daniel J Jackson, a guided missile destroyer which had encountered Somali pirates while on passage from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean where it was to join the Iron Ike's battle group. The Somali's had been attempting to board a Spanish freighter, the crew of which were making a valiant defence with the aid of a couple of bolt-action rifles and the ship's fire hoses. According to the report, the Jackson had approached the scene at speed and had fired a warning burst from the .50 calibre Brownings mounted on the port side Bridge wing and the Somalis had abandoned their attack on the Spaniard and sheered off at high speed,

All well and good, until a week later CENCOM had received a complaint from the Somali government accusing the skipper of the Jackson of having violated Somali territorial waters, CENCOM had gleefully noted that the Jackson had transferred to NAVFOEUR, and doubtless rubbing their hands in happiness, they had passed the complaint to HQ NAVFOREUR, who of course had just as happily passed it to Harm.

This was a storm in a tea-cup, and it would probably take no more than a strongly worded letter of rejection to the Somali Embassy in London, backed up by a copy of the chart of the sea area with the relative positions of the three involved vessels as shown by the GPS readings appended to the AAR, but it was a tedious process and a waste of resources. So, the interruption wasn't entirely unwelcome when it came.

Harm toggled the intercom in reply to its demand and said "Yes?"

"Sir," Jen said, "there's a Commander Roberts to see you, he apologises..."

"Bud?!" Harm's face lit up in a huge grin, "Send him in!"

"Uh... no, sir, not our Lieutenant Commander Roberts, it's a Commander Roberts, Royal Navy!"

"Oh... Well, send him in anyway!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

Jen opened the door and announced the visitor, who stepped smartly across the carpet to halt in front of the desk, behind which Harm rose to meet him.

"Good afternoon, sir! My apologies for turning up without an appointment!"

"None needed, Commander, take a seat and tell me what brings a Royal Navy officer into this den of iniquity?" As he spoke, Harm gave the other man a careful scrutiny. He was a shade under six feet, maybe five eleven, and looked to be about one hundred and eighty or one hundred and ninety pounds. Yet he had moved lightly, totally balanced, and that together with a slightly swollen right ear made Harm think that perhaps the other officer was, or had been at one time, a boxer. Once the thought had crossed his mind he nodded to himself, yes, there was something of Mic Brumby in the way the man carried himself.

"Yes, sir. You have a Petty Officer Second Class MacLaren, who I believe is facing a charge of the theft of a bicycle, the property of our Petty Officer Nicholson..."

Harm held up a hand to stop the other officer. "Yes, I am aware of the case, but it is not quite as cut and dried as you make it. Firstly it is the alleged theft of a bicycle, secondly it was not in fact theft. The bicycle was returned at MacLaren's expense, and I believe UK law is the same as ours in that respect, in that the charge of theft is only substantiated by the intention to permanently deprive the owner of his goods or money. Given that the bicycle has already been returned, as far as we are concerned that kite won't fly!"

"But you concede that a crime, an alleged crime has been committed?" Roberts pressed.

"No, I won't go that far, what I will allow is that PO Two MacLaren is under investigation on a charge wrongful appropriation of private property." Harm paused to gather his thoughts, it had been a long time since he'd had to do this sort of thing on a regular basis. "What that means is that MacLaren will stand an Article Thirty-Two hearing, which under the auspices of an investigating officer will hear a summary of evidence and the IO will decide solely on the basis of that evidence whether or not MacLaren will stand trial by either a Special Court Martial of a General Court Martial."

"But he will face trial?"

"Not necessarily so. That will depend on the IO."

"And who will the IO be?"

"He will be a naval judge, an experienced attorney who has made the switch from litigation to the bench. I believe much the same sort of thing is the case with your... barristers turned judges?"

Roberts nodded, "Yes, sir, pretty much the same."

"Good... now... just to satisfy my curiosity, and yeah, I get that one of your sailors is the complainant, but this is surely a US Navy internal matter?"

"Agreed, sir, But unfortunately the US Forces in the UK have an unfortunate reputation of quoting SOFA to retain jurisdiction over their service member – which is perfectly proper – but then what isn't proper, is that they whisk the accused back to the USA without taking any action at all against the guilty party. I know that sounds as if we mistrust you, but the latest incident was only a couple of years ago, when a drunken US Air Force airman from Lakenheath got behind the wheel of his car and killed two young girls when he ploughed into their bicycles. He was arrested on the spot by our civilian police, but on SOFA being quoted he was released into Air Force custody, but rather than being retained in the UK to face disciplinary action, he was shipped back to the USA. It took months for the families of the two young girls to get any sort of answer as to what had happened to him. The Commanding Officer flatly refused to answer any questions because whatever happened was a USAF Internal Matter. It took our Foreign Office to put pressure on your State Department to find out that in the end the airman wasn't charged with anything because he was now 'out of the jurisdiction where the alleged offence occurred'!"

Harm's face lost its hint of an indulgent smile as he listened to the British Officer's tale. And at the conclusion he sat back in his chair, his hands resting lightly on the chair arms. "I am now going to speak as a private citizen of the United States, not as an officer in her Navy. Do you understand the distinction I am drawing?"

"I do," Roberts agreed.

"Good. I am appalled and horrified that an officer of my country's armed forces would act in such a manner, and whoever the directing force behind this travesty has my unreserved contempt. But as a private citizen, I can do nothing to rectify the situation. I can only say that I am ashamed of my countrymen. Naturally, I shall deny that those words ever passed my lips, even as a private citizen,

"Unfortunately as an officer of the United States Navy, I can say nothing. I am prohibited by our Uniform Code of Military Justice from criticising any officer of higher rank than myself. All I can say is that the case against Maclaren will be investigated, and if the IO should decide that there is a case to answer then MacLaren will face a trial. However, there is one point which you haven't mentioned, and so I wonder if you are aware that the two Petty officers are brothers in law – MacLaren's sister is Nicholson' wife – and that there is a history of bad blood between the two men."

"No... I wasn't aware of that!" Roberts said bitterly, "But... I'd like to be kept informed of how things proceed... in fact, if you have no objections, I wouldn't mind sitting in on the hearing, and on the trial – if there is to be one!"

"Not at all," Harm said, happy to put a positive turn on the conversation. "If you have a card, I'll make sure my Legalman keeps you up to date..."

"Thank you, sir." Roberts stood to allow himself to fish a card from his pocket, "And I think I've taken up quite enough of your time, sir!"

Harm took the card and immediately transferred it to his left hand, offering the British Officer his right, "It was a pleasure meeting you Commander, and I look forward to seeing you at MacLaren's hearing."

"Thank you, sir. I only wish our meeting had been under more pleasant circumstances! By your leave, Sir?"

"Certainly. Goodbye Commander."

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Jen had hoped to take advantage of Harm's sunnier than usual mood and ask him to accompany her to view the apartment in Church Road, Stanmore. Now, she bit her lip nervously and wondered if the visit from the British Officer had spoiled that mood; the expression on Roberts' face as he'd left was certainly more sombre than when he had arrived.

Biting her lip, Jen stood and with a smile in Julia's direction, she tapped on Harm's office door, and waited for his call for her to enter.

Opening the door, she started, "Sir...?"

"Come on in Jen, he said affably, I was just about to call you to come to see me! But as you got in the first strike what is it you need?"

"Sir, if this isn't a good time, I..."

"Jen it's a perfectly good time. I say again, what can I do for you?"

"Last week, sir, when I talked about moving off-base, you said you'd OK my application for OHA if you approved of the premises. Well, I've found somewhere, the total travel time is about forty minutes by tube and on foot... and I was wondering when it would be convenient for you to take a look at the place, sir?"

"Have you made an appointment with the realtor? You aren't doing this through a private landlord are you?" Harm added a slight look of concern on his face.

"Oh, no, sir! A real estate agency, that's how I found the place, by looking through their listings, and no sir, I haven't made an appointment yet, I was waiting to see if you could..."

Even while Jen spoke, Harm looked at his calendar for the week, although given the current paucity of his social life that was pretty much a no-brainer. "OK, tomorrow after secure; how's that suit you?"

"Thank you sir!" Jen's gratitude spilled out in a rush.

Harm's face split again into a grin of amusement at his Legalman's obvious relief. For some reason moving off-base was important to her. And if it was important to Jennifer Coates, then it was important to Harmon Rabb.

"OK, go ahead and make the appointment with the realtor!" Harm paused for a second or two, "And now that's out of the way, the reason I wanted you. I need you to carry out some research. I have just been told a story of our Forces in the UK exploiting SOFA to avoid having a US Serviceman tried in a UK court on the British equivalent of vehicular manslaughter while DUI. It wasn't pleasant hearing, especially as it was strongly implied that the case I was being told about was not an isolated incident. I want you to go back ten years and search through UK news outlets, local and syndicated and see of you can find any other examples. I hope you don't, but I don't want you to whitewash anything either."

Jen's face sobered as Harm spoke, "Understood, sir," she said gravely.

"Thank you, Jen. Dismissed."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Jen about-faced, left the office and returned to her desk, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" Julia asked.

"No... not wrong... not exactly...It's just that the Captain has given me a research project, and I'm not entirely sure where to start... No, that's not true... I have no idea where to start!"

"Oh." Julia's face mirrored her surprise. Even in the short time she and Jen had worked together, she had been impressed with the older woman's resourcefulness and application, "What sort of research?"

Julia listened carefully while Jen explained what she'd been tasked to do, but at the end of shook her head. "I wouldn't know where to start either," she confessed, and then an idea occurred to her, "But... I might know a man who does." she said slowly and reached for her telephone.

Jen just stared at her and said "You do? Who?"

Julia grinned and mouthed "Wait!" while she waited for the recipient of her call to pick up the phone, "Hi Johnny, it's Julia,"

"Julia, you shouldn't be calling me at work!"

"Ah, but this is about work, sweetheart..." Julia smiled into the 'phone and then briefly explained what she was looking for.

Johnny listened to the explanation and then said, "Well, I'm not a hundred per cent certain either. and what I'm about to say may not give a hundred per cent cover, but I reckon your best bet would be to contact the local TV and radio stations in the areas where there are US bases. You'd need to contact their archive sections, but if what you say is true, there's bound to be some ill-feeling. Some of what you get might just be hearsay. but I remember something along those lines happening at Newbury... when the so-called 'Peace Camp' was set up right outside the base gates at Greenham Common. Something about one of the women being assaulted by an off-duty serviceman. Hang on a second, and I'll read you out the names of the local TV companies, and the towns they're based in..."

"You have that sort of information to hand?" Julia asked in astonishment.

"Sure... on the TV Guide page of the newspaper!" Johnny grinned. "It's not a lot, but it gives you somewhere to start looking!"

The call ended and Julia put the 'phone down, passing the list she had scribbled to Jen, who took it almost in awe, "Who was that?" she asked.

"Oh... that was my boyfriend," Julia blushed as she suddenly realised that was the first time she had ever called Johnny by that title, not even to herself had she admitted as much.

"He something to do with TV News?" Jen asked in mild surprise.

"Oh, no... he's army, British Army," Julia said happily.

Jen looked at her co-worker in astonishment, "But how would he know...?" she fluttered the piece of paper in her hand.

"He's a very resourceful guy, is my guy!" Julia said proudly, and even from where she sat Jen could see the happiness in Julia's eyes.

"Oh, wow! You've got it bad, girl!"

"Yeah, I guess I have!" Julia admitted happily, and then signalled the end of that particular conversation by returning her attention to the open file that lay on her desk

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Tuesday at seventeen hundred found Jen waiting more or less patiently for Harm as he gave a final briefing to Julia, "So... get the car to the address that Legalman One Coates gave you, and wait for she and I to rejoin you, then you take us all back to Northolt, got it?"

"Got it, sir!"

"Good. Coates and I will take the subway to this place..."

"Stanmore, sir," Julia supplied helpfully.

Harm sent a baleful glare her way, "Exactly. Stanmore. Now, apparently it will take Coates and I about forty minutes to get there, so if you get there much before us, don't start getting anxious! Understood?"

"Understood, sir!"

"Good, now, get going!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

The journey took, as Jen had forecast a little over forty minutes that included the walk to Bond Street tube station and the walk from Stanmore tube station to Church Street, The agency representative had already arrived and had unlocked the apartment and was waiting for them. She looked a little confused as Harm and Jen approached and stood to greet them, "Ah... Mister and Mrs Coates?" she asked, looking at the clip board in her hand.

"No, this is Miss Coates. I am Harmon Rabb her CO, I'm just here to check that the apartment is suitable," Harm told her while a mortified Jen blushed fiercely.

Her faux-pas seemed to have thrown the estate agent off-balance and her usual glib spiel faltered under the quizzical look in Harm's eyes as he and Jen followed her around the apartment and noted its salient features.

"I see that the apartment is advertised as furnished," Harm observed, looking around the living-cum-dining room, "but the furniture is a bit sparse, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," the estate agent admitted. But it is a flat meant for two people and as you can see there are two dining chair and two easy chairs..."

"And any visitors would sit where?" Harm asked.

"Oh... that would be at the lessee's discretion..."

In the meantime, Jen had wandered into the bathroom and stood gazing in awe at not only the huge, old fashioned claw-foot bathtub, but by the six foot square modern shower. Reaching into the shower stall, she took the hand-held shower head off its clamp and turned on the water. Jen fell in love with the shower the second the force of the water rushing down the hose and out through the nozzle made the shower head buck in her hand. That alone almost made her want to move in immediately, and then her happy gaze fell on the bath. Nodding to herself, she returned to the living room.

"Have you got a moment, sir?"

"Yes, of course." Harm broke off his conversation with the estate agent and took a few steps to one side.

"I like it sir!" Jen enthused, but quietly. "The bathroom is to die for! It's fantastic!"

"Well... the rest of the place isn't quite that good, Jen. But it's clean, light, airy, structurally sound... and it looks like Mattie won't come to any harm in here."

"No, sir. And it's less than five minutes from the shopping area... No, there aren't any designer outlets, but it's OK for grocery shopping... and there's a free library..."

"OK, Jen, you've persuaded me. Let's get the details sorted with Miss What's-her-name..."

"Lincoln!" Jen giggled, "Miss Lincoln."

In a few minutes Miss Lincoln had agreed to send a lease agreement to JAG HQ at the US Embassy, and subject to it meeting with legal approval, then Jen would sign it and send it back to the estate agency with a cheque for the first month's rent and security deposit.

Hands were shaken all round and Harm and Jen left Miss Lincoln to secure the apartment and stepped outside into the summer evening to see the car-pool sedan waiting for them in the building's tiny parking lot.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

The journey home was competed in comfortable silence. Harm for once in the rear seat while Jen sat up front with Julia, taking a keen interest in the route taken and the Sat Nav mounted on the sedan's dashboard.

Harm was dropped off first and stood on the doorstep of his house waiting until Julia had pulled away from the kerbside before unlocking his front door and making for the kitchen

An hour later showered, watered and fed, he lay back against the squabs of the couch and picked up his telephone.

"Hey, you, how was your day?"

"Oh... same old, same old," Gill smiled, "How was yours?"

"Pretty good, although I think I threw a few of my staff into a flat spin today..."

"How did you manage that?" Gill chuckled.

"Well. I kept thinking about Friday and Sunday, and I guess I spent most of yesterday and today wandering around on cloud nine with a sappy smile on my face!"

"Oh? What was so special about Friday and Sunday?" Gill challenged teasingly.

"You." Harm said simply.

Gill had been expecting a flip, teasing response in reply to her own teasing and Harm's simple explanation temporarily robbed her of words. Her silence was so long that Harm became concerned, thinking that he had overstepped the mark somehow, and that she had rung off.

"Gill, are you still there?"

"Y... yes... I'm still here... but I don't know what to say, you sort of took me by surprise..."

"Oh... that's a good thing, isn't it? After all you wouldn't want me to be too predictable, would you?" Harm asked half-seriously, half jokingly.

"No... No, I definitely wouldn't want that... but next time a little warning before you say something so sweet might help me to keep some air in my lungs!" Gill said, making a recovery.

"Took your breath away, huh?" Harm asked, realising as he did so that he felt smugly pleased with himself, and then winced as his conscious mind made the Top Gun connection.

"Rendered me totally breathless," Gill said, and to Harm's relief, totally missing the link "And how the hell am I going to top that?"

"I don't know," Harm confessed, "but how about I give you until Friday evening to think of a way? I could pick you up at... say... nineteen thirty hours... and then you could spend the whole evening getting even with me?"

"Yes... yes, I'd like that... let me know where we're going so I can dress appropriately?"

"Sure, I'll call you tomorrow or Thursday."

"OK, I look forward to that... and to seeing you on Friday.

"Yeah, g'bye Gill."

"G'bye Harm."

Harm put the phone down and smiled gently to himself.

Gill put her phone down and lay back on her pillows a soft, wondering smile wreathing her face, who could have thought that her rough, tough daring navy pilot slash lawyer could come out with something so unexpectedly sweet, right out of the blue like that. Hey, wait a minute! The thinking part of her brain interrupted her thoughts, what do you man by 'your rough tough, etcetera?'. Just that, 'my sailor,' Gill told herself, well for the present, anyway... though it would be interesting, to say the least, to see how far they could take this... relationship, she supposed it was becoming.

A grin then creased her face and she sat up on her bed again and reached for her 'phone and dialled a familiar number.

"Hello, Sue? It's Gill... Do you remember that not totally repulsive Yankee sailor? Well, I just thought I'd let you know..."

Gill winced and snatched the phone away from her ear as Sue's excited squeal carried over the airwaves.