Chapter Four - "A Rough Way Home and a Reunion"

"Hail and Well Met"

Chapter Four - "A Rough Way Home and a Reunion"

0540 La Trattoria Hotel; Naples, Italy

Meg and Animal were up that morning sharing a leisurely morning coffee and a decent meal. Travel for the two of them meant that they had to gather up their things and be ready to take a taxi to the airport for the connection that would take them from Naples to Rome and from Rome's International Airport to London-Heathrow. The taxi ride would be several hours on its own from Naples to Rome and coupled with the check-in time of two hours prior to boarding call for inter-national flights, travel from the hotel to getting to sit on the airplane could be a good solid four to six hours combined.

Which meant they needed to eat a decent continental breakfast. For Animal, that meant loading up on bacon and sausages as well as scrambled eggs that were topped off with three slices of tomatoes, cheese; salt and pepper. As well as two slices of white bread toast with butter. Meg's breakfast was similar. She went heavy on the bacon and sausages as well. But she also had a fruit salad as well.

As they'd brought their luggage on the luggage cart down to the lobby of the hotel they would be able to hail a cab when breakfast was finished. There were always three to four sticking around outside the main to take the hotel passengers anywhere they needed.

When breakfast was done, Meg and Animal took their luggage cart outside and a taxi rolled up to meet them at the door. Opening the trunk the driver waited for them to put their luggage in and shut the trunk lid, get in the car and give him directions before nodding and pulling out.

0805hrs International Airport, Rome, Italy.

The bustling of the city of Rome was a stark contrast to the sleepy coastal town vibe of Naples. As the taxi pulled up to their destination, Animal gave the driver the exact fare plus a decent sized tip suitable for the area and the distance traveled. At least enough to fill up his tank. They got their luggage out of the trunk, loading it into a cart and pushing the cart into the terminal. Their flight was with British Airways from Rome to London-Heathrow and the line-up was not too heavy. Since Animal was not a frequent flyer by any stretch of the imagination, he'd had no need for lounge use. They would be going economy class for this leg and using business class for the Transatlantic flight into Washington-Dulles.

Animal, however, being a pilot himself was not enamored of flying under someone else's control. He would have preferred to ferry a Tomcat back to Virginia Beach but his flight gear was still onboard the Theodore Roosevelt transiting the Strait of Gibraltar by this time so he had no access to the gear that would have made his trip feasible and much more pleasant. However for his beloved wife's sake he would try to tolerate flying via BA under the control of whoever was the aircrew of the airliner that they were going to be traveling on.

0936hrs; British Airways Departure Waiting Area; Rome International Airport, Rome Italy

Animal sighed as he sat in the chair waiting for the boarding call; trying to figure out if he should get himself a snack and a drink from the convenience duty free. Meg had her laptop and was busy looking up stuff. Their flight from London Heathrow didn't depart until two in the morning tomorrow London time. They would be in the air from Rome at 1005 to London Heathrow for two hours touching them down a little after eleven London time the same day they left as London was only an hour behind Rome in terms of time difference. So they had fifteen hours to kill between flights so thankfully having passports they could leave the terminal for about six hours before returning to the Airport hotel to rest and sleep a bit before boarding the flight to Washington-Dulles which would be a long journey back. Their schedule said an eight hour Trans-Atlantic flight.

That meant that they would land back in DC at five in the morning of that same day which meant stopping in at their hotel and Meg and he changing into uniforms so that Meg could pay her respects to the admiral and check in before going on her honeymoon. And that was probably going to shock the living hell out of Harm. Animal smiled an evil grin, he was going to so enjoy that.

Just after he'd decided to step across the walkway to grab a drink from the departure waiting area duty free, he heard a "all passengers, this is an initial boarding call for all those needing assistance with boarding. British Airways Flight 3647 Rome to London-Heathrow. All passengers needing assistance for boarding, British Airways Flight 3647."

OK, he had a few minutes still. He grabbed the Pepsis and chocolate bars, paying the clerk telling him to keep the change getting rid of the rest of his lira and heading for the departure waiting area seeing Meg putting away her laptop and smiling at him. He passed her over one of each and she grinned at him, mouthing a silent "thanks, love."

He sidled in beside her while they waited another ten minutes, then finally, "All passengers, British Airways Flight 3647 from Rome to London Heathrow; this is your initial boarding call, we will be boarding First Class passengers then Business and finally Economy please have your tickets ready". She then repeated her announcement after a brief pause to make sure everyone heard it. The passengers all queued up.

Meg and he were in civilian clothes for incognito travel. One didn't wear military uniform as one didn't want to make themselves a target for radicals. There had been instances of military being kidnapped and held for ransom. Animal and Meg both had carryons.

His uniform bag containing his medals, ribbons; service and dress uniforms, his work khakis went in his duffle bag sans rank devices and wings which were put in carry-on. Meg had her laptop and her own uniform bag.

Both of their uniform bags were plain black heavy duty water-proof canvaswith a coating to repel rainwater and identification of owner by means of last name and serial number marked on the canvas uniform bag with a white permanent marker then sealed over with waterproof spray; and a flap over the zipper to keep moisture from getting through from that location. Each uniform was secured from moisture by means of a see through leaf collection bag converted into a protective cover for each uniform by poking the hangar through the bottom of the bag and carefully pulling the bag over the hung uniform. Insuring that no moisture would get onto the uniforms while the bag was carried outside in heavy rain.

His rank, designator devices, ribbons and medals were in a lockbox which was also wrapped in a plastic bag and cushioned by a towel so it didn't wear a hole in the canvas bag. Also in the lockbox was his Medal of Honor medal encased in its presentation case, clearly marked Medal of Honor; also with the medals was a DOD authorized list of the medals which he was authorized to have in his possession and to wear on his uniform. That was so that any TSA knucklehead wouldn't be able to call over the Customs official citing suspicious medals and calling stolen valor which would involve at least six hours of being hauled aside for questioning which he, as a decorated active-duty veteran, had no time for. Sometimes it was just easier to hop the pond in a Navy jet. Something to think of the next time around.

That bag was his carry on. And presumably his wife had two, her uniform bag and her laptop.

Finally they were able to hand their tickets to the attendant who checked each one pulled apart the ticket at the perforation to insure that the passenger headcount was correct and that a passenger list could be generated for the flight for airline records.

They walked down the jetway with smiles on their faces side-by-side as they headed to the entrance of the jet airliner taking them across Europe, over the English Channel and into London Heathrow. Three hours of flying time and they would land in London and he might be able to get an authentic lunch of English style fish and chips. He'd save the gastronomical 'delight' called blood pudding for when he got assigned to a London staff position if ever.

He wasn't sure if he wanted a staff posting in London or with Naval Forces Pacific -Japan but he'd always liked the idea of a Europe posting. After all being in Japan would subject him to weird stares of "Why is that Japanese man wearing American naval uniform. That is so strange." If he didn't get assigned there it would save needless explanations to Japanese nationals as to the fact that he was American and a serving member of the United States Navy to boot. But he could worry about all that after completing his command tour.

Right now he had a honeymoon to enjoy and a squadron to assume command of when he got back. Then came the task of training those newcomers to the squadron, whip them into fighting shape and a deployment to plan for. With any luck his staff tour would culminate with his ascension to O-6.

Once Meg and he were on the plane and searching for their seat he was gratified to see that theirs was one of the rows leading to an egress hatch and in case of emergency he'd be able to guide the survivors out of the aircraft. On top of that Meg and he were both tall and they needed leg room instead of having their kneecaps jammed up against the backs of the passengers's-in-front seats and shoving their seats every time one had to shift position. So he was happy. Meg had a pocket camera and had it ready to take pictures on takeoff.

"You know something..." Animal pondered as they both settled into their seats. Animal had booked a window seat for her so that she could look out. She was eagerly taking shots of the ramp. And the parts of the terminal building visible from their window. "We really should get you a SLR at some point", Meg's response to that idea was like a kid at Christmas getting a present that turned out to be his favorite toy.

After about another fifteen minutes during which the flight attendants did the in-flight safety briefing or "What to do when your plane falls out of the sky", how comforting, there was a pushback from the gate as the Airbus A300 was moved back to a point on the ramp where it could start engines. Animal could hear the steady whine of the turbines starting up and feel the pressure on his eardrums as the cabin pressurized for the flight.

Meg pulled out a pack of gum and popped one in her mouth. She offered him one which he gratefully accepted. His wife turned back to her activity of gazing out the window, camera in hand. The knockout "seduce me" makeup that she'd worn for their wedding had been replaced by her usual makeup which was still a sight since she had facial features and a body that would cause whiplash in any human of the male persuasion including the man who was now her husband. On top of that she was stunningly tall for a woman; one inch short of six feet and one inch taller than her husband; four if wearing three inch heels.

The Captain's announcement startled Animal out of his reverie. He'd thought everything was alright but everything wasn't, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we appear to have a problem with the aircraft. We will be pushing back to the terminal until we can get a replacement part. We ask you for your cooperation." ..

Meg was already on the phone "Yes, Sir, it seems like we can't get out of Rome on our original schedule...sir, yes, sir there's something wrong with the plane. They're pushing back to the gate You mean you will do something? Yes, sir, we'll switch into uniform and wait for the helo to get us to Sigonella, sir. Thank you very much sir."

She hung up and looked over at Animal who looked rather confused. "The admiral got on the phone with NF Naples and got us a helo which will pick us up along with our luggage at our current location and get us to Sigonella in time to catch a C-141 to Andrews. We'll be home tonight instead of tomorrow."

Teasingly Animal gave her a miserable look "Now I can't have my authentic English fish and chips I was so looking forward to." He paused, "It's a calamity." He finished.

"Well my dear beloved husband, mine, guess you're just going to have to settle for Sea Shanty's over-cooked halibut" Meg smirked.

"Oh God, no!"

Debarking from the flight proved to be an exercise in frustration only solved by Animal wielding his military ID and telling the BA staffer in no uncertain terms that they were on a schedule; that they had to make alternate arrangements to get back to the United States and that their luggage needed to be located and unloaded...now!

This probably meant that, in the future, he was probably going to be flagged on BA and given service according to this last encounter with them. But cold meals and indifferent service aside he and Meg had to be back in the continental US as per her orders and they needed their luggage now, not two weeks from now. When it finally made its way from London Heathrow.

And promptly after changing into service khakis replete with ribbons; Animal wearing all his assigned ribbons including the 5 starred Medal of Honor ribbon, grimly stepped up to the BA counter to collect their duffle-bags. The wide eyes of all the Rome to London passengers on him as they stood silently waiting and when Meg joined him with her service khakis, in skirt and female's combo cap their eyes widened even more.

Animal in Commander/Captain's officer's cap with his Naval Aviator's wings on his khaki shirt was an intimidating sight to most and none uttered a complaint that the two officers were being served promptly.

"Thank you..." he said brusquely to the staffer who brought them out their turned to Meg, strict military protocol followed. No more the loving couple PDAs that the other passengers saw previously in the terminal pre-boarding. This was a US Naval Officer addressing a subordinate, " Lieutenant, ETA on the helo."

Checking her watch, she said."helo should be here in oh-five, sir. They said they'll come in through the gate we're at."

"Good. So we'll wait for the crew chief and when he gets here, we'll..."

A flight suited, flight helmet clad chief air-crewman came through the jetway gate, "Commander, sir! Helo is on the ground waiting for you and the Lieutenant to board, sir!" He stepped up to Animal and saluted.

Animal returned the salute crisply. "Thank you, Chief. Looks like we had a good connection. Let's go. Lieutenant." Grabbing their duffle-bags, uniform bags and Meg's laptop, Meg and Animal headed down the jetway to the stairs, the gawking eyes of the BA staff and other passengers on their receding backs.

From Rome it was an interesting flight south west to Sicily and the Naval Air Station in Sigonella. The air crewman were glancing at both Meg and him and then he realized that his ring finger had on his wedding ring and Meg was still wearing hers; it was clearly a smaller copy of his and they were both in khakis and ribbons. Yeah that would be interesting providing that lips don't flap and an opportunistic JAG officer didn't jump all over what appeared to be a fraternization case but wasn't. That could cause a whole lot of stink. One had to always be aware of appearances while in uniform. They were in white vests which were worn over their service khakis. And their officer caps were in the netting secured while they had on cranials with ear protection.

1200hrs. NAS Sigonella, Sicily; Italy

When the wheels touched tarmac the crew chief opened the door and the two officers bearing their officer's caps stepped away from the helo.

Their luggage was brought out to them and they were pointed to the building, "The 141 will be here in an hour, sir...highly recommended that you eat since it will be a long flight to the US."

"Advice taken, Chief..." Animal said as the two officers decided to head to the mess and fuel up. If the Starlifter was delayed; it would probably be late unloading and loading too. Good idea to fuel up while awaiting the call to board. And knowing theAir Force it would be 1500 before they were ready for another flight. And considering it would take eleven hours to cross the Atlantic, they'd be touching down at Andrews at 1700hrs EST. On the other side it would still be daylight while Sigonella would be in night time

What a flight it would be. They might as well spend the afternoon at the VOQ or the Air Force Inn at Andrews AFB and rest up then find a hotel in Falls Church tomorrow when they had a rental vehicle. Animal thought. Will the VOQ put us in the same room?

They could eat again when at the Andrews mess hall and then catch some Zs before renting a vehicle and heading to the new Judge Advocate Adjunct Office Headquarters. A place Meg had never been before. At least he'd been there a couple times to talk with the admiral and with Harm. And well Meg would be with him so she'd know where to go to work upon returning from their honeymoon. He grinned.

Sitting down to eat was a gratifying act as having to endure a noisy vibrating Seahawk flight for five hours while not having eaten anything but a chocolate bar to top off their breakfast since 0600 that morning had pretty much ran his stomach dry. Now he needed to refuel for a ten hour marathon that meant that there was no food forthcoming till they landed at Andrews.

Meg and Animal grabbed plates and loaded up on food. Meg, being a Texas girl, could consume a lot but barely put on noticeable weight gain. She was lithe and thin in khaki uniform. And the nylons of her skirt were still OK even after that helo ride. Harm marvelled at her ability to tuck food away, Animal thought, but he'd worked with her for an year and hadn't noticed anything.

"Better eat while you can," Meg said noticing her husband's mind wandering while his fork was idle, "sir" she added as two Air Force officers; an O-5 and an O-6 in flight suits, walk past their table. The two looked over at the two Navy officers.

"Ah you must be our Navy passengers back to Andrews." The Colonel said.

"That's correct, sir." Eagles outweighed silver oak-leafs.

"Well hopefully we should be done unloading in a half hour and we're taking an empty bird back to Andrews so plenty of room. Might be tempting to lash down a couple crates; pile some blankets on and get some sleep on the way there, Commander." The Colonel last name Coghill stated frankly.

He looked over at Meg's left hand and Animal's then looked at the both of them, his eyes unreadable "we got enough blankets to square away one bed. You're in different chains of command anyways." he said noting with a nod at his wings and her mille-rind.

"Well, in uniform, we're supposed to adhere to strict regs." Animal grinned. "Follow the rules, good little identical Navy bookends," he said dryly. "Sir". The Colonel chuckled at Animal's response. The Colonel looked over at the Lieutenant Colonel who had his eye's glued on Animal's fruit salad.

"So Frank, what you looking at?"

LCOL Frank Massoni looked over at his AC. Colonel Derrick Coghill followed the gaze of his first officer squarely on the ribbon that had caught the first officer's attention. He nodded as Animal raised an eyebrow. Evidently they hadn't seen those ribbons lately.

"Yeah," Animal said, answering their unspoken question, "Hill 175, North Korea..."

"Shit that one musta been bad..." the Air Force colonel said.

"Well they all came home, can't say the same for the other side...sir."

"Well I can see why they wanted us to bring you home quickly." Colonel Smith replied. "We'll try to make it as comfortable as we can, at least as far as a military transport can accommodate. You are his wife? Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir." Meg said "Just recently as a matter of fact." The smile lit up her face.

"Congratulations to the both of you." Both officers said. As they finished off their smaller sized meals.

"We'll go check on the unloading and then come get you when we're ready to raise gear." The Lieutenant Colonel spoke that time. "We'll try to make the trip back as comfortable as possible."

"Thanks, Lieutenant Colonel Massoni," Animal said "Rough doesn't matter; just so long as we get home."

"You got it, Commander." He grinned. Animal and Meg chatted quietly. They checked the time. It was 1440hrs when LCOL Massoni came back and told them that they were ready to board the Navy officers.

Walking up to the C-141 the rear ramp had been closed up and locked down tight. Access was through the main crew entry hatch and the loadmaster took Meg's bags and hauled them aboard himself while Meg climbed up the ladder. Animal just shouldered both his bags; grabbed the rails to the ladder and hoisted himself aboard. He grinned at the loadmaster. "Bigger plane than I'm used to! Master Sergeant!"

"Most definitely, sir, Navy doesn't get to fly these big haulers..." the Loadmaster stated, "We should be raising gear out of Sigonella in about fifteen so half hour to twenty minutes ahead of schedule if we get clearance to depart immediately." Pulling the hatch closed the last crewman aboard secured the hatch.

The whine of the engines was audible through the cargo hold of the C-141 and the cargo hold was pressurized for the flight. Meg and Animal settled in for the trip back in the seats set up for the flight.

Buckling in for takeoff, they sat in their seats which were set up like benches down the sides of the aircraft along the interior length it felt much like sitting in a hammock; with straps to restrain them from moving around.

Meg and Animal looked at each other as the large aircraft rolled its way out to the runway. It was disconcerting to Animal because in the cargo hold it was a windowless tube. No visual cues to go on and with only the rocking motion of the aircraft sending signals to one's Eustachian tubes to even recognize that the aircraft was even moving.

The aircraft came to a pause as Animal presumed they were lined up on the center-line of the runway. The massive engines of the C-141 roared as the aircraft made its take-off roll down the runway. As a naval aviator the sensations were familiar so he had a good idea when the aircraft went light on its wheels and then when the aircraft's main-mounts left the runway as the C-141 rotated nose-upward and lumbered into the air. Turning towards northwest to circumnavigate the Pole over Sweden and pointing its nose towards home the big grey cargo hauler flew across the Arctic ocean to come down from the north along Greenland and then to Andrews AFB.

1840 EST, Andrews AFB, Washington, DC.

Meg and Animal were yawning their heads off by the time they got off the Starlifter with their luggage. Their goal was to get them and their bags to the VOQ and get settled in and hopefully the Air Force officer's mess still had decent pickings for food selection. Otherwise they'd be ravenous in the morning until they could access the base mess. From there they could check out of the VOQ then go rent a vehicle and head out to Falls Church, pay their respects to the admiral and find a nice hotel for one or two days until they could get their storage situation settled. Then when that was settled they could board a plane to LAX as originally planned and from there to Hawaii and the big island of Honolulu for sun, fun and a lot of passionate nights.

Walking across the tarmac caused an Air Force MP to hail them down with a truck, "SIR! MA'AM Throw your bags on board and I'll give you a lift to the VOQ," the truck stopped while Meg and Animal tossed their bags in the back of the truck and clambered in. The truck drove them to a set of buildings that were clearly marked as the Air Force Inn.

Thanking the MP, he also asked if the mess was still good in terms of selection. The mess was open and serving a full menu twenty four seven, according to the AF MP as things went on twenty four hours at this particular base. No rest for those assigned and each shift had to do a full ten overlap coverage to ensure there was no gaps. Meg and Animal then went to check in at the AF Inn.

The desk checked their IDs; asked if they wanted separate rooms. And Meg produced their wedding certificate which was satisfactory to give them both the same room. They just needed to know their marriage was legitimate. With the hoops that foreign citizens had to jump through; via both embassies. An Italian marriage cetificate was deemed legal by DC standards. At least they were both American citizens.

"I really have to change my ID. And deal with BuPERS" Meg said tiredly. Let's get our bags up and get dinner at the mess." It had proved to be a long day and the sun shining with the after-work afternoon ahead of them throwing her body-clock completely out of whack and she was starting to wilt from the fatigue.

"Yeah, let's do that." None of the military etiquette now they were in privacy. They put up the whites that they were going to wear tomorrow as UOD at JAG Headquarters was service whites. When they were done they locked up and headed back downstairs again, asked directions to the mess and walked over deciding to have a light meal to offset hunger pangs so that they could sleep and have a much bigger breakfast in the morning before heading out and getting a vehicle rental.

Animal's vehicle had been sold before the whole squadron had transferred back to Atlantic Fleet and he was now vehicle-less.

Meg and Animal finished up a light meal of buttered toast and each grabbed a piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Grinning at each other, they said "looks like we had the same idea."

"I wanted some." Animal said simply and for the two of them, that was explanation enough.

Making their way back to the AF Inn, Meg murmured softly. "I'm wanting a shower, that flight has me feeling all grimy from dust from two continents." The steady shrill of the turbine engines from the C-141 Starlifter still seemed to ring in their ears. "Care to join me?" She purred.

Animal looked at her with the affected incredulous expression of a superior officer hearing something that he could barely believe the audacity of; pulling his wife's leg; the very image of a higher ranking by-the-book naval officer - his Commander/Captain's officer's cap made him look really official, Meg thought, before his countenance broke into a wide grin, "Are you suggesting something untoward? Lieutenant?" He asked with a hint of playfulness; one eyebrow raised.

"I could be, sir." Two could play that game.

"Hmm...that could be rather interesting." He said as they walked in lockstep towards the Air Force Inn. "What would the JAG have to say about this untowardness." He asked jokingly.

Meg smirked at him, as they reached the elevators. "What he doesn't know..."

"Uh-huh...?" Animal grinned at his wife.

"Mmmhmm..."

Fifteen minutes later found the two of them unclothed in the shower in the midst of enjoying their closeness as Meg gripped him tight, her hair absolutely sopping wet under the streams of water from the shower-head and the both of them turned a steamy shower even steamier.

Her whole body quivered in a rousing peak as both she and her Tosh found their release together.

She gasped, "oh, God, Tosh, you don't know how much I needed that today." She clung to him as the water beat down on their bodies. She gazed into his eyes and grinned, rivulets of water tracing the contours of her face, "take me again..."

Dinner again was late at the mess and they tried to stay up a little later to kick their body clock back on schedule with Eastern Standard time.

0530 hrs EST; US Air Force Inn, Andrews AFB, Washington, DC.

Meg's eyes cracked open as the damned alarm went off. "God, I hate that thing. Whoever invented it should have been shot."

Animal heard that and went off in a paroxysm of laughter.

"That wasn't meant to be funny." Meg protested. Tossing the covers off Tosh in the chill morning air as he unsuccessfully tried to grab them back. They were both naked so the air was rather chilly on the skin. "i'm going to take a brief shower and get dressed. We need to find a rental car."

Luckily some rental car companies decided that bases were a good source of revenue renting vehicles to servicemen and women who needed temporary modes of transportation. So getting a rental car would be relatively simple without having to go off base to do so with bases running 24/7 even the rental car companies had to match that schedule, her husband could grab a rental car and have it ready. She wanted to at least join her new coworkers for their initial morning meeting to get an idea of what the workload was like. And let's see how long it takes for Harm to notice...she took a look at her rings; both her engagement ring and her wedding band.

0700hrs. EST; JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA.

Mac said, "Case has been moved for extension to examine new exculpatory evidence, sir."

AJ looked over at Mattoni, "what about the prosecution?

"I don't know why but it couldn't hurt; the defence has been down this road twice before and they still haven't found anything that points conclusively to the allegations that they're trying to present that we have the wrong person in custody. If they want to chase Alice's rabbit down the rabbit hole..."

"Alright let me know how that case goes. Last order of business, you know I said yesterday that we will have a new attorney in the office who will be doing her part to take care of thinning out the backlog of cases. She just got into Andrews last night but she won't be able to help out yet since her honeymoon leave doesn't end for another three weeks, evidently she just recently got married, so we still have another three miserable weeks of slogging but guaranteed the backlog will get cleared upon her return from leave. She is however here today to get the feel of the office. And where she will be working. Lieutenant, c'mon in."

"Good morning..."

Harm's jaw dropped open. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the facial features, smile and that familiar voice. Lieutenant's line shoulder-boards not the JAG

JG's that he remembered. Meg...Meg Austin? Honeymoon? Married? When did she decide to come back from the Naval Warfare Systems Command. Last he knew she was enjoying her time there. She hadn't conveyed to him any hint of disgruntlement with her position when they were on the TR. He barely noticed that Mac was shooting a you had better have a damned good explanation for this stare at him. Really, Mac? Like he could explain the whys and wherefores of one Lieutenant Meg Austin. And Mac could be unreasonable putting him squarely in the doghouse in terms of their friendship. It wasn't as if Meg was coming back to renew a relation-ship with him.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant,". AJ said casually and called out a little louder, "Commander, I know you're loitering out in the hallway, come join your wife in the meeting room." Judging from the ring on Meg's left-hand ring finger, resumption of a non-existent relationship would be impossible.

Harm's jaw still nearly hit the floor as his mind tried to cogitate this new reality: Meg, wife, returning to JAG, Commander, husband?" His mind flashed back to the TR. he'd had noticed that Meg had been spending a lot of time talking with Animal, the current XO of the VF-41 Black Aces; and it seemed like they had been closer than they'd been at Yokosuka.

A three-striper Asian American USN commander, replete in same UOD as his wife, shoulder boards, naval aviator wings stepped into the room and to the side of Meg. Yup, It was Animal, his old FRS (RAG) instructor on the F-14 Tomcat and holder of some very high decorations.

"Good to see you, Commander Nakamura. Some good solid investigation skills by then, Lieutenant JG Meg Austin and Lieutenant Commander Rabb gave Commander Nakamura the Medal he so deserved for actions in North Korea. So we've done a lot of good work. Let's continue with it. You have your cases. Dismissed. Lieutenant Commander Rabb, why don't you show Lieutenant Austin..." he looked questioningly at Meg.

"Austin-Nakamura, sir. I'll be going by Meg Austin-Nakamura to avoid confusion from those who know me by my maiden name."

"Ok... Austin-Nakamura, then..." He continued to give instructions to Harm. "...around the office and introduce her to the staff. Her husband will trail along." Harm knew he would get the third degree from Mac later as Mac raised an eyebrow at him as she was going out the door back to her office.

"Like a little lost puppy, sir..." Meg said with affection towards Animal who just tried to look innocent.

"Yes, sir..." Harm stated as he looked over at Animal and Meg expecting some sort of explanation.

Meg smiled enigmatically.

"OK, where did you want to start?" Harm asked.

"How about the mess?" Meg suggested cheerfully, with a smile reminiscent of the one she'd had on her face during a case which they'd investigated that involved drug-running on a Marine Corps base. They had some insightful conversations back then where she'd told him about an Italian pilot she'd dated. He'd said, albeit teasingly that "...once you date a pilot, you'll date another one."

Harm looked sideways at Animal, Meg's now husband, in service whites, naval aviator wings over six full rows of ribbons. Date a pilot? Hell; Meg went ahead and married one.

Harm looked rueful as he digested the fact that Meg Austin, now Meg Austin-Nakamura, was completely off the market. Well geese , he was batting one for one in predictions: maybe he should just hang up a sign: Harmon Rabb Jr., Naval Aviator, Navy Lawyer, Seer of the Future; Teller of Fortunesor maybe just buy a lottery ticket.

Well all disappointments aside, at least she was back at JAG. He guided her down to the first floor mess hall. Explained what the protocol was for eating at the mess. Then he took them along on a long tour of the building showing them where the law library was and other facets of the building. The basement armory. Where the marine security detail kept the arms for the defence of the facility. Every thing she needed to know to function at JAG HQ as a legal advocate.

There was going to be a lot of getting up to speed and that meant intensive time ensconced in the research center.

After the tour, he brought them back up to meet the rest of the staff.

"Lieutenant Austin!" Bud cheerily called out. "It's so good to see you!" He stated noting her railroad tracks. The erstwhile former Ensign was now a full Lieutenant himself, just recently promoted

"Good to see you, Bud, It's Austin-Nakamura now." She said gesturing to her husband,

"Hello, sir. I didn't realize you knew Lieutenant Austin, sir, or that she is now married...to you, sir..."he stammered. If there was anyone who in the course of a few sentences could stick their foot in their mouth so completely, it would have to be Lieutenant Bud Roberts.

"It's all right, Bud," Animal reassured the Lieutenant "We just got married a few days ago. So it would have been hard to know about it."

There were a number of new faces at JAG but she was wondering where Commander Krennick had gone to. She also wondered where Teddy Lindsay had gone. Despite the fact that neither were well-liked, they were still co-workers and she wondered what happened to them.

"Commander Lindsay left for NAVINSGEN and Commander Krennick left for Naval Forces Europe." Harm informed her, "it's a whole new guard."

"With you at the top, at least among the litigators right?" She riposted.

"Well, I'm sure you'll fit right in." Harm paused...looking at her trying to reconcile the immutable fact that she was now a married woman; the wife of one of his best friends who'd fought by his side during the Gulf War; who'd trained him up to fly the Tomcat to the very edge of the envelope, to have turned Harm into a confident F-14 stick, confident enough in his skills to have taken the controls and landed the F-14 from the back seat.

—

(Author's note: there has never been back seat controls in the F-14 Tomcat, the big control stick in the RIO's station controls the AWG-9 radar; one of the RIO's responsibilities in the back seat. In real life if Tom Boone had gotten incapacitated the way he had, all that joystick would have done is allowed Harm to figure out where he was going in terms of direction of flight before both he and Boone went splash. His only real-life option would have been to do what the Captain of the boat told him to do initially, switch the seat firing controls to rear and punch them out and Tom would have had to take his chances with drowning and the sharks in the Med. yes, there are sharks in the Med as if potentially

drowning wasn't enough.

Still grinding teeth over that mistake. Artistic License for story-telling I guess ~roll-eyes~)

—

Meg gazed around the bullpen, "I hope so." She said; this building was not the gigantic edifice of the Washington Navy Yard that she remembered. The parking was in open air the entrance was not large; just a single oak door behind an iron-screen. It seemed almost more like a mansion converted into a place of business.

Animal commented, sardonically, "This place is like a maze, Lieutenant, if it was me, I'd probably have to have the Marines send down an expeditionary force to find me because I'd probably have gotten lost somewhere between Case Files Archive and the Law Research Library."

"Well,sir..." Harm riposted, "Luckily you had INS helping you out when we were flying off the Seahawk or we'd have had to swim for it."

Animal nodded, " You can say that again, Lieutenant Commander, one of my weaknesses which luckily is correctable through the use of navigational technology..." he paused, "...or by screaming helpat the top of my lungs..."

"His other weakness...is his complete and utter capitulation to any offer of chocolate." smirked Meg with the knowing look of a loving wife.

"Ah, yes," Harm said wryly, "The way to your husband's heart is through his stomach." He wasn't sure if he'd ever stop feeling that he'd lost out on an opportunity to have connected with Meg back when they were working together.

He'd been a Lieutenant in zone for O-4 and luckily had been selected by the O-4 board to continue his service. As a Lieutenant, he'd gone from being active duty aviator during the Gulf War to a ramp strike which killed his RIO Mace; the uncertainty of his survival after the incident; aggressive physical therapy allowing him to walk again within three months, the news at the end of January 1992 that told him that he was stripped of his wings after a FNAEB in absentia due to the seriousness of his injuries. The Navy didn't want him going near another one of their front-line fighters again.

Three months of figuring out where he could best use his knowledge and then resolving to go into the law, the university allowing him to sit in on courses and using that knowledge to challenge that year's final exams by the end of June allowing him to be accepted into Year 2 in fall of 1992. Which at the end of June 1993 allowed him to walk into his position as a junior attorney within the Judge Advocate General Corps upon his call to the Virginia State Bar not more than a month after taking his Bar Exam.

RADM Brovo had been searching for someone who could elevate the JAG Corps' respectability level to something other than "goddamn 90 day wonder idiot staff officer" amongst the Line Mafia and seized on Rabb whom they'd monikered and advertised as a Top GunLawyer which promptly pissed off anyone currently enrolled in Advanced Aerial Combat Tactics Training Course or the Navy Fighter Weapons School at NSAWC who called their school Topgun and wanted to have exclusive rights to that name within the Navy community. Even more so as Rabb had not gone through the NFWS and "didn't deserve to be called a Topgun especially after spud-lockering his Tomcat..." according to some sore-heads.

When the grand poobahs of the Navy's Fleet Naval Aviator Evaluation Board decided to strip Lieutenant Rabb of his wings because they did not want him to put another F-14 into the spud-locker; little did the powers that be know of Lieutenant Rabb's now new-found resourcefulness and silver tongue as a lawyer in finagling rides from superior officers. The one ride he'd managed to sweet-talk his way into taking while his dad's old wingman; now the CAG, off the deck of the USS Seahawk in summer 1994 over Bosnia had given him back his wings courtesy of the grandest poobah of them all: the Admiral in charge of all the operations within the United States Navy alphabetically identified as CNO.

In 1994 he'd been working extensively with Lieutenant JG Kate Pike who'd had often bantered with him about his propensity to go overboard in defending naval aviators. Akin to Mac she'd also thought that most Naval Aviators were type A, control freaks. It stood to reason after all. There were a whole number of things that could go wrong while in the cockpit of a high performance combat fighter jet; none of them good.

"It's good to have you back working at JAG." Harm said, that had to be a safe place to start. He hoped.

"I have to admit, Harm, the new place takes some getting used to." Meg commented turning around in a circle to take in the bullpen and the perimeter offices.

"The attorneys get private offices." Bud said. "We,staff, currently are the ones that get the bullpen seats I'm going to law school through night school and am hoping to become a lawyer." He sounded eager.

Meg smiled approvingly, "Good going, Bud, I know you can do it."

That praise lit up the Lieutenant's face. "Why thank you,."

Mac had emerged from her cave and approached the group who were talking. "Harm? A moment?" She asked him shooting a look at Meg that Meg correctly interpreted as suspicion snd raising an eyebrow. What was the problem with that Major? Was her nickname MajorPMS? Again Meg could feel the vibes of sheer dislike coming from the Marine Major.

Harm excused himself and was guided into Mac's office and the door was shut behind them.

"Look, I know the admiral wanted you to show her around but there were other personnel free that could have done it." She insisted.

"Mac, what's the problem?" Harm looked frustrated, "I'm the one who partnered with her and maybe the admiral thought a familiar face would help get her more accustomed to the new building."

"Yeah well, you've spent nearly an hour taking her around the building and another hour spending time yacking in the bullpen!" Mac said pointedly, "...if you recall we have a case to deal with or Mattoni is going to crucify us!" Harm knew she was exaggerating since she knew exactly what exact time it really was and looking at his watch not more than one hour had gone by since they had been dismissed from the meeting. Secondly, Mattoni had been bluffing.

"Deflection, counsellor, Mattoni's going to use the white rabbit excuse because all he has are a few witnesses to a robbery that took place when the surrounding area was dark with no illumination and the witnesses he has all attest to the same thing, the area was too dark to make a positive identification of the individuals in question, a dark silhouette that roughly had the shape of a human being wielding a handgun and Seaman Fenton fit the description of a medium built black silhouette. Goes to probable misidentification. They can't prove that he was there conclusively."

"And we can't prove he wasn't there." Mac said.

"And therein lies the case for acquittal. If the prosecution can't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt they have to acquit him of any wrong doing." Harm said. "But that case isn't what this is all about, is it?"

"I'm just suspicious of her motives for coming back here." Mac finally said, looking out the window.

"Mac, for crying out loud, she's married, she has an engagement ring and a wedding band on her finger. She's off the market and she's not hunting."

"What, she's..." Mac felt she'd missed something glaringly obvious which really ticked her off because normally she'd have noticed. But when it came to Harm...

"How did you miss that, Mac?" Harm was incredulous. "The admiral nearly bludgeoned us over the head with the call to the Commander to joinhis wifeand you missed that? C'mon, Mac."

"Well with all your damned pining over lost chances with Meg, what the hell was I supposed to think?"

"Is there something the two of you would like to inform me of?" Both of them looked up at the dry sarcastic tone of RADM AJ Chegwidden who was staring at them unamused. "So are you finished giving the Lieutenant the grand tour? Lieutenant Commander?"

"No, sir, was asked by the Major a question about our case..." AJ's look was completely disbelieving of Harm's explanation.

"So that's why I come in here to find you two discussing the particulars of Lieutenant Meg Austin-Nakamura's marriage to Commander Nakamura and debating..." the admiral shot a dark look at the Major. "...the validity of her contract of marriage and her marital status? Not to mention her intent for returning to JAG which was at my assent which in turn means that you are questioning my authority? You realize how close the two of you are treading to insubordination?!" He paused for a long moment sizing up the two officers, his gold rear-admiral's (upper half) shoulder-boards with two silver embroidered stars ...off reflected light from the window, shining like an ominous gold spotlight of doom. "I think that for punishment, you, Major Mackenzie...and you...Lieutenant Commander Rabb, can bothcontinue the introduction of the facility to Lieutenant Austin-Nakamura and I will inform Commander Nakamura, may I remind you of the fact that heoutranks both of you, if there are any further problems to inform me so that I can determine if there will be further administrational duties to which I can assign to you in the future so that you will understand that a lawful given order given under proper conditions and does not prompt an unlawful act does not allow any question under the circumstances. Am I getting through to the both of you?"

"Aye-aye, sir" Harm's response was crisp and clear.

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" As was Mac's

Both chorused like plebes.

0855 Bullpen; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, VA

Meg looked at her husband, "I really get the feeling that the Marine Major really doesn't like me...sir..." she added as they were standing in the middle of group of military officers and enlisted.

"Well, you can't always win over everyone with your sunny nature. Lieutenant." Animal grinned at her.

Evidently the arguing between the Major and the Lieutenant Commander got to the point where they saw the admiral go past them and into the Major's office, shutting the door. About two minutes later two sheepish looking O-4s emerged followed by a very smug looking O-8.

"Shall we continue the tour? Major Mackenzie offered, her tone was exceedingly brittle as Harm rolled his eyes at Mac's continued hostility.

"Why certainly, Major..." Animal returned, giving Major Mackenzie a silent caution to watch your tone, Major, taking authorization for the interactions proceeding...after all he wasn't going to sit there idly by and see his wife bullied; not if he had anything to do about it.

"Let me know if there are any questions..." the Admiral indicated to Animal silently passing along a message to him that if there were any more problems to come to him.

Animal acknowledged message receivedwith a nod of his head to the admiral and a "yes, sir...will do."

That exchange and silent wordless one that went along with it (the nod) was not lost on Harm or Meg and hopefully Mac would subside or the Admiral would lower the boom on her and Animal would rip parallel strips from her hide.

Luckily for Mac, the tour went without further incident and the admiral appeared to be mollified. Though it seemed that it would remain to be seen how the Marine major's and navy lieutenant's further interactions would go once Meg was back from leave.

Meg and he would depart for the Hawaiian Islands tomorrow. And return a week before she was scheduled to return to JAG as the couple would have to find a house or apartment to settle in so that she could get to work.

Of course Animal also had the cockamamie idea of them finding a house near an airport, buying a Cessna 172 and flying it to Oceana every day thus increasing his airtime but lessening his commute time. Harm did offer to fly him in his Stearman but after Animal paled, the idea of open cockpit was anathema to him; it was decided that it probably wasn't a good match for the circumstances.

Meg was grateful of that. She'd prefer him flying in a closed cockpit aircraft.

The other alternative was a two ship F-14 detachment element for VF-41 out of NAF Washington along with Animal's third Tomcat which he would ride into and out of the Naval Air Facility, with Scooter, who lived in DC and had a hell of a long commute. Which could rotate in and out on a quick patrol of the capital skies with a jaunt down to Virginia Beach in the morning, do one's duties and then back again; it would also mean a detachment of techs well versed on the F-14 as well as a maintenance officer would also have to be stationed there but it would bring a protective element that the F-16s at Andrews couldn't provide, a true BVR engagement ability necessary in eliminating aerial threats over the national capital, a threat that was constantly feared. It would be a combat load the F-14s were armed with and two rotational crews that had to commute would be stationed there meaning four crews would be stationed in a rotational capacity each doing twelve hour shifts on and off over the course of the week.

The Pentagon probably might go for it if it was couched to them in a "protecting the Capital" reasoning. But that would certainly cut the commute time to Virginia Beach for him down to a time of less than fifteen minutes at a leisurely jaunt of Mach .72 during his capital air defense patrol which would be slower than an airliner. Less than five if he went supersonic off the coast.

But all the possibilities could be hammered out when they got back from Hawaii and their honeymoon.

All that cogitation was interrupted by the Admiral, "Lieutenant Austin-Nakamura, a moment...to talk in my office."

0945 hrs EST; RADM AJ Chegwidden's Office; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, VA

"Glad to have you back, Lieutenant." AJ said, "I just heard some interesting news. Your former COs were so impressed with the exceptional work that you did on the projects you were assigned to while you were at Naval Warfare Systems and the kicker was your pull no punches report on the latest test. I just received a call from the CNO and by Congressional approval, you have been selected to be the earliest frocked O-4 of your NROTC class. Now keep in mind you will be continuing the duties of a O-3 and still receiving O-3 pay until you satisfy your minimum time in rank requirements."

"Sir?" Meg's jaw dropped open in surprise. "I'm being frocked? I wasn't expecting to be in zone for another two years at least." She was absolutely floored, she was only expecting a minor thank you acknowledgement perhaps for her contribution to the security of the nation in increasing the accuracy and reliability of their air defence weapons systems but a full on increase in her rank years ahead of her peers along with a personal heartfelt thank you from the CNO and the United States Congress?

"Well the Navy does reward for a job exceedingly well done, Lieutenant Commander Austin-Nakamura." AJ thought to himselfHer last name is now a mouthful to say. Four more syllables attached to her name than before. "What do you say about doing the frocking out in the bullpen." Part of the reason that AJ wanted to do this out there where everyone could see was to ensure that the promotion was observed by all who needed to; case in point, being one Marine major so as to punctuate the point that she would no longer be able to use her rank to bully Meg and the personal PDA that he was going to allow Meg and her husband would further punctuate the fact that their CO, himself, considered Meg a married woman and anyone's personal perception should be kept silent.

They both left the office. And when eyes looked up from the bullpen, AJ uttered, "I believe I have an announcement to make." That caught everyone's attention. "Lieutenant Austin-Nakamura! Front and Center!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened attentively.

Mac had a horrifying realization that something she wasn't going to like was in progress.

"Under Order of the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Congressional Order and the President of the United States... ATTENTION TO ORDERS!"

Meg snapped to attention in front of him.

"Repeat after me;" the admiral said.

"I, Megan Renee Austin-Nakamura, do solemnly swear that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I bear true allegiance to the same, that I will truly, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion, faithfully execute the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me, God."

Extending a hand with a blue case opened to reveal a pair of JAG Lieutenant Commander's shoulder-boards, he handed them to Meg and shook her hand. "Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander Austin-Nakamura."

"Thank you, sir."

"You, Commander Nakamura, as her husband and you, Lieutenant Commander Rabb; her former partner at JAG, you both can each put her new rank on her. Commander Nakamura, you take the right side, Lieutenant Commander Rabb, you take the left..."

The Lieutenant shoulder-board was unhooked by unsnapping a buttoned flap and sliding the shoulder-boards out through the loops. Each officer took one side off and replaced it with the new ranks.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb, you don't get the next duty I'm afraid." Harm looked disappointed as everyone other than Mac laughed. Mac remained stone-faced. RADM Chegwidden stated solemnly, "Commander Nakamura, you and your wife have two minutes. PDA regulations are relaxed". Animal pulled his beloved Meg into a steamy kiss which left Meg breathless, eyes dilated and when she got her breath back, she purred at her husband, "oh just you wait till we get back to the hotel." amidst wolf whistles and cheers.

RADM AJ Chegwidden locked his eyes on Mac. Mac was glaring daggers at Meg probably due to being check-mated from using rank to bully Meg and at the fact that Harm was asked to be one of the ones to put the shoulder-boards on her. Chegwidden's eyes narrowed. He would keep an eye on her with some of the things that she had done.

Harm looked like he'd gotten clobbered over the head with a frying pan. Yes, he sighed Meg was truly Animal's beloved wife. Her look at Animal was filled with love and desire. She'd never looked at me like that realized that it was truly time to let Meg go.