Chapter Five - "The Honeymoon"

"Hail and Well Met"

Chapter Five - "The Honeymoon"

1100 hrs EST; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, VA.

By this time after Meg had received a chorus of congratulations on her promotion from all those who had been at the office except for one perturbed Major Mackenzie who had turned on her heels and headed into her office slamming the door behind her. Meg was surprised nothing had broken.

After clearing it from the admiral as to what would be needed upon return, Meg and Animal departed from her intended place of work in three weeks. "That was a surprise," Meg said to her husband, "I didn't know my report made it all the way to the President."

"Well, when you're that thorough... things have a way of reaching the right ears." Animal commented, "and I'm sure that a few people were keen on making sure those points brought up in your report were addressed. And that is a good thing. Such innovation needs to be recognized. Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander." Meg gave him a loving smile as they walked towards their rental car.

"I can barely believe it..." she said, still shocked that she now had two and a half stripes and was equivalent in rank to her former legal partner, as they headed towards their rental car. They got in the vehicle and started the motor. Meg noted that they really needed to store their uniforms.

Heading out they needed to access their storage places. The storage place that Animal had was down at the Naval Air Station by his BOQ., but since he was on deployment, they'd put someone else in there until another unit would open up so the stuff had to be stored off site. The address of Animal's storage unit down in Norfolk was at least a four hour drive so it made sense to hit Meg's storage place first in order to ensure that they got her stuff that she would want to take on a tropical honeymoon. Animal was fine with a couple changes of clothes; shirts, pants for evening and night when the temperatures start to dip, swim trunks, enough for a few days at a time and washable. Shorts for going sightseeing. And for night-time within their private room was simple at least for Animal; Meg on the other hand would probably temporarily wear selected pieces from her trousseau, but in the end they would sleep unclothed through the night.

And of course after several stops in Pearl during a Pacific cruise with the Black Aces, Animal had acquired some ghastly combinations of Hawaiian shirts and shorts (the more gaudy the better - in fact, CVW-8 had the ugliest Hawaiian shirt contest where members of the airwing competed to see who could come back from liberty at Pearl with the most horrific looking Hawaiian shirt that they could find -the only condition was that it could not be custom-made; it had to already be on the rack) plus a Panama hat to complete the horrendous ensemble. Meg threatened that she wouldn't be seen with him in public while he was wearing that thing as it made him look like a Peruvian drug lord. Animal ceded to her request (but slipped the hat back in when she wasn't looking.).

When they were all done they headed back towards Dulles to set up their connection to LAX. Luckily they were able to get a standby set of seats and get on. It allowed them to relax a bit while on the flight not that the flight would allow them to get much in the way of shut-eye as many had come to the same idea of doing so and the occasional coughs and sneezes from other passengers kept the both of them awake.

Taking off at 11PM, this red-eye got them into LAX about 1AM local time then a wait of two hours then it was a eight hour flight to Honolulu International which landed at 9AM local time. At least breakfast was being served and they figured they needed to force their body clocks onto local time to take full advantage of the days they were about to spend in Honolulu.

They hoped they could get a room early at their resort hotel and get in a swim at the pool. Animal's eyelids felt weighted down and it seemed as though both Meg and he were just about ready to fall asleep on their feet. If they slept until eleven maybe they might be able to grab some lunch and go out to do some sightseeing.

So, their first four hours in Honolulu Hawaii ended up with Meg and Animal grabbing breakfast and then having a power nap. As military officers, both Meg and Animal had managed to learn to function on minimal sleep and and be alert but travel over twelve time zones in a little over forty eight hours with the first eight hours being by taxi and military transport and driving certainly conspired to knock them out.

Their wakeup was to a nice afternoon sunset and the realization that they had slumbered through most of the day. By now their stomachs were certainly not in a happy mood even if both Meg and Animal were and their gastronomical body parts certainly let them know about their opinion to their abuse.

They knew that they needed to find food. Meg noted that every evening at around six, the hotel hosted a luau where the islander staff had fire juggling and Hawaiian music and roasted a whole pig over a fire-pit as well as other Hawaiian dishes. This was a nice idea and a not too expensive way of getting dinner and entertainment in one fell swoop. It would be worth it. And then they could try different Hawaiian cuisine and see what dishes appealed to their palate.

So Meg and Animal headed down to the luau; Meg sporting light makeup and a sundress and Animal sporting one of his less garish Hawaiian shirts and a pair of single toned shorts; a white pair. When they arrived there they were given several leis hung around their necks. Meg was enjoying every minute of this looking over at him affectionately as the fire light reflected off their eyes.

The fire juggler was impressive, twirling batons of flaming wood and a rod with lit ends which he twirled, spun around his torso and under his legs and it was very awe-inspiring as the flames did come very close to his loincloth edged with palm-fronds.

There were alcoholic drinks, laden with ice and set out so that people could just pick what they wanted as they sat down to watch the festivities while they were waiting for the pig to cook.

When the swine was fully sautéed and stuffed with an apple in its mouth and two frangipani blossoms in its ears, the Hawaiian village elder made the first slice of the pig giving it to the oldest guest. Then it was a queue for the pig. The pig was delicious and so were the other dishes. Meg and he drank some but of course not enough to get the slightest bit drunk. After all it was their honeymoon.

Retiring up to their room which was facing the oceanfront, the moon reflecting on the water: two were silhouetted against the window as they kissed. Meg's sundress joined Animal's shorts on the floor and Meg smiled as she saw that like her attire that night, there was nothing between the two of them. Evidently commando was both on their minds that evening.

Meg sighed softly as her husband gathered her into his arms, his touch electric on her bare skin, and then taking her up against the wall he and Meg joined in intimacy, hearing her intake of breath as she sighed feeling him move within. "Please... Tosh, make me feel good tonight..." she said, her voice throaty with her need. He did as requested. She lost count and they ended up on the bed limp, sweaty and panting.

Then they ended up in the shower, lathering each other and ending up having to do more showering as they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Passionately touching each other as they explored each other's bodies while the warm shower cascaded over them. Her sodden hair falling into her eyes (she wore it longer than she had back in '94), she gave him a low-lidded glance as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, her core pressing up fitting neatly against him. She smirked as she felt him react immediately to her closeness.

It was well past 2300hrs before the two made it to their bed, the ocean scent making it into their room and the floral scents from the flowering trees outside combined with Meg's intoxicating scent was enough to make her husband react again. Meg grinned as she nestled into sleep beside him her back pressed up against his chest and then hiking herself a bit so he could enter her. She felt his chest against her back and smiled as she noticed where his left hand was on. And thus intimately joined, they fell asleep.

0645 hrs, Oahu Beach Resort Hotel, Oahu, HI.

Meg's eyelids cracked open at the light streaming into their hotel sliding door leading to the swim up patio of their private pool.

Of course women had to be wearing bathing suits or bikini's while swimming, even within the private pools unlike the clothing optional private resorts one had to maintain a certain amount of decorum. After all , kids did come to the resort here. And the last thing the parents needed was to see their kids watching a couple in flagrante delicto in the pool below.

Meg thought to herself that maybe they should have chosen the adult clothing optional resort where they could do whatever they wanted in their private pool in terms of intimacy.

At least inside their suites was a different story, no-one could see inside their hotel room suite because suites either faced the golf course or the ocean. Which meant that Meg's unique way to wake her husband went unseen, thankfully, for the innocence of the little kiddies.

"Oh...god!" Animal groaned. "Meg!"

"Like that?" Meg purred as she lifted her head, smiling. "Good morning..."

Oh, that really was a good morning alright. And Meg's favor was reciprocated, leading to her having to use a pillow. lest security had to make a visit.

Ending up in the shower was the usual end result. Well it was a honeymoon, go figure. How many times they would venture forth from their hotel would probably be able to be counted on two hands.

Much later after a served-in-the-room breakfast and donning clothes outside of bathrobes for the first time that day, the two newlyweds made their way out to go visit the sights of Oahu. Also on the list was a visit to Pearl Harbor but not today.

As a Medal of Honor recipient, Animal was allowed to wear his uniform at anytime wherever provided that it did not bring disrepute on the United States Navy.

And a visit to Pearl Harbor's Memorial, should require the strictest gravity of any US military personnel. Hence the reason why Animal decided to save the visit to the USS Arizona till last on the last day before Meg and he were scheduled to return to the Mainland enroute to DC. Service whites and the Medal and the laying of a wreath in memory of the men, fellow Navy men of days past, who had gone down with the ship on that fateful day.

For today it would be all about exploring the island of Oahu and enjoying the sights. One of the things that Meg and Animal planned to do was take in the Museum of Art which comprised 30 galleries and over 33,000 works of art. The Asian art collection was what drew Animal to the site. Meg and he wandered the collection looking at the works of Hakusai, and the gallery's collection of scrolls.

"It's amazing how ornate this painting is..." Meg enthused staring at the famous painting The Great Wave and realizing how many places, including t-shirts had used this exact same image and noted that this particular painting was the original work of the artist.

Another fascinating art gallery was the arts of Hawaii which were works of art generated by the native people of Hawaii and spoke to their history and the colonization by foreigners. It generated a deep feeling of what it must have been like to see one's island change from a tropical oasis to a bustling metropolis. Their way of life had changed completely.

European and American art tended to show aspects of family life ignoring the fact that Hawaii was a colony first off by Great Britain with Captain Cook first discovering the islands then later to be colonized by the Americans and eventually granted statehood which to some was a mixed blessing.

It was 1300hrs when they got out of the museum and their hunger pangs were starting to manifest. Heading back towards their hotel, they encountered a burger joint specializing in burgers with a Hawaiian twist. It also had an unpronounceable name, at least to non-Hawaiians owned by a rather portly Hawaiian native by the name of Joey Kan'ohehe'loa who cheerily greeted them as they walked in. And served them up some barbecued double cow/pig burger with a sausage patty, and a beef patty separated by lettuce, tomato, and two of the thickest slices of pine-apple one ever saw. By the time Meg and Animal finished their burgers it was certain that they would spend the rest of the day in a comparative lethargy unless they walked it off so off they went and bought sodas. So that they could walk to their next place they wanted to visit: Foster Botanical Gardens which comprised over several thousands of exotic flowers and trees. It was an interesting walk through. And one where they lingered due to the scents from the flowers that pervaded the air. From there they wandered to the Izumo Taishakyo Mission a Shinto shrine and viewed the Hiroshima Peace Bell. Then from there it was back along Kalakaua Avenue and back to their resort hotel where they changed into swim wear and spent some time together in their private pool, just taking the time to relax their aching feet and watching the ocean view.

Dinner was at the hotel restaurant with a plate of fried mahi mahi. The dish was laden with shrimp as well as the fried fish and absolutely delicious. A few drinks on the side and they headed back to their suite and after a passionate round of lovemaking, they went to sleep.

Morning prompted yet another passionate encounter which ended in the shower and resulted in having to take yet another shower, cold this time to quench their ardor. And ensure that they got out to do the things they were supposed to do, like visit 'Iolani Palace which was the Hawaiian seat of government from 1893-1968. And was just refurbished back to its original splendor when it was the Royal Palace for Hawaii's King David Kalakaua and his Queen Kapi'olani after that, it was a trip to the Byodo in temple, Buddhist temple in a tranquil part of O'ahu. The Kane'ohe District had many things of interest but Meg and Animal had a limited amount of time to explore due to the dying light and the fact that they'd spent a significant amount of time in the palace they had visited earlier. Maybe in another trip.

Tomorrow they would trek to the Ka'ena Point Natural Area Reserve.

And there were many other places still left to go. Diamond Head Crater in Waikiki was the next day after returning from Ka'ena.

Of course the Beach Boys song Surfin' USA prompted a visit the following day where Meg and Animal just spent a gorgeous day lounging around the sandy beach at Waimea Bay. Of course because of the treacherous undercurrents, Meg and Animal decided that it wasn't worth it and stayed out of the water opting to shower when they got a bit too warm. The North Shore provided some places to eat. The Waialua bakery provided some eats during their day in the sun while a stop at a Mexican eatery fueled their trip back to their resort.

Throughout the week they spent exploring O'ahu and the second week, five days were spent exploring the other islands, it was an absolutely wonderful honeymoon. Two days before they were scheduled to fly home they were back in their resort hotel for the final two relaxing days before the jet flight home to DC.

Saturday 1700hrs;Oahu Beach Resort Hotel, Oahu, HI.

Donning service whites, open collar, and crisp clean line-officer shoulder-boards, Animal put on his officer's cap, as Meg deciding to go incognito as his wife instead since he was able to wear his uniform anywhere at any time but she was not. Their first stop was at the lobby to hire a cab to drop them off at the main gate of the Pearl Harbor Memorial always manned by sentries. A crisp salute by the sentries as Animal and his wife stepped forward. Navy servicemen were always welcome to pay their respects as were retired veterans.

"Good afternoon, sir!" The formal, almost ceremonial address of an enlisted addressing a superior officer attracted the attention of the public who were in line to visit the memorial. Amongst them was a Navy Retired hat with a genuine retired pin in a wheelchair with his family.

"Why is this man still in the line-up, sailor?" Animal asked. "Why has he not been let through?"

"Sir, his family was with him. And they aren't service-people."

"Well do you have a direct superior?" Animal looked rather perturbed.

The sailor was starting to sweat. This was a Commander with the highest decoration he'd ever seen and he did not look pleased at all.

"Get your CO on the line and tell him Commander Toshio Nakamura is on the line. If he is well up on his decorations and honors he will know who it is!"

"Yes! Sir!"

It wasn't long before the CO was on the line, a staff PAO officer by the name of Lieutenant Commander Surelli."

"Yes, sir? How may I help you?"

"Lieutenant Commander Surelli, Commander Toshio Nakamura, United States Navy! Can you happen to tell me why veterans are in the general public lineup and being forced to wait? I believe some of them are here for the striking of the colors as am I."

"Sir, I wasn't aware that veterans were being forced to wait in the general public lineup."

"When was the last time you were physically present at the site you are supposed to be supervising?!" Animal asked caustically and could hear Surelli stammering. Animal cut him off,"Tell you what, Lieutenant Commander, you get yourself down here and straighten this mess out and I won't have to go above your head!" Animal gave an ominous pause, "You have fifteen minutes. That is a direct order!"

Sure enough Surelli showed up in ten. Animal stood him at attention. Showed him exactly which veterans he was referring to and pulled each of them out of the lineup as well as their family members.

"Men and women who have served our country should not have to wait in line to pay their respects to our fallen. Is that understood?! Lieutenant Commander?"

"Aye-aye, SIR!"

"Let these veterans in now!" Animal glared at the sailors who opened the turnstiles to the Servicemen access turnstiles. Fifteen minutes to the striking of the colors.

Guiding them to the viewing area of the Memorial, Animal stood with the veterans who were looking at him and at the memorial. Some had thought they were going to miss the striking of the colors. And this officer had got them in.

The USS Arizona was still leaking oil almost 56 years later after being sunk. A tomb to the fallen who had manned her decks during the Pearl Harbor attack. The veterans all sat in silence, some of them old enough to have fought in the very conflict that was started for the United States by this very attack.

Animal could only hope that none of his ancestors from the Japanese side were a part of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He closed his eyes uttering a silent prayer for his fallen USN comrades of years past.

As the clock struck 1800hrs the first notes of the national anthem played and Animal and the veterans came to the position of attention rendering a hand salute in the direction of the colors. The civilians in the crowd who had finally been let in also were paying their respects with hand over heart reminded by Animal's chewing out of the officer in question that this was a military memorial; not a tourist attraction. Japanese tourists were among the crowd. They kept silent, thankfully.

Animal walked forward with the wreath that honored the men who had died that day. Placing the wreath at the place of honor overlooking the wreckage of the Arizona, he stepped back, came to attention, slowly put his right hand to his officer's cap and held that pose for an interminable moment as the rest of the veterans rendered their own salutes while the lonely bugle played Taps before bringing his hand backdown to his side stepping back, about-facing and striding away from the memorial

One of the veterans, a Marine with the Medal around his neck once the anthem and taps were played and once the colors had been struck, and brought down for the night, looked over again at the younger active officer who had gotten him and his fellow veterans in.

It was clear that this man was is his seventies, prime fighting age in WWII. Gunnery Sergeant Jack "Jocko" Stanley was 74, a tough grizzled veteran who walked with a cane and took no guff from anyone. He was one of the few who fought the Japanese with such ferocity and lived to tell the tale. He recognized the young naval officer from Armed Forces TV a channel that as a veteran he could get access to at his local VA social center where he would gather with his friends to play some cards or some chess. This young officer had been on TV with the President and there was only one reason for an officer of this rank to be recognized by the President of the United States of America.

One Medal recipient recognized another as Jocko's eyes met Toshio Nakamura's; two veterans of different wars fought against the same nation. As they stepped away from the Memorial, Jocko said, "You shot down one of theirs?" He said by way of introduction looking at Animal's naval aviator wings.

"Two, actually, I just don't count the other one." Animal replied "Technically, it was unconfirmed, didn't see it go down, was confirmed later by Japanese authorities. First was an F-15J, second was an F-2A." He paused and looked at Jocko and the Medal around his neck.

"That wasn't for killing Japs, was it? ". Jocko asked eyeing Animal's five white starred ribbon.

"No, for killing 160 North Koreans... to get a downed F-14 crew out as well as some Marines."

"You're of Japanese descent, right?"

"Yes,"

"Good job..." Jocko extended his hand.

"You fought in Iwo Jima, right?"

"Yeah, bad times..."

Animal nodded, "Let's hope things never get as bad as they did ever again..."

"Yes. Hope they won't. Jocko Stanley...Gunnery Sergeant, 3/3 Marines" Animal gripped his extended hand.

"Toshio Nakamura, XO, VF-41 Black Aces, 1310 - naval aviator F-14 Tomcats."

"Good to meet you, maybe we'll chat at the MOHS get-togethers."

Animal nodded, "Maybe." Jocko turned to leave, "Jocko..."

He turned back for a minute as Animal hailed him. "Yes?"

"The F-2A? The one I don't count in my kill tally?" Animal paused, "Turns out the deceased pilot, killed by my hand on the trigger...was my cousin...You have a good one." Animal took his wife's arm and walked off.

"holy shit..." Jocko muttered under his breath. It doesn't get much closer than that.

2200hrs, Oahu Beach Resort Hotel, Oahu, HI.

Clad in bathrobe to ward off the slightly cooler night temperatures coming off the water and wearing swim shorts under, Animal nursed a drink sitting in a beach lounger private poolside; reflectively looking out at the water while Meg ran her hand along his arm as she sat by his hip,. "Don't let it get to you..." Meg said, regarding the earlier interaction at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, "Some just can't let the wounds heal, they have to pick at the scab."

"I know, hon, but we all bear wounds and we all deal with them differently." He said looking out at the reflected lights of the city twinkling in the lapping of the waves. Their private pool was glowing aquamarine with the pool lights underwater lighting it up. "I'm not gonna let this affect my whole recollection of this honeymoon," he continued as he looked out at the ocean beyond, "I have enough great memories with you to block it out."

Meg pulled him to stand up, and then wrapped her arms around him, "Care to make some more? My love?"

Animal gave her a slow warm smile as he pulled her inside the suite. Meg loosened the tie holding her light cotton mid-thigh length pool cover shut and slipped out of it revealing that she had nothing on underneath. She pulled at the belt holding the bathrobe closed and pushed the robe off his shoulders letting it fall to the ground. Then she pulled on his swim shorts. After that it was just sensations that made all cogent thought impossible. Meg sighed as her husband made passionate love to her, feeling every move, the feel of him. "Oh, yes, honey..." Meg gripped him tight, "I love you..,"she whispered in his ear, then lost herself as she felt herself responding to every touch of his hands, his body and then they were thrown together into the abyss to collapse intertwined in the sheets, sweaty, spent and feeling gloriously fulfilled.

The last day was spent relaxing by the poolside until checkout then it was heading back to Honolulu International Airport which was large, air conditioned and had a decent selection of places to eat while waiting on their flight number to be called.

"We had fun there, didn't we?" Meg stated and they had; newlywed love and the creation of many memories that they would hold onto as the years would pass. But it was time to look ahead, to get busy with creating the groundwork to build a life together and a family. For Meg it was exactly what she'd always wanted.

And when it came time to board the plane they did so, looking ahead to the new experiences they would create together but with a look back as the plane started its take-off roll and climb-out of Honolulu International, that the experience they would have the next time they came back to Hawaii would be completely different.