Chapter Seven - "Home Searching"

"Hail and Well Met"

Chapter Seven - "Home Searching"

0543hrs EST; Room 620, Falls Church Sheraton Inn Hotel, Falls Church, VA; MAY 13,1997

Meg woke up first. She wasn't much of a morning person either but in comparison to her husband, she was a veritable lark of the morning. Her husband on the other hand could put a grouchy grizzly bear to shame with his snarling-ness.

But of course all that tended to be curtailed by Meg's enjoyable morning wake-ups of her husband and the fun that followed. They were going to enjoy the week they had left before they got back to the real world of dealing with their life and all the work that went along with having to earn a living as serving officers in the United States Navy.

But, that was still six days and a wakeup away...and she intended on making the most of those days.

So, Meg went ahead and sat on her husband with a wifely wide grin on her face. "Good morning, dear."

"Snuurrgh...wha~..." was the response to being woken up in such a manner.

"Wake up, honey. We have home-hunting to do..." she grinned as she wiggled her hips a bit to wake him as he still looked like he could drop off to sleep again at any second. "We need to find someplace to moveour stuff to..." she emphasized the word movewith a little movement of her own...hubby twitched. She smirked, leaning over carefully, she murmured softly, "...come on..." she softly kissed his nose and wiggled her hips a bit more. Well that did it, in a breadth of a millisecond, he was awake and she was flat on her back in the quilts as he leaned over her, grinning evilly...

"Tease the bear, will you?" He growled as he leaned forward, raising himself on his arms. Meg gasped at the sensation.

"Mmmmhmmm..." she murmured satisfied with the result of her wakeup efforts.

"Then you'd better prepare to accept the punishment." He let out a low chuckle in the back of his throat. Meg interlocked her hands around his hips and pulled him towards her, sighing deeply, yes now, he was fully awake.

"Oh, Tosh, why don't you show me if you really are as proficient as your callsign..." she smirked. "...says... you are..."

He was.

0650hrs EST; Room 620, Falls Church Sheraton Inn Hotel, Falls Church, VA

Meg came out into the hotel room in a camisole and panties towel-drying her hair, a satisfied look on her face while a smug looking Animal followed her strolling out of the bathroom wearing a Fruit of the Looms briefs. "You know, hot tea with lemon and honey helps if your throat is sore..." he said casually with an innocent look.

Meg smirked at him, "Really think highly of yourself, don't you?"

"Well...You did say prove it to me...in the shower" he grinned at her.

"Uh-huh?" Meg raised an eyebrow. "I guess you did show me..." her tone was rather dry.

"Wait, was that before the part where you were begging me to...you know...or after?" Meg swore he had an absolutely evilly droll expression on his face.

She gave as good as she got. "Probably after you begged me to..." Meg pantomimed a racehorse jockey; and whinny'd "ohhhhhh... Meg..."

"I love you..." Animal leaned in and kissed her mouth slowly and passionately.

Meg grinned at him, "I love you too...".

"Where to for breakfast?" Animal asked Meg thought for a long moment as she looked at the clock on the wall.

"Oh, I'm thinking Denny's Grand Slam breakfast." Meg finally said, "That'll give us a few moments to collect our ideas for what we're looking for in a home. And make sure our stomachs are up for the job of seeing what areas might work since typically we should be situated about half way between Norfolk and Falls Church so we can each get enough sleep and we both can have equal drive times. It's not fair to you if you have to wake up at two in the morning and drive four hours to get in before 0600hrs."

"I knew I married you for your brains as well as your beauty..." Animal gave his wife a loving look...

"Flattery will get you everywhere..." Meg leaned in and purred in his ear "including bed..." she said in a throaty voice, "but not right now...breakfast and house-hunting, forward, march!"

"Aye-aye, ma'am." Animal grabbed his t-shirt with Naval Aviator wings on the chest and lettering saying 100% Genuine United States Naval Aviator. And grabbed his RayBan teardrop aviator sunglasses, putting them on and grinning a toothy grin at his wife who shook her head laughing softly.

"Don't forget your trousers, dear." Meg smirked.

"Oh...right..."

0730 hrs EST; Denny's, Fairfax, VA

"I think we should look at a condo for now, provided that we can find one within the price range we're looking at. It's less maintenance than having to deal with a single family home. No cutting grass, we just pay our mortgage and property taxes." Meg informed him smoothing her pants, hands on thighs, and looking at Haruo, "...and I could get Harm to look the conveyancing contract over just to make sure there aren't any discrepancies..."

Animal had another evil expression plastered on his face,"Sure that won't make everyone's favorite gyrene go ber...zerk?"

"Well..." a slow evil grin crossed Meg's face too. "Maybe we should have Harm draw up the contract of purchase and sale too."

"You really want to make her go nuclear, don't you?" Her husband looked thoroughly amused and Meg was delighted.

"Shouldn't have tried so hard to make an enemy of me..." was Meg's flat assessment. "Payback's a bitch."

"Ouch..."

"Don't worry, honey...you'll always have a get out of jail free card when youget into trouble," Meg replied, hidden meaning in her voice favoring him with a suggestive wink.

Animal raised his eyes to the sky offering up a fervent "hallelujah!" then turned to Meg and stated,"we do need to make sure that we find a condo in the location we're needing to be in, that's close to the highway but not too close due to noise, we don't want to be up all night either..."

Meg grinned widely as she said,"at least involuntarily." She told him with a wickedly lascivious look on her face. "...voluntarily is a whole nother story...".

Animal pulled out a calculator and did a rough calculation off the top of his head. "Given the fact you've been in for six years and I've been in for seventeen. We should have about $600K saved between the two of us. I would say that the maximum price we can conceivably purchase is $376,323 and that's right at our ballpark limit. In all honesty, I think we need to look at 65% of that amount and start ball-parking the figure there so that we have room to move up if we need to ...or down."

"$244K? Meg asked. " I think we need to make sure that we make that amount count for us."

"Agreed". Animal stated as he looked over at his wife.

"I hope we can find a two bedroom starting below that amount because we need to be looking at more than one option." Meg stated, "At least if one isn't to our liking, then we can move to looking at option two...and so on. But considering all that, we have to make sure that we have a list of amenities that we'd want to be as near to as possible."

"Shopping?" Animal asked with an irrepressible smirk as he pulled out a pad of paper and got a pen to start writing as Meg glowered at him.

"Lout!" She muttered, " I'm not a clothes horse."

"Food shops," he amended, as Meg narrowed her eyes giving him a dirty look. "In-suite laundry?" He continued.

"A must." She answered briefly, "saves money on having to do it at a coin laundry..."

"Recreation center in building with weight equipment - free weights, dumbbells and universal gym?"

"Recommended..." Meg said, "if there isn't a full service gym nearby. If you are pulling Gs on a regular basis, you, honey, are going to have to stay in top physical shape."

"Both actually would be a good option in location...we would have the option of working out at home if the weather is too lousy to go to the gym and we wouldn't miss a workout. Let me write that down."

"Dessert?"

"If there's good sweet shops nearby...sweetheart" Animal commented absently as he scrawled in his pad the last required entry of the gym for amenities."

Meg cleared her throat. "Honey, I think our server just asked you if we wanted dessert." Meg said dryly, her tone affectionately sarcastic as Animal looked up to notice two pairs of amused eyes looking back at him. Oops, faux pas.

The server smirked at Meg, "Well, ma'am, Dessert options are pie, cake or pudding. I'll leave you the dessert menus so you two can decide." She chuckled softly letting the both of them know, "I have a navy boy of my own though not a naval aviator. Service folks are always in here. Gimme a holler when you've decided on dessert."

"You really need to work on that situational awareness, hubby, dear." Meg informed him archly.

Ouch.

After discussing the majority of what they wanted in a house as well as dessert, ordering a nice apple pie with flaked crust and vanilla ice cream, while Meg ordered a nice chocolate pudding, they paid their bill and left a ten dollar tip for the server.

"Realtor or drive around and see what we can see?"Animal asked his wife as they walked towards the Escalade. It was still early morning at 0830hrs EST and Haruo was glad he picked jeans to wear outside instead of going with shorts. But after nine, the temperature would rapidly rise till it reached its hottest at between two and three in early afternoon.

"Why not both. We can have the realtor check the resale market and we can see what the new home market looks like. The new-builds tend to be open seven days a week with their presentation centers as opposed to the resale market which is show by appointment and weekend open houses only." Meg looked around the neighborhood as they walked back towards their rental car, "and we should look at getting at least the first vehicle of ours tomorrow if not both."

"That might be good." Animal said, "any idea what you want?" he queried as they stopped at their rental Escalade while Animal opened Meg's door then walked around to the driver's side and got in.

"I'm thinking sporty but not too expensive." Meg looked over at him. "I want something that has some kick to it. Maybe a Camaro or a Corvette."

"Nice." Animal was pondering his own options. Either the same choices or a Ford Mustang.

"I want something that will catch people's attention. Red, maybe, or black." Meg smiled at him, eagerly and Animal caught the hint of the eager, pretty LTJG spirit in his LCDR wife. Oh, how he loved her.

"Nice choice of colors..." Animal commented. "I'm thinking Mustang GT. Electric Blue with black racing stripes, low aspect air scoop and V8 under the hood; gives a nice kick in the ass when you hit the accelerator right off the line. Like getting launched off the boat in my Tomcat..."

"What about a Corvette?"

"It's nice." Animal pondered, "but you drive into the Oceana parking lot and it looks like a GM Chevrolet dealership. Row upon row of Corvettes of various vintages and colors. It seems like the car of choice for the naval aviator with no imagination...". Meg burst out laughing at the characterization.

"Harm's gotta hear that one." Meg gasped holding her stomach.

0730 hrs; JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA,

Harm looked over at Mac, haunted look in his face, at what he could have done to his career, let alone his life; if he'd had pulled the trigger on Commander Holbarth to send that bastard to his just reward.

"Harm..."

"Mac, you saved me, and my career..."

"Bud just lent me Harriet's uniform, I didn't realize that Holbarth was going to think that I was your dead girlfriend." Mac continued still mentally hearing Holbarth's horrified voice,

"No, Diane..."

...echoing in her mind then his horrified scream as he tripped over the mooring falling into the water between the dock and the ship he'd just left and being crushed against the side. At least the bastard got his reckoning in the end.

"You're a dead-ringerfor her, Mac."

"I'm not sure if I like the term..." Mac quipped. "Harm?"

He turned to look at her, "what, Mac...?"

"Can you put her ghost to rest?"

He took a deep breath leaning up against the wall. "I don't know, Mac, I need to process what happened." He let out a deep breath; choking back the emotion behind the next words. "We were talking about taking the final step before this happened...she and I were supposed to meet and... when she didn't show..." he trailed off. "I told Meg this back when we were on the dock at Norfolk the day we got pulled into the investigation. Maybe that's why she pulled away. But we weren't able to connect after that as partners and soon after that she called in for a transfer and left. We were a close team. Maybe she thought this was a betrayal of confidences and...I don't know, Mac."

"You're a complicated person, Harm." Mac said quietly. "You look like you'd be easy to understand, hotshot jet-jockey, lawyer, and sometimes cape-wearing hero but the truth is, you've got a load of skeletons in your closet." She looked out the window. Is it worth the pain and the heartache of trying to find love again.

"...now Meg's back and ...she's married...and well, things can't go back to the way they've been. We've all moved on." Harm concluded.

Everyone...except you, Harm. You can't seem to realize that Meg is in your past too; even if she's here again. "The question, Harm, is whether you're willing to let the past go."

"Not...until I've found out what happened to my father." Harm said resolutely as he left her office shutting the door behind him.

Mac stood looking out the window for a long moment. And you won't stop until you find out or die trying. And the problem is that I will follow you to the ends of the earth to stop the latter from happening. I wish you'd understand that.

0955hrs, Cadillac Escalade, somewhere halfway between Fairfax , VA and Norfolk, VA.

"Let's stop there..." Meg pointed out a presentation center showing the design of a new apartment complex. The building was done, but there was still only about 29% occupancy of the building itself. That meant that the complex would still have plenty of available units to choose from.

"They look pretty expensive." Animal noted.

"Doesn't hurt to check them out." Meg pointed out.

Animal took her hand and gave it a tender squeeze, "Well, let's go check it out. Then we can drive the area and see if there are any amenities close by."

"There's a plan." Meg winked at him. Opening the door to the presentation center found them in a place with various models of the different suites set up; a few had sold out stickers on them indicating the floor plan units were no longer available. There was a selection of bachelor, one-bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom. The bachelors were going at $97K, the one bedrooms ranged in price from $139,900 to $159,900, the two bedrooms from $199,900 to $275,900 and the three bedroom would be from $329,900 to $425,000; the bottom of the three bedrooms being at the near top of their maximum affordability factor and the upper end being completely out of their reach, unless Animal dipped completely into their savings and paid half the cost of the home upfront. That probably wasn't a wise choice to deplete their savings like that. Looking at the midrange two bedroom condo unit saw them looking at an eleven hundred sq ft unit that would be tolerable in terms of bedroom size and the layout of the kitchen and dining room was open at least. The bathroom was rather small and the ensuite bathroom just had a shower instead of the usual tub/shower combo. It really wasn't spectacular and neither Meg, nor Animal were impressed. They decided to scout the area and found three more condos nearly complete. Which meant they would have to stay in rental accommodations nearby until the building was complete and they were able to move in.

"It doesn't bother me...if its a little farther to drive to get some groceries. It's not that far only about six more blocks." Meg told Animal. "If we can manage to get a 1367 square foot two bedroom and den for $265,900 with two full bathrooms and an ensuite. As well as open kitchen and a deck on the fifteenth floor. I really like it. Plus did you note the shower?" Meg smirked. "I love the rain shower head right over head and the shower fits two people," she smirked tugging her mouth up in a grin that told Animal everything he needed to know about the reason she was looking at the suite.

"But we'll have to wait for two months to move in...you alright with living in a motel in this area while we wait to see if they complete the building on time?"

"Everybody's waiting and there is the three month payment penalty refund if they go over the time allotted to complete. That's over $3650.00 back into our pockets as a bonus while they have to eat the three months for everyone. I think that's a win in our column. Let's check with Harm and see if we can get him to give us a hand with the contract, let's nail this down." She picked up the phone and dialled him.

Animal told the man who was marketing the suites to hold the suite on the fifteenth floor while his wife tried to get a hold of Harm.

"Hey? Harm, are you free?" Meg asked

1135 hrs; JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA

"Hi, Meg, yeah, I was thinking of going to lunch, so what are you and Animal doing?" He tried to be nonchalant about the fact that Animal had married her and act as though it was a matter of fact proposition, however truth be told it was hard for him to reconcile and that it cut him deeply.

That Meg, his partner after Kate had grown on him initially after their rocky start on the Tigershark where he dressed her down for keeping her claustrophobia hidden from him that could have adversely affected their investigation. Through the oft-times that they'd traded suggestive banter; especially that Peruvian embassy where he'd muttered something about the security doing strip searches and she'd smirked at him as she passed him on the stairs saying...I wouldn't get your hopes up, sir...she'd always managed to outmatch him with her. verbal comebacks all the while continuing to be properly respectful of their different ranks Throughout all the months they'd worked together they'd grown not only tighter as a team, but he'd noticed just how attractive she really was and feisty, and that combination was a lure to any red-blooded male. Little had he known just how much of a lure she was for his mentor at RAG. Fleet Replacement Squadron.

God, how he'd missed the camaraderie of her partnership. His partnership with Mac was like a boxing match. Two rivals trying to score the knockout blow.

"We're doing fine, Harm, it's just that we found a condo in Reston, called the Cloverleaf and we're just about to draw up a contract of purchase and sale on the suite. I was wondering if you would come out and look over the contract for us and make sure that t's are crossed and i's are dotted."

Harm looked out the window, with a wide grin at the sun shining brightly through. "Oh, I'm sure I could be bribed...".he said lazily. He thought he heard Animal mumble something about gas money and dinner. "So when would you both move in?"

"The building's not scheduled to complete for two months and we get three months penalty back for non-completion if it's not done by the stated construction date. And a further month for every single month that it is delayed. In other words accommodation money and food if it's not complete."

"OK...let me clear it with the admiral and I'll be right down." Harm told her. It would do him good to get out of the office after the events of yesterday night. It had rained overnight so he was happy that they had a clear sunny day today.

"Thanks, Harm...".

"De nada, Meg. Tell Animal, don't sign anything until I've seen the paperwork. Sit on him if you have to."

"I'm sure he'd like that." Meg's voice sounded like there was some innuendo-laced commentary behind that.

"Woah, that there's a bit too much information, Meg." He teased her.

"Stop it, Harm, you're reading too much into it..." her laugh was airy. At least she was happy, he thought stifling a sigh.

"OK, Let me go and I'll check with the Admiral."

"Thanks, Harm."

"Don't mention it...".

1200hrs EST, JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA

"Sir..."

"What is it, Lieutenant Commander."

"I need to run down to Reston and look through a contract of Purchase and Sale, sir..."

"Would this happen to be the one that Lieutenant Commander Austin-Nakamura is signing?"

"Yes, sir?" Harm looked surprised, "How did you know, Sir?"

"Because I just got off the phone with Commander (O-5) Nakamura who asked me if I would give you permission to help them with the conveyancing etc. or whether it would be considered conflict of interest?"

Harm grinned. That was Animal, always checking to making sure everything was above and level.

As Harm was dismissed and he had his hand on the doorknob ready to pull the door open, the admiral spoke again, "Be glad he's paying for your dinner, Rabb."

"sir...?"

"I'd have just paid for gas."

1400 hrs, Presentation Center, Cloverleaf Condominiums , Reston, VA.

Animal looked up to see a cherry red '69 Corvette pull into the parking lot and a tall figure dressed in US Navy khakis extricate himself from the vehicle. At six four Harm was six inches taller than Animal. And five taller than Animal's wife.

He walked up to the door and opened it. "Hi..." he said as he looked over at Animal and Meg greeting them then shaking the salesperson's hand. "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. I'm with the Navy's Judge Advocate." He grinned at the man. "I'm representing the buyers and I'll check the contract and make sure everything is OK before they sign it." If it was legitimate, the salesperson shouldn't be rattled.

"By all means. Have some time to look it over, if you have any questions at all about the contract and why certain stipulations are on there just let me know." A simple concrete answer no stammering, no backpedaling. Just a if you have questions let me know. Seemed to be heading off to a good start. Harm looked over the stipulations. There was a one month closing. "Just wondering why the one month completion when the building is finished?"

"We have a final pre-inspection before every thing is certified as inhabitable and then we get the city to come in and do a final inspection. Just to make sure that absolutely nothing is left to chance. We want the buyers to get a suite where everything works as advertised and that they're completely satisfied that everything has been done to rule out defects in the building envelope, structure, framework, electrical and plumbing; that everything meets code and all the appliances and fixtures work correctly. We won't transfer a suite over until it meets every one of those criteria. That's why we have a refund of three month's mortgage payment for the initial month delay after the provisional closing month and one month refund for every month thereafter."

Harm nodded as he looked over the contract further. "Looks like you have a very solid contract here, Mr. Sutherland. I don't see anything detrimental to my client."

"And that's the way we like to operate, Lieutenant Commander Rabb, we pride ourselves in making sure that the client gets the best possible service and our best product. Every appliance is purchased brand new from the factory and is shipped when the unit is complete not before so it does not sit out in the elements before going into the unit. We may not get bulk quantity rates but we prefer that the customer get a working appliance that will continue to work for years in the unit. Would you all like to see a mockup of the unit that you will be entering when the building is complete?" Mr. Sutherland asked as he took the contract back from Harm after Animal and Meg had signed the contract.

Evidently the VA Loan had gone through on a zero down 30 year amortization mortgage. And all Animal and Meg had to do was sign the papers three copies, one for the builder, one for the buyer, one for the VA (the lending institution) after which the builder would fax the signed contract to the Veteran's Administration to sign and deliver the funds to the builder. The VA would then take the mortgage payment off the top of his paycheck as a Pre-Authorized payment.

"Yes." Harm said, "Why don't we take a look at the mock-up."

Meg and Animal agreed. They all got up and they walked over to what looked like a massive flat building on an empty lot.

Stepping into the building saw full-size mockups of every layout in the building under construction. "The two bedroom and den is this way." He led them to a door, inserting a key, he led them into the mockup of what their apartment would be like when finished, granite countertops, fridge, stove, dishwasher. The kitchen was very open and the

design looked very easy to walk around in. It had a very homey feel to it. Then he showed them the two washrooms one standard off the hallway, one ensuite, in the master bedroom, The tub was separate from the shower and it was large enough for two people to soak side by side; the shower was large enough for two to shower together and had a rain-shower head.

Harm rolled his eyes when he saw Meg and Animal eyeing each other and the rain-shower-head as they looked in the shower stall and were grinning like two horny teenagers.

"OK you two..." Harm muttered, "we're going to see the in-suite laundry. You two coming."

Mr. Sutherland looked at him and said, "We get that a lot when clients view our showers."

Harm rolled his eyes again.

1545hrs, Benders Steakhouse and Grill "Home of the Best Steakhouse in Virginia". Reston, VA

Harm looked over at Meg who was busily devouring her steak, "I now know why you wanted to move to Reston."

"May not be a 16 oz Texas Ribeye," Meg informed him, "But I gotta admit, it's pretty doggone good."

Animal was devouring a pulled pork Manwich 12 inches of rye bun with a heaping pile of pulled pork and pork grease.

Harm felt like his arteries were shrinking in horror at the sight of this carnivorous gluttony. The server had brought him a gigantic salad bowl's worth of salad and a slightly smaller bowl of croutons. There were some cucumber slices and some cherry tomatoes in the salad to add some variety to the mix. He'd probably try to eat a fruit salad later to make sure he had his daily allotment of fruit intake for the day because he swore he just ate his entire week's worth of green vegetables in one sitting.

It was after 1630 when they left the

Grill. Meg noticed his preoccupation and asked why he looked why something was bothering him. Animal looked concerned too.

"I drove all the way down to Norfolk yesterday night...I found Diane's killer..." He said briefly. Meg remembered the investigation and how traumatized Harm was from it.

"Who was it?" Animal knew that Diane was murdered since Harm had called him to let him know. After all, she and Harm had been a fixture with the Amigos after the Academy and during RAG (FRS). When she had fleeted up to being a crypto officer, they had thought she'd have a great career. But all of that was cut short by her murder.

"A Commander Holbarth" Harm looked up at the sky. "I had my gun on him I was ready to pull the trigger on him when Mac and Bud came out of nowhere; Mac called out to me, no, Harm, Don't!out of the fog. And .."

"How." Meg asked wondering how Mac could have helped in this case."

"She got soaked, during that thunderstorm that came through last night when I left her in front of my house while she was trying to talk me out of killing Holbarth." Harm paused, "she was wearing Harriet's uniform. Next thing I know I hear Holbarth screaming noand then a splash."

"Shit...".Animal swore, "he musta mistook her for Diane's ghost." Exactly what Harm and Mac had thought. "Y'know Mac does look like Diane in a way...so if she was wearing a Navy uniform..." Harm looked at him with eyebrow raised. Took him that long to notice. "What got him..."

"He fell into the water and was crushed between the ship and the pier."

"Serves the sonofabitch right." Animal told Harm. He hoped Holbarth was burning in hell at that moment.

Harm grasped his friend's hand, "I'll never forget you two bailing me out of jail and going to work on clearing my name."

"Howlers fly together, shipmate...". Animal gripped him on the shoulder.

That's why I wanted you to know that I finally got Diane some peace, I hope."

"Where is she?"

"Not at Arlington, she doesn't qualify. Silver Star or better only or family of. The Schonkes took her home and buried her at a cemetery in her state."

"Next time we...Jack, You , and me are able to get together we'll tip a glass to her memory and Luke's."

"Yeah, I'd like that. What would make it better is if Sturg was here and drinkin' with us. All of us, you too. Meg you were with me when I found out and you were with me on investigation of her death."

"Yeah well...if what you told me about him, he's probably submerged for six and probably won't be poking his head on land for a while." Animal said.

Meg replied sadly as she gave Harm a platonic hug which gave Harm a good view of her wedding ring which didn't help his laconic mood any. "You make me wish I'd known her, Harm." ...when she was alive...and Harm understood without her needing to say the words.

"Thanks for everything you did, Meg, in hacking the system and finding out everything they cooked up on me and going in and refuting every single accusation they came up with."

"That's what partners are for."

"And Animal, I'll remember you ripping into Turque. I saw the stain."

Animal smiled savagely,"Front or back?"

"Both...". Harm commented flatly, then turned to Meg, "Meg, I apologize for cutting you out when I was hurting. I destroyed our partnership at work and made it uncomfortable enough for you to want to leave, I'm sorry."

"You and I weren't able to get along after Yokosuka and after the investigation of your girlfriend's death. And so I left because if partners can't reveal things to each other then the partnership can't continue..." Meg said "in fact how we left off was the most uncomfortable part of my decision to come back. Before I left it got so bad we couldn't talk to each other."

"Part of that was my fault, Meg, I was jealous." Harm said, "I'm still having a bit of a tough time since I found out so abruptly at the meeting two and a half weeks ago...that you..." he trailed off pointing at her finger - the fourth finger on her left hand.

"...that I'm back at JAG, just not single?" Meg asked as Animal watched Harm's reaction.

"Yeah something like that, not so much your being back, it's great to have you back, it's just strange seeing you with a ring on your finger and married to a guy so focused on his career that Keeter, Luke and I doubted, he'd ever get married. He was the original grouchy flight instructor. And we called him Lieutenant Boresight, because of his single-minded devotion to his career." He paused for a long moment looking over at Animal. "And when you two met each other on the Mercy and you hit it off so quickly. It just made me wonder if I really knew anything about what made you tick; I thought I knew you and yet, even after all the months we spent on investigations, you were still an enigma. And I didn't cope with that well. After Yokosuka, you two were meant to be a couple" Harm observed somewhat wistfully at Animal and Meg. "...and I wanted that kind of relationship for myself. That's why I wanted to talk to Diane and really lock down what she and I were going to do with our relation-ship. And then all that happened. I didn't cope well with that either. I've never really dealt well with lost opportunities. So if you'll forgive me for being the asshole who chased you out of a place you loved..."

Meg nodded, "I can't say it didn't hurt because it did, Harm. But I understand you were hurting. The next time, you gotta know there's friends you can talk to. OK? Don't shut us out." She paused for a long moment reaching out to Animal to take his hand and squeeze it and her other to Harm. "Now I feel like I've truly come back to JAG and that I'm finally home."

Harm enfolded her in a hug, "Welcome back, Meg...I missed you..." she was warm, and wore the same light perfume she always had. After a brief but caring hug he let her go. "Now you're both relatively close by, With Keeter in your squadron," Harm looked over at Animal, "...and me in Falls Church, it's like the Amigos are back together."

Harm and Animal grinned at each other "You betcha." The two gave each other a complicated high-five. Meg shook her head; naval aviators.

"Well, I guess it's time to head back to Falls Church." Harm said. "I have to check in with the admiral before securing for the night."

"Drive carefully." Animal said waving to him."

After they saw Harm leave in his Corvette, Animal looked at Meg. "Norfolk..." they both said together.

1910 hrs EST, Norfolk Secured Storage; Norfolk. VA

"Found it..." Animal said. "I get the feeling we'll need it."

"We'll have to stop by my storage and get mine too." Meg said tossing a box of 9mm 120grain into her purse,"we can get the rest later." Animal loaded up the clip and a spare, put one magazine into the M92FS racked the slide back and set the safety. Slipping on the concealed carry holster, he slipped the now loaded and safetied Beretta into it.

"OK, hon, Let's go up and get yours." He said to Meg. After they loaded up Animal's uniforms into the Escalade they drove another four hours back to Meg's storage unit