JAG 1. Chapter 1

"Wild Horses n' Aviators"

Author: Haruo Chikamori

E-mail: hhchikamori

Rating: T

Classification: Meg/Animal

Spoilers: Sequel to _Beyond The Call of Duty_

Summary: "Come with me to Texas" – 5 meaningful words lead to a whole lot more.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Meg Austin, Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.

Author's Note:

_**Chapter One**_

_**The Golden Horseshoe Ranch, Sherman, TX, **_

Lieutenant junior grade Megan Austin looked over at Commander Toshio "Animal" Nakamura as the car she drove drew ever closer to the ranch. Looking over at her slumbering aviator, he was passed out like a shut-off light, she grinned. Now where had that possessive thought come from? "Come with me to Texas" she had said on the dock of the Naval Station San Diego pier. Animal had acquiesced when she had come with him to get his recovering shoulder checked out at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Animal was rather nervous to go _meet her folks_ as a formal relationship hadn't even been declared. But Meg was pleased to see that Animal was amenable to meeting her mother.

They were both dressed in civilian clothes. Animal had on a blue t-shirt and jeans while Meg was dressed in jeans and a frilly white blouse. Meg was tall, taller than Animal by about 3 inches.

Sherman was home to Meg. Her ancestors had started a ranch many years ago; the Golden Horseshoe was in their family for over six generations. From 1860 before the Civil War between the Yankees and the South, the ranch had been in the business of raising and tending horses. But when the call came out, the army and the navy had profited from many generations of Austins serving their country. Her service was only the latest of many who had come before her.

As she pulled up to the driveway, a pack of barking dogs heralded their arrival and her brother came out to investigate the brou-haha - the noise having awakened the slumbering aviator in the right hand passenger seat and he eased himself up, wincing slightly as the injured shoulder bound making movement difficult.

By this time, Meg had wrapped her arms around her much taller brother while Animal's eyebrows raised questioningly. Meg turned around to motion to Animal to come forward. "Tosh, this is my older brother, Joseph Austin." Since they were out of uniform, they dropped all rank. The skyscraper gave him an assessing look as if to say _who's this eyeing my beloved lil'sister!?_. "Joe, be nice! He's a Medal nominee and a good friend." Animal was wondering if he was going to get a permanent crick in his neck peering up at a man who would be at least 6'5" or more. Joe noticed Animal's glance of curiosity

…and replied. "I'm 6'4" affirming Animal's unspoken question…and grinned. "Welcome to the ranch. You're probably the first one that Meg's brought home to visit." He grinned then winced as Meg gave him a shot to the arm with clenched fist. "So, he's the one that you were mentioning that you did the investigation for?" Joe grinned at his sister ignoring his throbbing arm. Meg didn't _hit like a girl_.

Meg blushed and nodded. "Yep, he's the one." Animal opted to remain silent.

"Joe…who is it?" a female voice came from the main building's front door; and Animal knew that it was Meg's mother when Meg ran to her and embraced her. "Meg?" her mother said. "We were so worried when the Navy department contacted us and said you were in a coma and that you'd been shot. Because of the horses we couldn't drop it all and come up and see you. But we should have…my baby girl."

"It's all right, Mama. I'm fine." Meg reassured her; both her mother's eyes and hers were overflowing with tears.

"Who did you bring home with you?" Meg gestured to Animal who tentatively came forward.

"This is Toshio Nakamura. He's a United States Naval Aviator" Meg introduced Animal to her mother.

"You mean much like Harmon Rabb, that guy that you told me about?" Meg's mother's eyebrows were raised assessing the man who was with her daughter. "The guy you work with?"

"Mama, Tosh is actually an active-duty naval aviator. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor." Meg's mother's eyebrows shot skyward.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really, Mama. He was nominated for the Medal because he saved the lives of the men that he was with when they went on a rescue mission to retrieve an aircrewman who was shot down in enemy territory." Meg continued. Animal was rather embarrassed at this big deal being made of him. "Mama, he took on an entire brigade of North Korean troops armed with only an M4 carbine." Meg said as she wrapped her arm around Animal's.

After the introductions, Animal and their luggage were brought into the house. Another surprise awaited Meg when Uncle Ollie ventured out of the living room. Another hug from Meg's Uncle Ollie and Meg felt like she was welcomed thoroughly home. "I knew you were there even when I was in a coma, Uncle Ollie." Meg murmured softly as she nestled in Ollie's embrace. "I don't know how, but I could sense your presence."

"I know, Meg. I see you brought your commander home." Uncle Ollie looked over at Animal. "Commander, it's good to see you. A fine thing you did for your men."

"Sir." Animal said, extending his own hand to grasp Ollie's proffered hand.

"Tosh, make yourself at home." Meg said, as she guided him to a comfy chair. "You need to rest that shoulder of yours."

"Meg…" Ollie said. "Can we go for a walk?" Animal looked up with a rather lost expression. "Don't worry, Commander, I won't keep Meg for long."

As Ollie walked out of the house with Meg, she and Ollie knew that they had a lot to talk about. When they had gone a distance far enough that their conversation couldn't be heard back at the house, he looked at her. "You love him, don't you? It's different than what you share with Harm. I could sense that. The looks you throw at Tosh when you think he isn't looking. Or the looks that he throws back at you." Ollie grinned at his god-daughter.

"Yes, Tosh is more open. He doesn't have anything to hide." Meg said. "It isn't the same with Harm. With Harm there's always secrets and his Dad. The fact that in Hong Kong, there was an incident with the Chinese where they tried to use the memory of his dad against him. I think Harm's a great guy…"

"…but he's not the one." Ollie finished for her.

Meg nodded, but said. "I mean, Harm's a great friend and all…"

"But you want someone that you can relate to…" Ollie grinned. "…despite the fact that he's a hero." He teased her.

"Well…Uncle Ollie, he's human. He's got his own foibles."

"It's not going to be easy. Meg. His duties take him away from you. As an active duty aviator he's going to be deployed most of the time." Uncle Ollie kicked at clump of dirt which raised a small dust cloud. "Go slow, Meg. See how you two get along first and see how your relationship progresses."

"So how was it for you and Auntie, when you were deployed with the Marines?" Meg asked him.

"We worked at the relationship. Meg. I loved your Auntie and we did our best to keep our relationship going. And we succeeded. If it wasn't for the cancer..." Ollie looked out into the distance. "We had a happy relationship." Meg knew that. Ollie was by her aunt's side at the chemo treatments and at bedside as the disease claimed her life. "You know if Commander Nakamura wants a relationship?" Ollie turned to ask her.

"He does, he admitted as much to me in Yokosuka." Meg said. "And again in San Diego. But he has a career. All I can say is that I want to spend what time I have with him while he figures out what he wants and is assigned in his career." She paused for a moment looking out at the horizon. "Do you think he's right for me?" she asked her uncle.

"Meg, darling, only you know that answer." Ollie turned to head back to the house; pausing as he passed by, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll know if he's the right one. Just ask yourself." He took his hand off and rested it against his chest over his heart. "This will tell you, little one."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Golden Horseshoe Ranch, Sherman, TX**_

Meg and Uncle Ollie came walking back in, as Animal breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been getting the _third degree_ from Joe and Meg's mother – the usual _what are your intentions with my daughter_ sort of thing and Animal was starting to feel like a pin-cushion. He reckoned that it would be even more of an uncomfortable situation if Joe Sr. was still alive. Joe Senior would have been cleaning the shotguns on the front porch. Meg felt a rush of sympathy for the poor put-upon naval aviator as she felt a wave of relief emanating from him. "You alright?" she asked as she sat down beside him and nearly giggled as he gave her a 'HELP' expression on his face. She eyeballed her brother. "You were nice, I hope."

"Oh…very." Joe said innocently. Meg didn't believe a word of it and gave him a look as if to threaten dire consequences later. Ollie quite conveniently motioned to Animal to come take a walk with him. It was Meg's turn to look concerned.

Joe made a motion to get up where Ollie shook his head. Joe opted to stay put. Ollie was a family friend for a long time. He knew Joe's father as they had been buddies for a long time in the service. As Animal got up…feeling rather reluctant to do so, but knowing that he had to run the gauntlet. One didn't make a visit to a woman's family without getting the third degree as to what the intentions were. He sighed as he got up, gave Meg a strained smile and walked over to where Ollie was waiting. They both left the house.

Meg kept looking towards the door. "After this…" she muttered, "I'd be surprised if he didn't run." She gave her brother a look as if to say _you're so gonna pay for this._

Joe grinned at his sister. "Meg, I think you need to give him more credit than that. If he's a Medal of Honor nominee, I'm sure he's more than able to go through a grillin'." He didn't have to say _if he's not the right one for you, sis, then he'll run._ "I know he cares for you. We're just makin' sure he really knows what he's getting' into."

"Does he now?" Meg asked wondering if Animal was up to the third degree the Austins usually gave the men who came to court their women.

_**Outside**_

As he had done with Meg, Ollie walked with Animal a ways out into the North Texas grasslands. "Watch your step." Ollie said. "If you hear a rattle, you come to a stop." That didn't reassure Animal any. Prairie rattlesnakes were a common problem around North Texas. When they had gone far enough that their voices wouldn't carry back to the house, Ollie turned around and said. "Commander. You're an honourable man; if you weren't, they wouldn't be considering draping the Medal of Honor around your neck. What you did in Korea is something that was damned heroic. But I'm not here to butter you up."

"No, sir." Animal said.

"I've been a friend of the family for quite a long time; and I'd be doing Joe Sr., Meg's father, a disservice if I didn't do this." Ollie grinned. "I know you're of Japanese-American descent. The Nakamura last name gave it away. Tell me about yourself."

Animal looked out at the darkening sky. It had been late afternoon when Meg and Animal had come to the ranch. He said. "Well, I grew up in Northern New York State, went to middle and high-school there. Enrolled in NROTC at the University of Rochester, class of 1980." He looked over at Ollie who stood there silent in the mounting gloom like a dark statue. "My grandfather was a veteran of the 442/100 Regimental Combat Team and a recipient of the Army Medal of Honor. My family descends from the Tachibana Clan of samurai of the Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. We served our country, both Japan and the United States; once our family moved to the United States our adopted home. My father and mother as well as my grandmother were interned in Tule Lake."

"So why do you serve." Was the blunt question from Ollie. "It sounds as though your family went through a lot of injustice in your adopted homeland; losing your possessions to the United States Government. If I had been through that, I'd be bitter as hell."

"I serve because in my core I am American, because the country that my grandfather adopted gave him a chance to prove his loyalty, sir. And he seized that opportunity with both hands and made the most of it. When the rest of the country was calling us Japs, Nips and traitors, the US military gave them a chance to prove themselves Americans and we took it." Animal said as he looked over at Ollie. "And we continue to serve, sir, so that it never, ever happens again to anyone else. I love my country, sir. That's why I donned the uniform and have planned to stay in as long as the JCS will have me; as long as the people of the United States will have me serve."

"So you're not bitter?" Ollie asked.

"No, why should I be? Sir." Animal asked him, looking him straight in the face, even though with the dark that he couldn't see the other person's form. "It was war-time, and we all did what we thought we had to do." He paused. "I'd be lyin', sir, if I said that I didn't feel betrayed or hurt by the fact that our country could think us so little as to be traitors to our country, sir. But we showed that we believed in her by signing up and serving. My grandma used to tell me stories, sir, about Nikkei – Japanese Americans standing out in the middle of the internment camp, hand over their hearts, singing the Star Spangled Banner with tears rolling down their cheeks, sir. My grandfather told me that this country was the land of opportunity, sir and I still believe that. Despite the fact that my grandfather was reduced to nothing, he managed to build himself back up in the military. Served his twenty and retired as a MSGT in the United States Army. 3rd Infantry Division when one of his officers in the 442 took him with him when he went to the 3rd. Every promotion he earned was based on merit. My grandfather had the respect of every man that he served with, no matter what race or creed or color."

Ollie had moved closer to him in the dark, and rested his hand on the shoulder of the man who was standing beside him. "You're a good man, Commander. As I said, I would be doing Joe Senior a disservice if I didn't do this for Meg and keep her safe. And I know you'll keep her safe too." Animal looked at the man shaped shadow beside him as the sun had long made its exit from the horizon. "You've already answered the question of what do you plan to do to support Meg, in that you're staying in for as long as they'll have you." He paused for a long moment. "Why the Navy? They didn't give your family the chance, the army did. So why the Navy?"

"Loved aircraft, sir, for as long as I could remember." Animal replied. "And the toughest branch of the all the armed services to fly for is the United States Navy or the US Marines. During the 80s, I wanted to fly off carriers so I chose the Navy."

"Sounds though like you'd be tough enough to serve in the Marines, Commander."

"Then I wouldn't have met Meg though." Animal grinned at him.

"Well, let's head back before we end up not being able to see the rattlers." Ollie pulled out a flashlight and turned it on as the men retraced their footsteps back to the ranch-house. Each step was carefully gauged before they took it and it was about 2 hrs before they made it back to the house. Meg was at the door wondering where Ollie had taken Animal and Ollie gave her a thumbs up to tell her that everything was alright.

Meg looked at Ollie saying "You know there's rattlesnakes around. What do you mean tromping around at night in the fields chatting about God knows what. What if you two had gotten bitten?" she groused at Ollie and reached for Animal's hand as he came up the stairs. "C'mon. Tosh, we gotta find you a room to sleep in tonight." The affectionate glance that she gave him warmed Animal right down from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA Admiral Chegwidden's office. **_

Harm looked over the admiral's desk at the seated Admiral AJ Chegwidden. "Sir, Meg went home for two weeks. I believe you signed off on the leave."

"Yes, but unfortunately, I have a case that requires her attention. Will you head down to Texas and see if you can assist her on the case? You'll be in VOQ at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. The case is involving a Naval chief who went AWOL because of extenuating circumstances. He said that his daughter went missing. And he was trying to help in the search efforts."

"Yes, sir." Harm replied.

"Tell Lieutenant JG Austin that she has been recalled for the duration of the leave and that she will be reimbursed for that time. Get on the next flight out to Fort Worth, ASAP." AJ said.

"Aye, sir."

_**A day later**_

A rather insistent knock on the door caused Meg to mutter an oath that was not repeatable as she and Animal were nestled in the couch enjoying each other's company while watching some TV and relaxing. They planned to go on a horseback ride, now that he was getting used to horses. The first time he had come near a horse he was absolutely terrified.

"_Just don't approach her from the rear. She'll kick." Meg had said. Animal looked warily at the muscular hindquarters of the horse. "Approach her from the front and offer her your hand. She'll smell it and if she likes you…" _

_Animal made certain that he approached the horse from the front. He didn't want to end up with his skull caved in from a kick. Timidly he extended his hand to the horse. The horse gave a sniff of Animal's hand, her ears flicked front as she buried her nose in his hand as she let out a snort. It tickled. Shaking her head she nudged his hand even more. _

_Meg offered Animal a sugar cube to offer the horse who gratefully took it. _

_Meg brushed up against Animal's side and leaned in as Animal wrapped his arm around her waist. "So…able to feed horses now?" she teased. _

"_Yeah. I guess." Animal said. _

Meg's attention came back to the present as she walked over to the door. Standing there in khakis was a familiar sight. "Harm?" she asked. "What's going on?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chap 3**_

_**The Golden Horseshoe Ranch, Sherman, TX**_

Harm stood there in front of the open door looking at Meg who was dressed in a blouse and a pair of jean shorts that showed off her long legs. Any shorter and those things would have been Daisy Dukes. Meg was sure that his jaw had slammed to the ground. "What's wrong?" Meg asked as Harm continued to stare at her.

"Uh…um…you look fantastic." Harm said as he stood on her doorstep. "Mind if I come in. The admiral said that there was a case that needed taking care of in Fort Worth and I need my partner with me."

"But…I'm on leave." Meg objected, her tone rather perturbed. Harm watched her reaction, she seemed reluctant to allow him in and that confused the heck out of him. She was normally open and friendly, but this time she seemed rather guarded. She hadn't cracked a smile since opening the door and her gesture was brief and towards the kitchen rather than the living room.

When they had arranged the chairs to the kitchen table, Meg levelled a look at Harm. "So…what was so important that required you coming down and disrupting my leave?" she asked, her tone flat.

"AJ handed me a case." Leaning over and pulling a file from his leather briefcase, he handed it over. "Five days ago, a little girl went missing off the base near their quarters. Her father, a Master Chief Greg Waters, took compassionate leave for three days, expecting that he would be able to find his daughter within that time. When he couldn't he refused to report back for duty. The CO has filed an AWOL case with the base JAG which bumped the file up to us owing to its seriousness. I want to know what happened to the girl." Harm said.

"I thought we were to investigate the Away With-Out Leave. Investigating the girl's disappearance isn't in our mandate." Meg opined as she looked at Harm. "That's NCIS' job."

"There are no marks on the front lawn which would have meant that the girl was abducted without a scuffle." Harm continued; ignoring Meg's attempt to pass the case off to NCIS - his face impassive as he related the information and his thoughts. "…and it had to have been someone that she knew, probably another serviceman who was serving with her dad."

"So what do you want to do?" Meg asked. Harm looked at her. She still wasn't convinced, Harm thought. It had been a while since Meg had seen her parents and from what vibes Harm could pick up she wasn't too happy evidently with him being there disrupting her leave, the time that she was able to spend with her family. Harm was slowly starting to get the idea that he wasn't too welcome over there. His thoughts were confirmed with her next statement. "If I lose the rest of my leave, is it banked so that I can take it later?"

"I want to find that girl…" Harm said. "The admiral said that he'll give you the rest of your leave when it is convenient, but he really needs you for this case."

The look on Meg's face was not happy. "You're damned right, it's not convenient, but since when is the Judge Advocate convenient. Since I'm back on duty…sir." The last 'sir' was almost spat out. "You will have to wait for a while, while I get my uniforms back together so that I can accompany you out to NAS Fort Worth." Harm knew that he was in really hot water with his partner for disrupting her leave.

"Fine, Lieutenant Junior Grade." Harm said as he sat back against the chair. "I can wait."

_**Living Room**_

Animal looked up to see Meg come back into the living room. The look on her face was not that of a very happy camper. In fact it looked as if steam was coming out of her ears. "Meg?" he asked softly, "What's wrong."

Meg looked at him with a devastated countenance. "Everything!" She exclaimed. "I just got called back on duty for an investigation. I've lost the rest of my leave to this. And here I was hoping that I could spend my leave with you." She looked about ready to kick a cushion across the living room. "…and not only that, that irritating partner of mine is sitting in the kitchen with a smug expression on his face."

"I've got my uniforms." Animal grinned. "How about I come with you?"

"But what about the therapy on your shoulder? You need to get that done or your shoulder won't heal." Meg gave him a look of concern. "The rifle rounds that went through your shoulder did a lot of damage. And the muscles keep binding."

"I don't think a few delays are going to matter too much. Besides, three heads are better than one, right?" Animal convinced her. "And then we still get time together." He grinned, leaning in to capture her lips with his.

"Devil." She grinned against his lips.

"I know." He whispered softly as they rested their foreheads against each other's. "You go change, sweetie, I'll change into my khakis."

Meg winked at him. "You sure you can do it with that arm of yours? You're not going to need help?" she volunteered saucily.

"Minx." He laughed as Meg sashayed off to her room to change, but not before she left with a little wiggle of her butt. Animal groaned.

_**Kitchen**_

"Good morning, Commander." Ollie said as he came over to the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. "So what brings you to this part of town."

"Just had to pick up my partner due to an investigation." Harm replied.

"Uh-huh?" Ollie grunted. It seemed to be like Ollie was slightly less friendly than he was at Meg's bedside when he was present after Meg got shot. Almost as if he was guarding something. This was Meg Austin's turf and her private sanctuary. And not many people were allowed in. "You understand that Meg's personal time is hers?"

"Yes, sir." Harm said. "I wouldn't be here if the admiral hadn't directed me to get his best investigators out to take care of the case that we're on."

"Really now…" Ollie raised an eyebrow as he levelled a look at the lieutenant commander. "I'm surprised Admiral Chegwidden has so few investigators that he considers competent enough to handle a case, that he would have to pull one from personal leave to get this matter dealt with. Is he that short of competent investigators, that he couldn't have seconded one off another case?"

"It's not my pay-grade to ask him that, sir." Harm replied.

"Meg is happy…for the first time in a long time. Commander Rabb." Ollie replied as he leaned over to look Harm square on. "I trust that you won't do anything to change that, will you?" That was a dire warning if Harm ever heard one and he wondered what he had done to warrant that from _Uncle Ollie_.

"I understand you protect your own, sir." Harm said, his voice dropping several degrees.

Meg returned to the room. "Well, Harm, I'm ready."

Harm said, nodding to Ollie and to Meg. "OK…Lieutenant. We should really be getting going."

"Hold on a minute, Harm." Meg said. "I have someone who'll be tagging along with us."

Harm looked at Meg. "You know civilians can't get on military bases. Ollie may not be a civilian but even he's not allowed to march on base and off base without adequate clearance."

"He may not be allowed, Commander…" Harm's head shot up to hear a familiar voice. "…but I am."

Harm's jaw nearly hit the floor as Animal stood there dressed in US Navy khakis, replete with ribbons and naval aviator wings.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Kitchen**_

Despite Animal's diminutive stature, he was an imposing figure, the silver oak-leaves on the collars of his khakis, the six rows of ribbons and the gleaming gold naval aviator wings above his left breast. And he did not look the slightest bit amused. Harm stared at his former RAG instructor then at Meg then at Ollie then back again. His brain was doing cartwheels trying to figure out what the hell was going on that Animal was here at Meg's home in Sherman. Trying futilely to put two and two together was giving him a mental seizure.

"Meg…" Harm stammered, wanting an explanation, but not getting one as Meg turned stonily silent and asked Animal if he needed help with the bags…that her brother would help get them to the car…the Navy vehicle that Harm had parked in the road leading up to their home. The ranch-house at Sherman had a long driveway, one that extended for about five miles leading up to their home. The property itself was vast, over 1500 acres of grassland and pocket desert complete with tumbleweeds. "I…uh…" Harm continued to stammer while looking at Meg who was standing noticeably close to Animal. "JAG won't cover the cost of accommodation for a third officer…and…uh…" and stopped when he saw the look on Animal's face

"I can pay my way, Lieutenant Commander Rabb." Animal said emphatically as he looked at him with a glare that could melt concrete. "I presume that the longer we stay here the less likely it is that we will be able to pick up clues on the missing girl. So I'd close that mouth of yours, Rabb or the only damned thing you're going to catch is flies." Harm shut his mouth, turned around and headed for the car.

"I'm sorry it was so short of a time I had to come back, Mama…" Meg said as she embraced her mother and moved towards the vehicle. Animal got in the back of the car, shutting the door gently but firmly and Meg got in the front beside her partner. Harm winced as the door was closed with a slam that rocked the vehicle. Harm got the message that his partner was not pleased at all.

_**US Navy Lincoln Grand Marquis**_

As they were driving, Meg noticed out of the corner of her eye, Harm eyeing her when he thought she wasn't looking. Animal sat in the back-seat watching the scenery go past silently. The tension was so thick that one could pull out a knife and cut it. Getting more and more irritated, Meg finally turned to Harm and snapped. "What?!"

Harm commented casually, "I didn't realize you had someone over…" as another few miles rolled up on the odometer.

"…and since when is who I am dating or not…your business?" Meg snapped irritatedly.

"Are you?" Harm asked, his eyes not straying from the road.

"None of your business. When I left the JAG office for leave, that was exactly what I was going for; my personal leave, whether I spend it with someone or who I spend it with, is exactly none of your business." Meg fastened a glare on Harm.

Animal's attention turned from the passing scenery to the argument in the front seat. His eyeballs were going back and forth as the ricocheting commentary got heated. It was like a Wimbledon tennis match.

"Well, I wouldn't be here if the admiral hadn't asked me to come get you for a case. It just so happened that I showed up while you were entertaining your boyfriend here!" Harm shot back. For about two seconds there was dead silence as Meg looked at Harm, the ambient temperature chilling in the car despite the 90 degree heat outside.

"Excuse me?" Meg glared daggers at Harm. "Entertaining? Are you implying something…untoward?"

"Well, it certainly did seem rather scenting of impropriety…" Harm commented casually.

"Oh, that's rich. Harm." Meg exploded. "Yeah, you and Annie, you and the Thai ambassador…and you're accusing me of dragging Commander Nakamura off to a den of iniquity? You know what? Harm? I think you'd better stop right now or I will insist that the admiral pull me off this case…or is it because you're jealous?"

Considering the subject of their heated conversation was in the car silent, Harm said. "Yeah, I think we'd better stop too…and for the record, I'm not jealous." Considering that he brought up the personal subject he let the rank superior officer respect drop as it wouldn't be fair to pull rank in this case.

Neither Animal nor Meg believed that for a single second. Animal wisely opted to keep his mouth shut and let the two junior officers hash it out for themselves. But there was pretty much dead silence for the rest of the trip to Fort Worth. It was a long hour and thirty-six minutes before the main gates of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth came into sight and the uncomfortable ride was over. Handing over their IDs, the officers were ushered on base.

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX**_

"Sir, Captain Simkovich will see you now." The chief stated to Animal who nodded. Striding over to the base commander's door, he pounded the pine.

"Commander Toshio Nakamura, Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb and Lieutenant J. G. Meg Austin, sir." Animal stated as they stood two paces in front of Captain Simkovich's desk.

Captain Richard Simkovich, United States Navy, Commander Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth at Fort Worth Texas, looked upon the three naval officers and smirked. "So…what's a line officer doing in command of a staff investigation?" taking notice of the fact that Animal had both rank insignia on his khakis. A line officer had no staff insignia on the right collar of their khakis; only two rank insignia.

"Sir, I'm just a tag-along. You'd best direct any questions regarding the investigation to the Lieutenant Commander." Animal grinned at Captain Simkovich - O-5s and O-6s were senior echelon, and were allowed to be a bit more informal. "I'm just an extra set of eyes and ears, sir."

CAPT Simkovich nodded then looked over at Harm giving him an assessing stare, his eyes fastening on Harm's gold wings. "Naval Aviator, huh?"

"Yes, sir." Harm replied, his eyes straight front. "F-14 Tomcats, sir." Meg was wondering if there was a pissing match going on. "but only when they allow me, sir."

"You too?" Captain Simkovich asked Animal,

…who nodded. "F-14A Tomcat, XO, VF-41 squadron, active duty, sir" with no small amount of smugness. Meg rolled her eyes. Now there was a three-way pissing match going on. Captain Simkovich may have held the higher rank of the three of the immature aviators, but he was a freight-hauler being the AC of a C-130H.

"…and you, Lieutenant junior grade?" Captain Simkovich asked wryly.

"Me. I'm just a lowly JAG lieutenant jay-gee, sir." Meg responded. "No fancy wings…I'm just a plain staff officer, Mk. 1 grade, sir." Captain Simkovich's eyes crinkled in amusement as he grinned at Meg's response.

"As you are probably aware, Waters is one of my best maintenance techs on the C-130H. Now I sympathize as a father that he is going through hell right now with his daughter missing. But I also have a unit to run. NCIS is crawling all over this case and I have to toe the line or otherwise I'd be out there helping him." Captain Simkovich sat down in the chair. "And unfortunately that means bringing charges against a good man." He let out a sharp breath. "I don't want to do that, but I have to keep up appearances."

"Sir." Harm replied in acknowledgement of the situation. Commanding officers ran a tightrope of having to be compassionate to the men and women under their command and yet run a tight ship. Sometimes it meant having to choose one or the other. It wasn't an easy decision. And there were underlying political matters behind those decisions too.

"Has Chief Waters been remanded to custody, or is he still AWOL, sir." Meg asked.

"Haven't heard from him from the time he reported that his daughter was missing." Captain Simkovich replied shortly. "I have no idea as to his whereabouts."

All four naval officers looked at each other. This wasn't sounding good at all. "Do you have the address to his quarters? Sir?" Harm asked. The captain wrote an address down on a piece of paper after consulting his computer and handed the paper to Harm. "Let's go search there first and see if there's any clues. Sir, may we requisition arms as well as a Master-At-Arms to accompany us?"

"You may." The Captain stated.

_**Carswell Communities, Fort Worth Texas**_

As the Grand Marquis travelled down the main road and turned onto the road that lead to Chief Waters' home, a rather uneasy feeling came upon Animal who turned to Harm and said. "I don't like this…it doesn't feel good."

When the Grand Marquis came to a halt in front of Chief Waters' house, he got out. Harm knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Master at Arms." Harm stated. "We need access."

The Master-At-Arms got on the radio and requested permission to gain entry. They had no keys, so the only way that they could gain entry was to kick the door in. Animal drew the M9 Beretta that he had been assigned by the Master-At-Arms, nodding to both Harm and Meg who did the same.

The Master-At-Arms gave the door a solid kick, but the door didn't budge. Another kick only yielded the same result. He shrugged his shoulders. Animal told him to move aside. A loud ki-ai accompanied by a karate-style front thrust kick splintered the door by the dead-bolt and a further kick allowed the Master-At-Arms to gain entry followed by the three naval officers who fanned out into the house, their Berettas aimed at the ready. Shouts of "clear, clear" rang out as the officers checked each room. A sudden loud exhalation of breath from Meg caused Animal to run to meet her. Laid out on the floor was a woman and a man both garbed; both several days expired on the floor. The man had a bullethole to his right temple and the woman had several holes in her chest.

"Shit." The Master-At-Arms said. "That's Chief Waters."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chap 5**_

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Chief Waters' home**_

The NCIS criminal investigation team pored over the home that the three officers had found the bodies. With Chief Waters dead and his wife murdered (it looked like a murder-suicide); the leads as to the whereabouts of his young daughter had evaporated.

Meg was staring off into the horizon, her arms around herself. As she had been the one that had come across the bodies first, it had thrown a nasty shock to her. She had been cornered by the NCIS investigator and questioned; Animal standing protectively beside her, affixing the Navy "Clueless" In Service gumshoe with a frigid glare that he had hoped would have frozen him in place. "That child is missing…and she doesn't know her parents are dead." She whispered, a glint on her cheek caught the setting sun as Animal noticed a tear running down her cheek. "The DNA team didn't find any traces of her other than the usual hairs and skin. Nothing that signified blood or any violence that could have taken her life." Meg said meaning the child. "She may still be alive." She looked over at Animal. "I need that computer." Meg stated, determination coloring her voice. "I can hack through and find out what communications were placed to the Waters and whether we can get some clues from there. HARM!" she called out.

"Yeah, Meg?" Harm came over from talking to the NCIS agent.

"Tell NCIS, I want access to the Waters' computer." Meg ordered. "I don't want to hear any objections. I want to find that girl!"

"Aye, ma'am!" Harm nearly took a step back at Meg's vehement exhortation and amscrayed when he saw the look on her face that read 'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?'. She turned to Animal and Animal could see the emotion on her face.

"I hope I'm not too late." Meg said, her voice breaking.

_**NAS-JRB Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; Computer Tech Room**_

The computer was set up in the room and Meg sat down to go after what leads they could find. The first few e-mails, from the time that Chief Waters was first posted to the base, that they found were innocent e-mails with regards to the school that Katie Waters was enrolled in. Katie Waters was a senior with a 4.0 grade point average and enrolled in Naval JROTC in her high-school. Then six months before Katie Waters' disappearance, emails got suddenly darker. The first e-mail that sent up warning signals was from a group called the _Texas Freedom Guard_. After a few e-mails, the picture was becoming disturbingly clear. Then Meg started looking for a name and an ISP trace which disturbingly brought up several names actually serving in NAS-JRB Fort Worth.

Harm looked over at his partner. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" as Animal looked over at both of them.

"Yeah, Harm, it looks like an inside job." Meg replied as she printed off more e-mails. Those e-mails would be evidence against the culprits that instigated the kidnapping and murder.

Harm glowered darkly at the computer screen and said. "I want these guys brought down. This was a murder disguised as a murder-suicide. They wanted us to think that Waters murdered his wife."

"I'm running an ISP trace right now and I'll be sending a warrant to the internet service provider and telling them to provide us with the names of those IP addresses." Meg said. "Commander? Can you come with me to the ISP?" She turned to Animal who nodded. "Harm, you need to stay on base and stick with the MPs, because I'm going to call you and have you arrest whoever we can question to find out more about where Katie went."

"Why don't I go with you?" Harm looked bereft.

"Because…" Meg said with an annoyed look at Harm. "The Commander doesn't have JAG authorization to make an arrest, you on the other hand…do." _ Good God, Harm was acting like a jealous oaf. _ Meg thought to herself. _He's forgetting the legal parameters of what we can or can't do. The only logical person to come with me is Animal as Harm has powers of arrest that are far more binding than what Animal could do since Animal isn't a JAG officer._ "Ah-hah…got it." She pointed to the screen. "TexCom Networks." She said smugly. "That's the ISP. They're on 9500 Camp Bowie W. Blvd." Grabbing Animal's hand as well as the papers that she printed off. "We'll be back." Then realized what she was missing, extending her hand to Harm who curiously looked at her. "Keys!?" she said pointedly as she put both hands on her waist. Harm sighed and gave her the keys which Meg promptly tossed to Animal saying "You're driving. I need to mark off the IP addresses on the e-mails when I get the warrant from NCIS."

_**TexCom Networks, 9500 Camp Bowie W. Blvd, Fort Worth, TX**_

The red-headed secretary of the internet service provider company looked up to see two naval officers enter the building and her eyes widened as the blonde female Navy officer slapped an Navy ID on the counter as well as a signed piece of paper with the words WARRANT emblazoned on it. Her first and only identifiable thought were the words _Oh, shit_.

"Hi," The Texas twang of the blonde naval officer was readily apparent to the woman. "I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Meg Austin, Judge Advocate General. I want to know the names of the people behind the IP addresses as follows:" She slapped three e-mails down on the counter. "These three IP addresses have been marked off."

"Ma'am. That's confidential information." The secretary tried to backpedal but Meg put a stop to that.

"Miss, I've got a warrant that gives me everything I need with or without your cooperation." Meg said smugly as the Asian-American naval officer beside her smirked. "Now do I get your cooperation or do I have to execute my warrant with law enforcement present?"

"Let me go see my boss." Meg had her hand on her cell-phone to call the police to assist. Animal and Meg had turned their side-arms in before leaving the base as Navy Regs did not permit them to carry off-base.

"Understand that if you so much as do anything other than inform your boss that we would like to see him out here, you will be arrested for interfering with a criminal investigation." Meg said. The secretary bristled but did as notified.

The "boss" was a pimply-faced guy not far out of his teens who was easily intimidated by the official warrant on the table and turned sheet-white when he saw the tough-looking naval officer that was fixing him with a menacing glower, standing beside the female Navy officer. The information was forthcoming and the names and registration information was printed out on sheets of paper which Meg promptly took into her custody.

"I knew you would come in handy." Meg smirked at Animal who grinned back at her as they got back in the Navy vehicle that they had come down to Camp Bowie West Boulevard with.

"Think the guy's having to change his drawers now?" Animal smirked back.

"Probably." Meg replied as she picked up the phone and started dialing, putting it on voice so that both she and Animal could hear; they both heard when Harm picked up.

"Hi, Meg?" Harm's voice was questioning.

"Yes, it's me." Meg replied. "We got the information. I need you to take MPs and arrest the following three individuals for questioning."

"Who are they."

"It's Marine Sergeant Cole Winston. Marine Corporal Kelly Barbour…" Meg paused for a long moment.

"What is it, Meg?"

"And Captain Richard Simkovich."


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Well, looks like the fic-images are missing again (broken links). And my avatar image has gone AWOL. Oh, well, hope that fixes that matter pretty soon, cause it's pretty boring looking at just plain ol' heads in the img boxes. In any case: the horses that were in the photograph for the fic "Wild Horses n' Aviators" were photographed __by me__ along Templeton Avenue, by YVR at one of the farms dotting the road parallel Runway 31R (the magnetic pole shifted…so Runway 26R is now 31R). Yes, runways are numbered according to their deviation from the magnetic pole. _

* * *

_**Chap 6**_

_**Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

Harm looked at the phone with no small amount of suspicion. It was surprising to think that a senior officer with that much experience and decorated career could be complicit in such a criminal act as a murder but he did not question Meg's assertion that Captain Simkovich could be involved. He knew that he was going to have to talk to the MPs and get their cooperation.

"Warrant Kelly. I need to make an arrest. There have been three names on the list provided and they are as follows: Sergeant Cole Winston, USMC, Corporal Kelly Barbour, USMC…" He paused as the warrant officer looked down at the notebook that Harm was holding then dropped the bombshell. "…and Captain Richard Simkovich, United States Navy."

The warrant nodded. "Yes, sir. I presume we will need warrants, sir."

"Yes, we will." The paperwork took the better part of an hour and by that time, Animal and Meg were back on base and at the Master-At-Arms office getting their side-arms reassigned to them. When the warrants were arranged and signed off on by Harm as the ranking JAG officer on the assignment, the arresting team assembled. Animal was there as a witness to the arrest.

_**Parker County Airport**_

"I just want to go home." The seventeen year-old whimpered. Her arms had been tied up behind her back tightly after her last attempt to escape. A bruise was apparent on her cheek as she had been hit by the guard who had recaptured her in retaliation. To him the girl's escape attempt was a rebellion on her part and he was quick to put a stop to it.

The guard just snickered as he stared over his CAR-15 rifle as he stood menacingly watching the girl in the corner.

"Don't you have daughters of your own?" the captive teen asked. "If you do, would you do this to them?"

"Shut up!" the guard snarled with a vicious look. "You shut that pretty little mouth of yours or I'll make sure you shut it."

The girl retreated into her own little space and tried her best not to cry. She had to hope that she would be rescued. It was her only way of staying sane.

_**Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

"What's the meaning of this?" Captain Simkovich said as he looked at the MPs who along with Harm, Animal and Meg stood in front of his desk. The MPs were armed with M-16A2s, their faces grim, knowing that they had to do a job and arrest a likeable officer.

"Sir, one of the IP addresses that came up was a IP address that came out of this office. I'm afraid, sir, that we are going to have to arrest you for the conspiracy to murder a naval serviceman…"

The shock on the face of CAPT Simkovich as Harm recited CAPT Simkovich's Miranda Rights was jarring as the two MPs shouldered their rifles, one pulling out a set of handcuffs and stepped to either side of him to take one of his arms. The metallic _snick-snick_ of the cuffs going on jolted him back to reality and he said. "I can tell you that I didn't do anything of the sort." As dignified as he could he was marched off to the brig.

Later, Meg said to Harm. "I don't think he did it. I have a sneaking suspicion that there's more to this than we're seeing." She looked over at Animal as he was watching them go through the drawers in CAPT Simkovich's desk looking for anything the slightest bit incriminating. All of a sudden Meg snapped her fingers. "Harm. Tosh, I know how they did it!" At this Animal and Harm turned around to look at her. "IP address spoofing or IP spoofing is the creation of Internet Protocol (IP) packets with a source IP address, with the purpose of concealing the identity of the sender or impersonating another computing system. That's how they did it! They sent an IP packet to Captain Simkovich's computer with the intention of making it look as though Captain Simkovich's computer sent the actual e-mails, but it was whoever that did it through their own terminal. They just hacked the computer and set up a virus program to hack the terminal computer's IP address and substitute it as their own so that the receiving computer meaning Chief Water's computer wouldn't know that it wasn't coming from Captain Simkovich's computer. Pretty damned convenient." Meg looked smug. "I just need to get on that computer and trace the IP packet back to the source computer."

Harm looked at her, then back at Animal with a confused expression and a shrug of his shoulders. "She's smart." He quipped.

"No kidding. I lost her somewhere around Internet _something or the other_." Animal retorted. He shook his head. "I'm having the distinct feeling that I'm a troglodyte."

They turned around to see Meg standing there with eyebrow raised and an impatiently tapping foot.

"Uh…what?" Harm asked.

"Well…for starters. Permission to access the computer would be nice…sir." She gave him a smirk. "Then I can get started on finding out the person that sent the spoofed IP packet."

Harm raised an eyebrow and said. "Well…yes, ma'am!" as he gave her one of his devastating grins. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. She just ignored him and went over to CAPT Simkovich's desk to go through his computer.

Harm went back to rifling through the file-cabinet to search for more incriminating evidence.

Animal was peeking through a cabinet when a shout of "Bingo!" from Meg caused him to slam the back of his head into the top of the shelf knocking over some things on the shelf eliciting a pungent oath full of four letter words.

"OW…Fuck!" he finished off as Harm tried futilely to stop himself from laughing.

"Are you OK?" Meg asked genuinely concerned.

"I'll live." Animal said and looked up at Meg. "What did you find?"

"It's from a terminal located on this LAN. We need to talk to the guy in charge of maintaining the Local Area Network. One of the Information Systems Technicians can get us that info." Meg stated, as she made a printout from Captain Simkovich's printer and said. "Which one of you is coming with me?"

Animal and Harm looked at each other. "We'll both go." They said simultaneously as they turned to go with Meg down to the IT department of the base.

_**Information Systems Department,**_ _**Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

"So…IT3. What do you have for me?" Meg asked the young, pimply-faced Information Systems Technologist 3rd Class.

"Well…" The IT3 said in a rather reedy Midwest accented voice. "It seems to come from somewhere in maintenance. It's got a computer that's used for ordering parts from the warehouse and is connected like most of the other computers, to the LAN thus would connect to the CO's computer…" he gulped when Animal shot him a look. "…Ma'am. Sirs." He remembered to say.

Meg continued her interrogation of the IT3. "Do you know who was on the computer at the time?"

"Well, Ma'am, I can look it up by the log-in information." The IT3 said.

Meg nodded. "Go ahead, IT3. I can wait." The poor IT3 looked more and more nervous as he plinked the keys to come up with a printout of the login information from the times that corresponded to the e-mails.

"Now match up the log-in information to key personnel on-base." Harm stated.

"Yes, sir."

When the IT3 was finished he handed over a small stack of papers corresponding to the information asked for.

Noting the names, Harm and Meg looked at each other and nodded. It went without saying that Meg would get the warrants and Harm and Meg would execute those warrants with Animal being an unbiased witness.

"Where do we go from here." Animal asked.

"We get the MPs." Harm stated. "Three more people are going down and we need Captain Simkovich released. I don't think he's a part of this."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Sure enough. Not two days into the wildlife photography season, I get nailed with a cold! A great big "thank you" to my daughter. I'm sure she caught this at daycare.

* * *

_**Chap 7**_

_**Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

Meg looked at her watch as she nodded. "Let's get Captain Simkovich out. But we'll have to wait until morning to get the bench warrants on the other three individuals. I want to nail them now, but it's late." Animal looked over at her. She looked tired and bedraggled. Animal suspected Harm and himself didn't look much better.

"That probably would be better, but wouldn't it give them time to get the hell out of Dodge?" Animal asked. The more tired they were, the more likely it would be that mistakes would be made and the last thing that was needed on an arrest situation was to be tired. Arrests were by the book and procedure oriented. The slightest mistake on their part could end up tossing the whole case out. And with a young girl at risk, there was no margin for error.

Harm ushered them to the Navy sedan and all three got in to go over to the JRB brig. It was a brief ride to the brig and once parked, the three officers got out. A quick once-over by the Master-At-Arms and they were allowed into the brig. Walking past the cells, the three officers stopped by the one sequestering one Captain Richard Simkovich, USN.

"Our apologies, Captain." Animal spoke. "We had to make sure that you weren't involved."

"Not a problem, Commander." The relief in Captain Simkovich's voice was obvious as he allowed the guard to unlock his cell. "Did you figure out anything?"

"Just that someone remotely hijacked your computer to send the e-mails." Harm replied. "You can thank Lieutenant JG Austin's computer skills for ferreting out the perpetrators involved, sir."

Captain Simkovich nodded and turned to Lieutenant JG Meg Austin. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I owe you one."

"Not a problem, sir." Meg responded, the hint of fatigue evident in her voice as she spoke. "We won't be able to get the other three until tomorrow. Involves procedure and we don't want to give these guys a legal out because we weren't on the ball. Let's let 'em think that they're not being watched." She yawned tiredly. It was almost two in the morning after all the computer work that she had done in Captain Simkovich's office and the only thing that Meg wanted to do was to find a rack and dive headfirst into it. She suspected that it was too late to go to the mess to eat anything and she was too tired to think about going off-base with the guys to find some food. She figured tiredly that she'd get something tomorrow for breakfast. Little did she know that the guys were thinking the same thing.

Out-processing Captain Simkovich from the brig was easiest part of the whole ordeal. A few forms signed and the Master-At-Arms released Captain Simkovich who nodded to the three officers and headed out, another Navy policeman opting to drive him back to his office so that the CO could retrieve his own vehicle.

Signing in at the VOQ, Meg, Animal and Harm headed for their respective quarters. The Bachelor Officer's Quarters were dorm-like. Meg disliked the fact that she was unable to say "goodnight" properly to Animal with a kiss, so she just brushed her hand along his arm before heading for her own quarters. That slight PDA caused Harm's eyebrow to lift which caused Animal to shut Harm down with a stare of his own.

The two officers, Harm and Animal, walked silently towards their own rooms. Just before Animal turned to go into his own room, Harm turned to Animal. "So…"

"What?" Animal asked tiredly.

"Is there something going on between the two of you?"

Animal sighed disgustedly; he really didn't want to get into this discussion this late at night when all he wanted to do was rack out and catch some Zs. "Do we have to discuss this now considering the lateness of the hour?" Animal asked; his displeasure plain. "How about we get this case finished first then we can discuss matters involving a more personal nature?"

Harm knew immediately from the tone in Animal's voice that this wasn't up for discussion and the dismissal apparent in Animal's voice was that of superior to subordinate. Considering Animal was a commander and Harm was ranked below him, objecting to the dismissal was not in his favor.

"Goodnight, Lieutenant Commander." With that, Animal turned to go into his room and shut the door behind him.

"Shit." Harm muttered to himself as he went into his own room. "Way to stuff your foot in your mouth. Harm." He shook his head.

_**Next Morning; Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

Meg woke up, with the sun peeking over the horizon. She was always an early-riser. Feeling grimy, she headed for the shower to freshen up. Even though the showers were communal, they were separated by sex; one communal shower for the men, one communal shower for the women. After washing her hair thoroughly and a quick rinse off, she felt more human.

Breakfast at the mess-hall was bacon, eggs and sausages; sufficient enough to fuel herself for the rest of the morning. Animal and Harm had joined her. Harm looked over at Animal's plate. Sure enough there was at least six sausages on the plate, two eggs and four strips of bacon. "How the he-?" Harm started to say, checked himself and asked. "How did you get that much food?" Animal grinned at him smugly as he set his food down on the table; pointing to his khaki collars where his shiny silver oak leaves resided. Meg smiled wickedly…reached over the table and snuck a sausage off his plate and started eating the sausage demurely. Harm had a double helping of eggs which was the only thing that he could stomach off the breakfast menu considering he was a vegetarian.

Harm looked over at her. "Hey, how come you can swipe food off his plate?"

"Because I can…" she grinned at Harm. "sir."

Animal looked at his plate. "I thought I had six sausages…" looking up confused. "Who swiped my sausage?"

Harm pointed at Meg. "I didn't do it."

"Who, me?" Meg asked innocently.

Animal sighed, and then dumped ketchup over his eggs and sausage; looking up with a smug expression at the disgusted look on Harm's face.

"You know that stuff will kill you one of these days." Harm commented.

"Probably." Animal replied sarcastically. "But at least it tastes good doing it."

"So how are we going to get this done?" Harm asked Meg. "We've got the bench warrants for the three in question. We hit 'em all together or one at a time."

"I think we should bring in the Master-At-Arms and his men on this one." Meg replied as she massaged her own forehead with an index and middle finger. "Each of us can go with each group and we'll bring them all down simultaneously."

"What charges?" Animal interjected. "Conspiracy to kidnapping. Criminal use of Navy Property?"

Rattling off a litany of UCMJ charges which made Animal's head spin, Meg stated. "Articles 81, 82, 97, 108, 117, 118, 121, 127, 128 and 134." The spiel was punctuated by a nod from Harm who agreed with the charges and specifications.

"I'll take your word for it." Animal responded with a quizzical expression as Meg smiled at him. "…since I don't have a UCMJ manual on me right at the very moment."

"She knows her UCMJ inside and out." Harm stated as he looked over at Meg who looked as if she was mentally calculating how this entire bust of the three perps was going to go down.

"OK…so first stop is the Master-At-Arms to collect the bench warrants and the manpower to take these guys down simultaneously?" Animal asked. Meg nodded "Who are we busting?"

"AM3 Terrence Miner, AM2 Kevin Dowd and IT3 Mike Slater." Meg stated.

"May I make a suggestion?" Animal stated. "Hit Slater first. That way he doesn't have a way of getting a message out to the other guys who are on our list."

Harm thought for a moment then spoke up as he looked at both Meg and Animal. "Sounds like a good idea. Slater was the one who jimmied the security codes on Captain Simkovich's computer. I'm sure he's got an alert programmed into his desk station that will send out an e-mail to his cohorts."

"That means we have to get him away from his desk." Meg stated. "Any ideas on the diversion?"

"Get the IT Master Chief to help. He might be able to come up with something." Animal said. "Just have to do it quietly."

"Sir, you take down AM2 Dowd." Meg looked at the information on all three subjects and indicated to Harm.

"Sheesh, Why do I get the big guys?" Harm whined as his eyes took on the shape of saucers looking at the dossier of one Aircraft Maintenance-man Second Class Dowd. "6'5" 315 pounds. How am I supposed to take him down? He's a mountain."

"I'll take him, if you want." Animal chimed in solicitously. Harm looked at Animal up and down – all 5'8" of him incredulously.

"I don't think you got too much height to spare, with all due respect, sir." Harm said to the shorter officer.

"If you're having second thoughts about taking this guy on…" Animal challenged him.

"Not a chance, sir!" Harm growled as Meg snickered.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chap 8**_

_**Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

"Are the two of you finished comparing sizes?" Meg asked mischievously, implying something else not related to height while Animal and Harm looked at her with disbelief that she would imply such a thing.

"OK…I'm taking down Dowd, Commander Nakamura here is taking down Miner and you're taking Slater." Harm said, though not very convincingly. He hated the potential of violence. Harm could hold his own in a brawl. That much was evident, considering some of the fisticuffs that had happened during their cases. However, a cornered felon could turn violent in any case, making his potential take-down a lot more dangerous and Harm was not looking forward to taking on the man-mountain that was AM2 Kevin Dowd.

Animal was 5'8" and 195lbs bench-pressing 300lbs and his physique looked it; one had to – flying fighters was a physically strenuous job. Of course, with the shoulder injury sustained during the rescue, he'd had to restrict his access to the weight room and that was taking a bit of a toll. Harm knew the amount of working out he had had to do to fly high-performance jet fighters regularly. Fighter pilots had to stay in peak physical condition in order to sustain high-g. But simple physics dictated, despite Animal challenging him to take down Dowd, that a person, 195lbs and 5'8", would just bounce off the bigger man. Animal would probably get hurt taking down Dowd and that wouldn't be good for the recovery of his arm. So despite the fact that Harm had put in his conjecture on why he was uneasy taking down the Aircraft Maintenance-man 2nd class, he'd do it. Terrence Miner was only 5'11" 220lbs and Animal knew martial arts, having trained in judo and Shito-Ryu karate; as well as having undergone the MCMAP training and was rated a black-belt in all three disciplines. Animal's blackbelt in MCMAP was a 1st degree (non-instructor level). Mixing all three disciplines enabled Animal to be lethal if necessary in CQC (close-quarters combat). "Well, let's get this show on the road." Harm stated unequivocally.

After disposing of the remnants of their breakfast, the three officers headed for the Master-At-Arms' office on base. Bench warrants in hand, the officers split up, each with a contingent of armed Navy Police.

_**IT3 Mike Slater**_

The erstwhile ET3 was at his terminal when the Master Chief strolled by his work-station. "Hey, IT3, can you come take a look at the computer in my office. There's something funny going on with it. It's not accessing a file and I need it. Commander Sorra will have my ass if I don't get it printed for him."

"OK…I'll take a look at it." ET3 Slater said as he pushed his chair back and walked with the Master Chief to his office. Master Chief Campanelli grinned as he ushered Slater into his office. Slater's jaw dropped open when he saw the Master-At-Arms and a Navy lieutenant JG standing there in Campanelli's office.

"IT3 Mike Slater?" Meg Austin asked. Master Chief Campanelli's happy aw-shucks personality had vanished and he was blocking the exit with a grim look on his face. "You're under arrest for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice." She paused. "The charges and specifications being…" she listed all of them. "You have the right to remain silent…"

IT3 Mike Slater's world just dropped through his feet and he slumped as the Master-At-Arms moved forward and caught him by the arms; a snick-snick of handcuffs going around his wrists as his arms were bound behind his back.

_**AM2 Kevin Dowd**_

Harm grumbled "Geez. They want me to arrest this giant? Are they kidding me?" as he drove over with the Master-At-Arms to the address listed for AM2 Kevin Dowd. As they thought…he was at the base gym working out.

AM2 Kevin Dowd looked up from bench pressing a 400lb barbell to see himself surrounded by Navy MPs all wearing scowls on their face. Harm stepped forward. "AM2 Kevin Dowd?"

"What is it, sir?" Dowd asked. He was in US Navy muscle tee and as he got up, his muscles rippled. Harm swore that Dowd's biceps were about as big as his head.

"You are under arrest." Harm stated succinctly as he looked over at this mountain of a man eye to eye.

"For what, sir."

"Articles 81, 82, 97, 108, 117, 118, 121, 127, 128 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. You'll be briefed on the specifications of those charges when you report to the brig." Harm stated coldly.

"Aye, sir." AM2 Dowd looked shocked as he got up, turned around, extended his hands back so that the MPs could handcuff him. Harm was surprised that Dowd would come along so willingly after just being arrested.

"I'm surprised." Harm said. "I would have expected…"

"Resistance, sir?" Dowd asked. "And get myself in more trouble than I'm already in?" Dowd raised an eyebrow. "No, sir." Quietly following the MPs to the arresting officer's vehicle, he got in.

_**AM3 Terrence Miner **_

Aircraft Mechanic 3rd Class Terrence Miner was at the base PX when MPs pulled up. Animal got out of the MP vehicle and walked into the store accompanied by the MPs. The Master-At-Arms stated calmly. "AM3 Terrence Miner?"

"Yeah?" his demeanor changed suddenly. "What you want? I wasn't doing nothing. MP. Just buyin' some stuff."

"That's not the charges I'm talking about." The Master-At-Arms stated. "You're under arrest for Article 81 - Conspiracy to a kidnapping, Article 82 – Solicitation to Commit a Crime, Article 97 – Unlawful Detention of a minor…"

"Wait a sec. Are you charging me with those? On what grounds, man." Animal instantly snapped to alert as Miner's stance changed. The MPs noticed this too and their hands started creeping towards their side-arms.

"Article 108 – Wrongful use of Military Property, 117 – Provoking Words and Gestures 118 – Murder in the First Degree…HEY!" The Master-At-Arms yelled as Miner bulldozed him and tried to make a run for it.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Miner growled as Animal stood in front of him. "Or I'm gonna mess you up real good." Animal shook his head and dropped into a MCMAP stance.

"You don't want to do this." Animal stated calmly, his voice cold.

Miner laughed, "Really, man, what you gonna do about it?" He said as he charged forward. Animal took one step to the side, pivoted and drove a foot in a side-kick into Miner's solar plexus knocking the wind out of him. Following up with an elbow strike to the base of the neck with his good arm as Miner slumped forward, Animal grabbed Miner's arm, snapped out. "Cuffs now!" grabbing a pair of cuffs tossed out of mid-air and clapping Miner in irons. "Congratulations, you just added another Article 128 – Assault to your rapidly growing list of transgressions."

"Whatchu talking about? I didn't even get a chance to touch you." Miner complained vociferously as he was hauled rather unceremoniously to the waiting vehicle to take him to the brig.

_**Messhall, Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, TX**_

"Of course, it's you two that get the easy arrests." Animal complained as he looked over at Harm and Meg. "You sure you two didn't know anything about Miner being a runner?" Meg shrugged her shoulders.

"Nope." Harm said smugly. "I see your blackbelt MCMAP came into good use?"

Animal snorted disgustedly. "Yeah, and the bastard is complaining because I used a side-kick on him that knocked the wind out of his sails." He picked up his glass of soda and drank a mouthful, swallowing. "He bulldozed the Master-At-Arms to the ground and there was only me and another MP between him and the door. So I did what I had to. Sidekick, elbow strike to the back of the neck and wrapped up like a Christmas goose."

"We're not done yet." Harm said. "We have to find the missing girl. She's out there somewhere."

Animal sighed. "Yeah…and that means we have to get these guys to talk. Any ideas?" Animal didn't look hopeful.

Harm didn't look hopeful either.

Meg knew that time was slowly ticking away. They had to get to the core of this group. Somebody had to know something. It was only a matter of time…and time wasn't something the three of them had on their side.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Parker County Airport**_

The hangar was always kept locked – the girl was certain of that because she always heard the key in the door each time as her guards exited. She wasn't sure why they kept her other than the fact that her parents had had run afoul of the militia group. She also knew that they did their best to not talk in front of her. Lately the guards had been agitated which meant more ill-treatment. In order to keep herself sane, she had started giving the guards names in her head to identify them. The mean one with the CAR-15 rifle was Nasty. The one who brought her food was Chef. There were others but they were so rarely seen around the hangar that she couldn't get a read on any of their personalities.

She often wondered why the other tenants of the place that she was kept in hadn't noticed anything strange. She'd often hear aircraft noises of Cessnas and Pipers taking off, landing or taxiing so she knew she was at a small airport. She hadn't heard any jet noises. She was surprised that no-one was curious as to what the contents of this hangar held. The hangar doors were always closed and to those curious, a closed door usually held secrets. But the countless hours passed with nobody other than her guards stopping by. They just fed her just enough to keep her from starving, perhaps a half a sandwich and a glass of water three times a day but not enough to maintain her strength because they knew that if they fed her enough to maintain a healthy diet, she'd bolt.

She often wondered if she would ever get home; she yearned for rescue. But human nature was to _mind their own business_ and thus no one came by. Considering that she was chained to a pipe in the hangar and kept near her cot, there was no way that she could remove the black paper from the window that was blocking the sun coming in. She didn't have any sort of idea of what day it was, whether it had been one week of captivity or two. All she knew was that time was slowly ticking away. Her captors had removed every conceivable method of telling time and the hangar was kept in a state of darkness to increase sensory deprivation.

She didn't know why they were doing this. Of what possible use could she be to them? Did they have some sick perverse pleasure in seeing her chained to the wall? She had seen some of the guards' looks and she knew exactly what they were thinking – could they get away with it? She was a cheerleader at her base high school, so she knew what sort of looks those were. The thoughts of what they could do to her were chilling and she pulled her legs to her chest, huddled down and shivered.

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, Brig**_

Harm glowered at AM3 Miner as he stood in front of the chair that Miner was chained to. "So, you know anything about Katie Waters? Where is she?"

"I don't have to answer." Miner's expression was cocky and he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. "I have no clue where they took that broad to. All I did was get them the military stuff they wanted. Other than that…" he shrugged his shoulders.

"You know you're going down." Harm gave him a look that could freeze water. "It's only a matter of time before we find her…and then I'm going to throw the goddamn book at you." Miner looked unfazed as Harm uttered this threat.

In the other room Animal turned to Meg. "The guy's a sociopath." He uttered. "Doesn't give a damn whether Katie Waters lives or dies." Of all the arrests, only Dowd seemed to be cooperative. A big man, he was more of a gentle giant, who by all accounts had gotten himself in too deep. If Dowd could be coaxed to give up information on the whereabouts of the missing girl, then there could be some quid pro quo and they could try to get his sentence reduced. Right now he was looking at several life terms. Dowd had an alibi that checked out as far as the murder scene was concerned. Animal knew that Meg was thinking along the same lines, when she pursed her lips and looked as though she was concentrating on what Harm was doing in the interrogation. Then she turned to Animal and said.

"I think we need to apply the screws to Dowd and get him to talk; get him to let us know where Katie Waters is." Meg's expression turned hard. "As far as Miner is concerned, I think he's the one that pulled the trigger on the two murders. He's going down for two counts of Article 118 Murder in the First Degree. He'll be lucky if he doesn't get the needle for it."

Animal said. "I know you'll get him. But if he gives you trouble, you want me to water-board him?" Animal gave her an evil grin as Meg rolled her eyes.

"That could get YOU in trouble, y'know. And I don't need that." She smirked.

Meg brushed his arm with her finger tips; then left the room. She came storming into the interrogation room, got in Miner's face and said in a venomous hiss, "We know you were responsible for the Waters murders. Your DNA is all over the damned house. You are going down; give us something to work with to get Katie back or I'll volunteer for the tie-down team when they lethal-inject you at Leavenworth. You got two definite capital convictions considering your fingerprints were all over the house."

Miner turned a cold brown eye at her. "Found the murder weapon? Until you do; everything's circumstantial evidence. Nothin' for me to worry about."

"Well, we've got a search warrant for your house and every neighborhood in between the Waters residence and your place and NCIS investigators are going over it with a fine tooth comb. Still wanna play dumb?" Meg snarled, her blue eyes flashing fire.

Just then, the door to the room behind the mirror opened as Animal looked up. A sandy-blonde haired NCIS agent entered the room. "Hi, Agent Jed Titus. We might have some information that Lieutenant JG Austin and Lieutenant Commander Rabb might be interested in."

"OK…" Animal said. "She's just finishing up her interrogation." Meg wrapped up her third-degree of the suspect and came back into the room followed by Harm.

"Hi." She said looking at the NCIS agent with a measured gaze. "So what do you have for us?"

"Well…we found the murder weapon still containing prints and DNA tying it to the Waters residence. The prints were from the perp in question, the blood spatter on the muzzle was from Chief Waters." Agent Titus stated as he handed the report over to Meg.

"Alright." Meg stated as she looked over the report. "Do you have a copy for my partner?"

"Yep." Agent Titus replied as he handed over another copy to Harm, then looked over at Animal. "Do you require a copy?" he asked the aviator.

"No, I'm just a fly on the wall." Animal said. "No need to waste paper, If I need to read anything, I'll ask them." Meg smirked at Animal at the flippancy of his remarks then her expression turned serious and Animal and Harm knew that she had a major breakthrough of an idea.

"I want a team to conduct a search down I-20 both east and west." She told the NCIS agent. "Find all possible places where Katie Waters could be held incommunicado. Look for warehouses, look for hangars, look for anything that could potentially be a place of captivity. Look primarily for isolated locations. Not anything that is in a neighborhood. She would have been discovered already if she had been held captive in a neighborhood. I think she's being held in a warehouse or something of that sort. Far enough out of the way that she can't be heard, even if she screams."

"You sure about this?" The NCIS agent said.

"Damned right." Meg replied as she handed him her business card with her contact details on it. "Get back to me…with the details of any potential places that we might find that fit that description. You can reach me by cell-phone."

"All right." Agent Titus replied as he turned to go. "Thanks for the hints. We'll do a thorough search."

"Yes, please do." Harm said. "We need to find her before they figure she's of less value alive."

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, Officer's Messhall**_

Animal had picked up something to eat and went to sit down with Harm and Meg. So far having talked to Barbour and Winston hadn't panned out either. Both were mum about revealing any information. Even the threat of capital murder charges hadn't swayed them in the slightest. Harm knew that the two were protecting someone. And Mike Slater hadn't shown the slightest inkling of spilling his guts either. Unfortunately there was no way to force them to talk. So the only thing that they had was Meg's hunch and hopefully it would pay off.

"You said potentially a hangar, right?" Harm asked suddenly getting a look on his face as he finished chewing a mouthful of food.

"Yes." Meg replied wondering if Harm had an idea of his own.

"You know where we can find a map?" Harm asked Animal.

"Yeah…I keep one in my pocket for just these kind of occasions…" Animal replied sarcastically. "We might try the PX. They might have one of the surrounding area."

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, Base PX **_

"THERE!" Harm exclaimed as he jabbed his finger on the map. "Just sixteen point eight miles due west of us. Parker County." Meg was already on the phone. Animal made sure to check that they all had their side-arms.

"Yes, Titus. Meet us there!" Meg said, as Harm flipped two bucks at the startled base PX cashier and they headed for their car at a run.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Parker County Airport**_

It wasn't long before the Navy vehicles swung through the gravel road at the south point of the airport from Addison Drive. Meg got out of the vehicle when they stopped behind a hangar at the south end of the runway. From there they needed to ascertain which hangar Katie was being held in. Pulling out a set of binoculars, she gazed at the other hangars in the distance. They would wait until the men who held Katie captive would make themselves known which hangar they had her in, and then NCIS and JAG would move in to capture them.

Animal was also out of the vehicle with his Beretta in hand, watching carefully as Meg kept watch with the binoculars. Harm scouted around the other side to see if there were any suspicious vehicles. Luck was with them and there weren't any vehicles, but the flip-side was that there wasn't anyone there to indicate which hangar that Katie Waters was being held in.

One NCIS vehicle was behind the house at 311 Addison Drive. The other five were at Russell Road behind dense bush undergrowth.

"See anything?" Harm asked Meg.

"Nothing." Meg replied as she looked through the binoculars. "No movement, nothing to indicate anyone coming or going."

Animal muttered "Shit. We can't see anything from this location."

_**Hangar 15, Parker County Airport**_

"There something going on." Nasty said to Chef, a tone of nervousness in his voice "I feel it in my bones. Something's gonna happen soon." He gestured sharply at Katie Waters. "This lil' bitch needs to be moved from this place, but Holmes isn't going to move her. Says it makes it too complicated. I say it makes it too easy for the feds to track her if she stays here."

"How'd you know that there's somethin' strange goin' on?" Chef asked sarcastically. "You ain't been out since yesterday."

"Like I said. I feel it in my bones and my bones tell me that the feds are sniffin' around here. I step out of this building and the feds will know which hangar we're in." Nasty snarled, "We're stuck in here."

_**483 Russell Road, Parker County**_

Agent Jed Titus called Meg Austin…it took about three rings before she picked up. "Sorry. Had it on vibrate…didn't want to give away our position." Was LT jg Austin's reply the second she picked it up.

"We got a team in place at an estate on Russell Road that borders on the airport, ready to move in as soon as the bad guys make their location known." Titus told her.

"Good." Meg replied. "We don't want the bad guys to kill Katie Waters. We know that they will do that if they're cornered and they think that they don't have a way out."

"So what do you suggest?" Titus asked.

"We hold position right now." Meg replied, she didn't like the idea, but they had to. Unless… "Wait a minute." She cupped her hand over the receiver and said to Animal. "If we were in civilian clothes…and acting like a couple strolling over to the airport grill for a meal. Maybe we could coax someone to look out the window." She grinned. "I need to get my civvie clothes from the trunk of the car, Harm." She told Harm with an evil smirk on her face.

"I don't have any civilian clothes." Harm said looking confused… "I'm too tall to fit into Animal's clothes.

"You're not the one coming with me." Meg replied snidely. Harm looked rather put-out. Meg had no compunction in stripping her uniform off when Harm brought her some civilian clothes from her suit-case to wear "You can quit staring, Harm." She pointed out as she reached out to grab her civilian clothes from Harm while dressed in just panties and bra.

"uh…sorry." Harm stammered as he turned around to look down the airfield.

"Are you getting into your civvies?" Meg pointedly asked Animal

…who looked at Harm, shrugged his shoulders and stripped down to his skivvies. Meg looked Animal up and down appreciatively, giving him a soft wolf-whistle, drawing a rolling of the eyes from Harm. Animal then grabbed a pair of his jeans and a t-shirt, slipping them on; placing his holster on his belt. "Texas…I hear is open-carry." he replied.

Meg leaned in close to Animal, their lips nearly touching, and murmured softly "Yes, you heard right." As she put her holster on the belt of her jeans, and flipped the collar of her white blouse up, tousling her hair so that it was messy looking, then she hooked her arm around Animal's, which earned her another eye-roll from Harm. "Let's go for a walk." She grinned sweetly at Animal.

"Yeah. Sure…why not?" Animal said resignedly. "I feel like getting shot at today."

"Optimist…" Meg teased.

Their stroll down the hangar rows all the while talking about inconsequential things brought no bullets but out of the corner of his eye, Animal saw movement of a curtain. His hand automatically went for his sidearm. Meg was equally fast on the draw. Diving behind the sidewall of the hangar just as a flurry of bullets quartered the air behind them. "Shit… I guess my optimism is really on fire today…" Animal quipped as he checked his Beretta.

"At least we know which hangar she's in." Dialing the phone. She said to Titus. "Move in. It's hangar 15."

"Got it." Titus replied and the men started running across the airfield. But it would take too long and Animal wasn't about to let the bad guys get a chance to kill Katie. Animal took the initiative and went for the door which was now shut. Animal kicked the door in and dove in rolling, coming up with his Beretta aimed at the guy with the CAR-15, firing twice. Catching Nasty across the upper chest with both shots knocking him back across the table. Chef stood up, his hands up in the air. He really didn't want to be in this situation, which was why he had been so kind to Katie when he came over to give her food. Nasty was down on the ground not moving, dead as the bullets from Animal's Beretta had impacted his chest. Animal kept his Beretta on Chef, as he moved over to get Katie into his zone of safety.

"You are certifiably insane." Meg said, as she came up behind him, her weapon on Chef. "The other one is dead." She stated, though Animal already knew that. "Two shots center mass, right through the heart." She looked at Chef as the NCIS team headed in. Harm was right behind them. Meg leaned into Animal, giving him a passionate kiss "Don't ever do that again! You scared the shit out of me." She chewed him out for the scare he had given her. Harm looked at her like she had grown two heads. He just shook his head and settled for interrogating Chef.

Animal settled for giving her a cocky grin. "Well…Katie's OK. I think." Looking over at Katie, Meg saw that the poor girl was hyperventilating with the shock of the sudden gunfire. Wrapping her arms around Katie, Meg led her out to the waiting vehicle. The gauntlet of NCIS vehicles was preventing any of the militia involved in kidnapping Katie Waters from getting anywhere near the scene.

Finally, the scene was cleared and they were headed back to the base, with Katie safe in their custody. What would happen to her since she was orphaned would be up to the base commander.

The next job would be to make Chef talk and get him to give up the members of his militia involved in this kidnapping and murder. And NCIS would do that. JAG's role in this investigation was finished.

_**Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, CO's Office **_

Captain Simkovich looked over at the three officers. "Katie will be adopted by a military family. We will make sure of it, but it won't be at a base near here. I need you three to take her back to Washington DC and use the Navy system to find her a family that will be able to take care of her until she's of the age of majority. There's too many things happening in this area for this to be a place of safety for Katie."

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Commander Rabb replied. "We'll make sure the Navy deals with this matter promptly."

"NCIS is looking after getting the rest of the militia involved in this?"

"Yes, sir. They're arresting the group as we speak. However a lot of them won't come in alive. They'll probably shoot it out with NCIS." It wasn't going to be a pretty situation, but the militia tended to be anarchist in nature, violently against the government and Harm knew that any organization that was anti-government such as this militia would rather die first than be taken into custody. Another black-eye against the government and more fodder for more militias to use for recruiting purposes to gather anyone with a grudge against authority.

"Thank you, Commander Rabb. Lieutenant JG Austin." And then he nodded at Animal. "Commander Nakamura." The finality of the acknowledgement let the three officers know that they were being dismissed and Animal led the three of the officers out.

"Well…that was all fun and games…" Animal said wryly

"You can say that again." Harm muttered. "Hope we never have to do that again anytime soon."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note: Bethesda is now named **__**Walter Reed National Military Medical Center**__** as of 2011. However since this story is time-lined 1995 after "The Prisoner" and before "Ares"; and definitely before the events of "Skeleton Crew" as Meg is currently a lieutenant junior grade. **_

_**Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas TX**_

Katie Waters' eyes filled; it had been a hard three days since she had returned back to the base she used to live at. Orphaned and grieving, she wondered how she was going to manage. She was considered old for fostering, but she was considered a minor till she reached the age of twenty-one. Unless she was adopted by a military family, Katie would be monitored by CPS and be located in a hotel in the care of a CPS worker. So it was important that Harm and Meg find a family for her within the Navy system. But what family would want her. She knew that being adopted by a family would be a tough sell. Her age would work against her and that it would still be a long slog to be considered an adult. Now she was at the Dallas airport awaiting an aircraft that would take her away from everything she had ever known and plunk her down in the nation's capital, where she wouldn't know anyone. How she missed her mother and father – their deaths seemed surreal. She shook her head as her breath hitched. Though she tried to keep it silent it caught the attention of the young blonde naval officer beside her.

Meg watched Katie silently out of the corner of her eyes. She could see just how upset Katie was. First losing her parents, then being held captive for days wondering if she would ever get loose, then being uprooted from everything she had ever known. But what could she do other than to watch over Katie for the duration of time that it took to find her a new home. Harm shot a look of concern at Meg and Animal looked worried too. Meg wrapped her arm around Katie as she crumpled into Meg's arms. "I miss mom…" Katie wept soundless tears, her body shaking "…and dad…"

Meg nodded silently as she held Katie. The full weight of the realization of being orphaned had not yet fully sunk in to Katie but the emotional scars would be there…and Katie would need psychiatric help to overcome those scars.

All too soon, their flight was called and Katie picked up her carry-on luggage and followed Meg, Harm and Animal on-board the aircraft.

_**Washington-Dulles International Airport, Washington DC**_

The US Airways CRJ-900 landed on Runway 19R which was a long taxi all the way back to the US Airways gate. Once the aircraft had stopped at the gate; the passengers debarked. After collecting their checked baggage, the three hailed a taxi to the JAG office.

Stopping by the gate to let the three officers and one young lady off the taxi, Harm paid for the taxi and they walked up to the gate, the Marine corporal letting them through upon checking their ID. Katie was allowed through with a visitor's pass as she was accompanied by Meg and Harm.

Entering the JAG office through the double doors of the office, Harm and Meg were greeted by RADM AJ Chegwidden and Commander Allison Krennick. "Welcome back, Lieutenant Commander Rabb, Lieutenant junior grade Austin." AJ extended a curious look at Animal.

"Admiral…" Animal nodded as he gave AJ a brief smile. "Sir. Commander Toshio Nakamura, VF-41 Black Aces, Executive Officer."

"Active duty aviator, I presume." AJ asked as he extended a hand to the Commander.

"Yes, sir." Animal gripped AJ's hand and shook it.

"I heard that you had a battle injury to your shoulder prior to going on leave. Be sure to stop by Bethesda and get it checked out" the Admiral said. "Legal ramifications, Commander. Don't want to make your injury worse than it currently is by failing to seek regular check-ups."

"Aye, sir. I believe I've retained counsel on that from Lieutenant JG Austin, sir." Animal replied. He knew that he was stretching it by not going to see a doctor, but given that was an order from a two-star, he knew that he had better do as prescribed and go see a quack at Bethesda sometime within the next few days.

"Very well, Commander, and…Lieutenant Austin, you make sure that he goes to see a doctor at Bethesda…tomorrow. " AJ emphasized as he shot Meg a knowing look. "You're excused from duty tomorrow morning, I'll see you at 1300 hrs. That should give you enough time to get Commander Nakamura to Bethesda and back." The admiral smirked knowingly. Lieutenant JG Austin flushed red, wincing.

"Aye-aye, sir." She said raising an eyebrow at Animal who was trying to inspect the wall.

"Now, Miss Waters." Admiral Chegwidden stated softly. "You've had a rough time of it."

Katie nodded as she gazed calmly; too calmly AJ thought to himself. It appeared to him that Katie was holding herself together too tightly so as not to let any emotions out. AJ thought this wasn't good – the girl needed a psychiatrist to lessen the trauma that she had sustained throughout her kidnapping and incarceration. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb. I'd suggest accompanying the lieutenant junior grade and the commander along with Miss Waters here and make sure that Miss Waters is seen by appropriate doctors at Bethesda. Likewise, you will have till 1300 hrs tomorrow to make it back into the office. Both of you, if you need extra time, contact me at the office." AJ stated.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Harm and Meg snapped to attention in chorus.

_**Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, 0945 hrs**_

"Commander…" Commander Alcander Lazaros, United States Navy Medical Service and surgeon looked over the X-rays that were taken of Animal's shoulder. "…we'd like to get you into some physical therapy with regards to the shoulder injury you took in Korea. It looks like the shoulder has been aggravated recently. Did you do something to it, Commander?" Animal and Meg had been there since oh seven hundred hours.

Animal looked at Meg who was sitting beside him in the chair next to his and saw her return a _I told you so_ look with a smirk. "Uh…aside from doing a _kick the door down and SWAT entry_ _roll_?" Meg said primly still sporting the _I told you so_ smug look on her face. Animal winced as CDR Lazaros gave him a look of _you gotta be kidding me_. "I think he may have aggravated his shoulder then."

Commander Lazaros looked over Animal's shoulder probing the deltoid muscle while Animal winced. "At least from what I can see, you haven't inflicted any serious damage to your shoulder and interrupted the healing process, but it is inflamed and you will have suffered some setback to your recovery, though the set back wouldn't be in the _months_ category; more like _weeks_. But I highly suggest that you get into regular physical therapy as soon as possible. Are you stationed in the Pacific Fleet or the Atlantic?"

"Pacific Fleet on the Ol' Salt. Black Aces; I'm their XO." Animal said, a hint of pride in his voice as Meg looked at him with an indulgent grin.

"Well…you need to heal that shoulder, Commander. The Black Aces will need their XO in prime fighting condition." Commander Lazaros concluded his examination. "I'll get you a referral to the physical therapist at Naval Medical Center San Diego. How long are you on regular leave before you switch to convalescent leave?"

"Probably another week or two." Animal replied. "I'm at a hotel right now…enjoying the last bit of my regular leave. Might walk around DC and see the sights."

"Well, Commander, you take care of that shoulder." Commander Lazaros indicated as Meg looked up to see Lieutenant Commander Rabb at the door. Meg shot a questioning look at Harm.

"Are you done yet, Commander?" Harm asked holding a thumbs-up as he stood there with Katie Waters.

"Yes, I think we are." Animal indicated. "Thanks, Doc." He handed the commander his card with all his contact information on it. "My cellular is on the card. You can reach me at that number when you get me the contact information for the referral to the physical therapist." He refrained from using the aviator terminology for physical therapists – _bone yanker_.

"Good luck, Commander. We'll get you all patched up." Commander Lazaros said. Meg and Animal thanked him.

When they were done at Bethesda, Harm looked over to Animal and asked. "So…anybody feeling hungry yet?"

Animal felt his stomach growling and replied. "Yeah…famished…Let's get something to eat and maybe you three can get back to the JAG office."

"I think we've got plenty of time before 1300." Meg said nudging Animal gently with her shoulder. Harm looked over at Meg with a raised eyebrow. "What?" Meg asked looking back at Harm.

"You know there's plenty of side-walk." Harm grinned.

"Shut up, Lieutenant Commander." Animal growled, giving Harm an eyebrow raise himself. "I believe the lieutenant junior grade is fine and well where she is." Katie was looking at the two of them with raised eyebrows of her own while Meg laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's note: My late dad (passed away in 2009) and I used to challenge each other to a wasabi-eating contest every time the two of us were at a Japanese restaurant. I miss him a lot. **_

_**Hokkaido Seafood Buffet, Falls Church, VA; 1100 hrs**_

Harm grinned widely as he looked over at Animal. Animal grinned back evilly. The menu looked very appetizing. There was a ton of sushi choices as well as Western style food. "So…" Harm ventured. "What do you plan on having?"

"I have no idea." Animal replied…offering up another malevolent grin. "Eel Roll looks appetizing." He stated with a challenging look. Harm looked like he turned a rather light shade of green, almost chartreuse according to Meg. "So does the _ika_." Animal's evil grin didn't waver. Meg just about nearly spat out her water. Knowing Japanese, she was well aware that _ika_ meant squid; didn't mean she was going to eat that though.

Katie muttered. "I think I'm sticking with roast duck and a side order of garlic bread." Coming from Texas she didn't cotton to any food that was too exotic. But then again, the Commander was Japanese-American…and his palate extended to other things that were more unique.

Animal chuckled evilly as he looked over at Harm who returned that evil chuckle as both Katie and Meg looked worriedly at each other… They both said in unison: "Heh heh heh heh…Wasabi!" then let loose a terrifyingly evil laugh which Harm returned.

Meg, who had heard about some of those exploits from Harm, rolled her eyes and said. "Oh dear God." Those two insane flyboys had challenged each other to a _wasabi eating contest._ Whoever could eat the most wasabi with their sushi would win. The problem with wasabi was that it wasn't hot like spices; what it was, was Japanese horseradish which produced vapors that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. When one ate wasabi, it felt like someone took their finger, shoved it up their nose, and poked the frontal cortex of their brain. It was a rather unique sensation. Too much wasabi and one's nose would run endlessly and their eyes would water up. "You two are nuts." Meg opined as she gave the two of them a tolerant look.

When the order taker came to the table to take Meg's and Katie's orders, the two flyboys headed for the sushi bar, and came back with their plates heaped with sushi, along with an ice-cream bowl full of wasabi giving each other comedic evil looks. "Going down, boy!" Animal growled at Harm who grunted back a…

"Yeah… right… Sidewinder up the six…Animal… You are going down in flames!" Harm retorted. "I beat Pendry, Sturgis and Keeter in a wasabi eating contest at the Academy…"

"Good for you, Canoe U…ain't challenged a real honest-to goodness wasabi eating champion yet…" Animal grinned back, teeth bared. "Keeter, Pendry and Sturgis were light-weights. Now you're hitting above your weight class." Animal snickered, indicating his ethnicity made him predisposed to genetic advantage in eating wasabi. "This isn't the _yabanjin_ way of eating wasabi. Grasshopper." Meg winced at that pejorative aimed at non-Japanese.

Katie looked at Meg. "Are you sure they're not going to need their stomachs pumped after this?" she asked. _At least this ridiculousness from the two __what appeared to be teenagers__ (in mental age rather than physical) __in uniform__ was keeping Katie from thinking about her parents too much_, Meg thought. At least that was a good side-effect of this immature behavior from the two aviators.

"Don't worry, I've got the poison control center on speed-dial should they overdose on Japanese horseradish." Meg replied.

Harm added what appeared to be an ocean of soy sauce onto his wasabi, dunked his wasabi into it and made a rather brownish green paste. Dipping his sushi in the concoction, he raised his wasabi slathered sushi up, grinned evilly, said "Bottoms up!" and took a bite out of the sushi. Meg giggled as she saw Harm's eyes water…and spill over, as he swallowed the bite of his sushi. "oh…that cleans out the sinuses." He gasped as he grabbed for a napkin.

"Hmmm…good try. Grasshopper…" Animal said smugly. "Now watch and learn from the master. O young one."…as he took a bit of water, mixed it in with the wasabi powder to make it a paste sans _shoyu_ (soy sauce), thoroughly slathered the crabmeat sushi, that he had put on his plate, with the green paste…and took a huge chomp out of it. Closing his eyes which were watering madly and he grabbed a napkin to dab his running nose. When he could speak coherently again, he said. "Now that is how you properly conduct a wasabi eating contest, Young Skywalker..."

"Oh…you want the nuclear option, do you?" Harm made his into a slightly dryer paste…and put a heaping spoonful on top of his salmon sushi. "Now you watch and learn, Animal." He said smugly as he bit into the sushi. Chewing carefully as his nose ran and his eyes spilled over…Harm's face contorted into a paroxysm of grunts and tightly squeezed shut eyelids as the horseradish vapors went up his nose, through his sinuses and lightly tapped his frontal cortex. "Oh…my god…that's made any cold germs run for the hills." He said as he dabbed his nose with his napkin.

Animal put twice as much of a heaping spoonful slightly dryer than the wasabi that Harm put on his plate and leisurely covered a California roll sushi all over the outside, laughed at Meg's absolutely horrified look; gave Harm a superior grin and said. "That was somewhat acceptable, Grasshopper, but you have much to learn, young one."…then put the whole slice of wasabi-adorned California roll into his mouth. Shaking his head, eyes squeezed tightly shut, tears spilling over his firmly shut eyelids, his nose running as he chewed on the California roll. When he could speak, he said. "Now that is the way you paste wasabi on your sushi. O young one. You have much to learn before you become a Master…" By the time that the wasabi eating contest wound down, they were down to eating more wasabi by itself than with sushi.

"Are you going to give up? Animal?" Harm challenged.

"Not on your life…Harm." Animal challenged back. "You give?" Harm shook his head negative. Katie looked horrified as Animal lifted another heaping spoonful twice as large as Harm's last.

Meg looked at her watch; it was rounding noon. They had to be back at JAG HQ at 1300. "Call it a draw." Meg admonished the two immature flyboys, "We have to be back at the office in an hour."

Animal chomped the last spoonful he held up down…and nearly crossed eyes. When he could speak again, he grinned "I win!"

Harm grumbled. "You only won because we ran out of time…"

"And wasabi…" Katie retorted.

In between those two immature flyboys eating wasabi, Meg and Katie had finished their respective meals. Their empty plates finished and Animal pulled out his credit card and paid for all their meals. "Sir, you shouldn't have." Meg said, putting her own credit card back in her purse.

"Well…my treat. Meg, Harm, Katie." Animal grinned. "I guess this is where we part for the day. See you after work, Meg?"

"Yes, Katie will be staying with me." Meg replied as she looked over at Katie who gave her a grateful look.

"Thank you for the meal, Commander Nakamura." Katie acknowledged Animal in thanks.

"Think nothing of it, Katie."

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA**_

Admiral AJ Chegwidden asked pointedly. "So, are you coming down with a cold, Lieutenant Commander Rabb?"

"No, sir." Harm replied, he still had to dab his nose with a napkin every so often.

"Sir, the Lieutenant Commander and Commander Nakamura pretty much scoured their sinuses clean with Japanese horseradish over the course of an hour eating sushi, sir." Meg volunteered with an amused expression on her face.

AJ shook his head. The immature antics of his top attorney were hard to rationalize. But of course, AJ when he was with the Teams, had eaten some pretty strange things too.

"Wasabi eating contest, sir." Harm said.

"I presume Commander Nakamura won?" AJ asked.

Harm snorted. "He cheated, sir. We ran out of wasabi and he took the last heaping spoonful…and declared himself a winner, sir."

AJ laughed. "Well, Commander. That's a tactical aviator for you…observe, wait for an opportunity and press the tactical advantage. You lost your situational awareness, Commander."

Harm replied, "Well, I will have to re-equip and redeploy, sir, and perhaps the outcome will be more in my favor."

"That's the attitude, Commander." AJ replied, chuckling. "Next time."


	13. Chapter 13

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA; 1700 hrs**_

Animal was dressed in khakis, his silver oak leaves canted correctly on his collars as he grinned while approaching the doors to the JAG HQ. _Meg should be off by now_, he reassured himself as he walked up to the doors. Letting off a salute to a Legalman Third Class in crackerjacks who snapped to attention with right hand at his eyebrow, he nodded as he opened the door and strode through. As a senior officer, Animal was well aware that his uniform attracted attention, ribbons, rank insignia and all. On the elevator he made sure that his uniform was in order. Two Distinguished Flying Crosses, an Air Medal with a 5 Strike numeral, second award of same with a Valor V, a Purple Heart and a Navy Commendation with Valor. His unit had also picked up a Battle E and several commendations. In total Animal had 5 full rows of ribbons and was working on his sixth and that attracted a lot of attention from the enlisted. His "_been there-done that"_ rack impressed a lot of officers and enlisted but he was rarely one to flaunt the rack. He preferred to let his accomplishments speak for themselves.

The elevator doors came open at the floor he intended to get off and uttering a gentle _excuse me_ to the enlisted legalman in front of him, he removed himself from the elevator and strode towards the double glass doors of the JAG headquarters. The yeoman who saw him enter the door, yelled "ATTENTION!" He peered around the corner cautiously – stated "As you were…" and asked. "Is Lieutenant JG Austin done yet?"

"I'll be done in just a minute, sir." A cheery Texas twang said as a blonde halo of hair attached to the head of a cheery smiling lieutenant JG peered out of her office door, "C'mon in and wait for me…" she said softly as she gestured for Animal to come in the office door. "I'm on the phone with BuPers trying to see if we can find any distant relatives who might be able to take Katie in until she reaches the age of majority, then there's a matter of the Death Gratuity." Animal nodded as he peered in the door to see Katie sitting in a chair curled up trying to rest.

"Didn't Captain Simkovich say that she didn't have any family?" Animal asked Meg who shook her head.

"Maybe she might not have had any in Dallas-Fort Worth, but BuPers is checking to see if there's anyone related to the Waters that could take her in." Meg informed him as she waited for an answer from the BuPers officer on the other end of the line.

"Where's Harm?" Animal asked.

"Harm got tapped for another investigation, this time down to NAS New Orleans. He opted to take Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Imes; she just transferred in, and the admiral said that I can take the rest of my vacation once I get Katie all set up here so that we know where she's going." Meg gave him a winsome smile that nearly made him melt from head to toe. "Ah…" she raised an index finger as someone did come on. "So…what can I do with Katie and how are you going to get in touch with her uncle?" she asked the BuPers official on the other end of the line. "OK…you're going to give him a call and find out exactly if he's equipped to take on a minor? And is he married." Meg's nod as she listened to the response indicated to Animal that the uncle did have a wife. Now all the BuPers officer needed to do was get the uncle on the horn and ask him if he was prepared to deal with a minor till the age of majority. "Call me back at my cellular number…" and she gave out a series of numbers, a phone number "I'm taking Katie for something to eat and back to my home so if you need to get a hold of me, you can reach me at that number." She thanked the BuPers officer and signed off. "Now…Katie, Tosh, we can go grab something to eat, then we'll head back to my place."

"OK…" Katie said as she roused herself from the chair. The position she had been in had been rather uncomfortable and she winced as she stretched. "Hi, Commander Nakamura." She said as she noticed Animal standing there.

"Hi, Katie." Animal smiled at her; a smile of concern that she noticed.

"I'm OK…Commander Nakamura. Really." She nodded as she looked over at Meg. "You said something about eating?"

Meg signed out, updated the situation with the admiral and said her good-byes to the admiral because she was heading out on vacation after BuPers contacted her with what they could do with Katie.

_**Andrews AFB, Prince George's County, MD**_

"So…Lieutenant Commander Rabb." Imes asked. "You're the rising star at JAG?"

"First I've ever heard of it." Harm grinned self-deprecatingly. "The rising star is Meg. She's the investigative type. I just do the grunt-work, she's the brains."

"Seems to be more than that…" Carolyn Imes smirked. "Judging from the talk around the office. She seems to have you smitten, Commander."

Harm turned around slowly to look at her. Surely she hadn't insinuated… "There's nothing going on between Meg and myself." He gritted. "I don't believe in breaking the fraternization regulations. And I suggest that any insinuations of the sort do not go any further." His visage turned cold. "Am I clear on that?"

"Yes…sir." Carolyn wasn't sure of who was senior, but now seemed the time to defer to the lieutenant commander she was working this case with since he seemed rather agitated. When the Air Force loadmaster indicated that they should board, Harm stalked forward with his seabag and briefcase. Imes followed directly behind him. He was silent all the way till take-off.

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA**_

Animal grabbed his seabag from the car as he headed up the stairs with it. Meg grinned at him. During dinner, BuPers called and said that she was to bring Katie to the office tomorrow where Eli Waters would be waiting with his family to meet Katie. Meg was reassured by Katie that she knew Uncle Eli and that Uncle Eli would treat her well. For tonight Katie would be sleeping in the second bedroom. Animal figured he'd take the couch.

Meg got Katie settled into her room, showing her where the shower was so that she could get showered and refreshed for bed, while Animal relaxed, with a soda in his hand, flipping through the television channels.

"Ms. Austin?" Katie asked.

"Meg…dear." Meg replied. "You can call me Meg."

"Is Commander Nakamura…uh…" Katie stuttered a bit while turning beet red. "…is he your boyfriend?"

Meg raised her eyebrows. "Uh…" she stuttered herself. "Um… well…that's what we're trying to find out right now…" she assured Katie.

"Oh…" Katie replied. That sounded skeptical. "He's really nice….taking us for dinner that is…and for lunch before…" she attempted to explain her reasoning for considering Animal nice. "He has a lot of ribbons on his uniform. He has even more than my dad did…" her voice caught a little as she tried to bite down on the emotion that crept through, while talking about her dad.

"Oh, Katie." Meg wrapped her arms around her to soothe her.

When Katie had gotten control of her emotions, she continued. "Those ribbons means that he's decorated, isn't he?" she asked.

"Yes, he is. And he's got a medal that he hasn't gotten yet. He's been nominated for it, but Congress has to put it through still. That may take a while." Katie's eyes widened at Meg's admission. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb and I investigated the nomination investigation for that medal." Having been a _Navy brat _for a while, Katie realized what medal Meg was referring to as far as any medal having a formal investigation.

"Wow…" was all Katie could say. "Meg…can you tell me I can see you and Commander Nakamura again?"

"Well, Katie…We'll see what happens tomorrow, but I know I would definitely be happy to see you again." Meg assured Katie as Katie yawned. Katie was definitely getting tired as she curled up under the covers. "You get a good night's sleep…Katie. I'll see you in the morning."

"OK…Meg. I'll see you in the morning too." Katie let out another big yawn and fluffed her pillow laying her head down on it.

"Sleep tight…" Meg replied as she got up and headed towards the door. "Did you need a nightlight?"

"Normally I don't, but…I'd like one for tonight…" Katie said quietly. "I just need to be able to relax for once."

"OK…Katie." Meg nodded and slipped out, closing the door.

Animal looked up as Meg entered the living room. "Ah…find something interesting?"

"Naw…" Animal replied. "There really isn't much on TV…" he said as he gestured for Meg to sit down beside him. Meg pulled him to his feet instead as she wrapped her arms around him. Leaning her head to rest her forehead against his, she whispered. "Come on in…" she said pulling him to her bedroom. Noticing Animal's wary look, she reassured him. "We need some sleep for tomorrow." She yawned tiredly as she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. "We're both adults. We can sleep in the same bed without getting ideas." She reassured him again when he looked like he was going to bolt.

"OK…" he acquiesced. "I'm too tired to object, even if it feels like we're taking it a bit fast."

Meg looked at him with raised eyebrow. "Too fast would be hopping in and taking advantage of each other's wants…" she murmured softly as she took his hands. "And as much as I think that would be fun, I know where to draw the line too."

Animal gathered his seabag from the living room and brought it into the bedroom. Meg had finished in the bathroom and was turning the sheets down to get in. Animal's eyes widened as Meg stepped forward to him in a pink knee length silk nightgown. His first reaction was to seriously think about running as they hadn't declared a relationship yet and he thought that this kind of nightgown was for those who were married.

"Come to bed…you're tired, I'm tired…and we need some sleep…now before you fall over." Meg admonished as she unbuttoned his shirt as he stood there dumbfounded. Since he looked as though he was incapable of doing anything himself, Meg unbuckled his belt and let his pants drop. "You're in boxers and t-shirt. You're fine. Now…in bed with you." She smacked him on the bottom solidly and guided him to the edge of the bed. "Under the covers…get some sleep." She let loose a yawn. "I'm tired."

Animal curled up under the covers…and let loose a comfortable sigh. "This bed is comfy." He grinned at Meg who curled up looking at him, her head on the pillow right across from Animal. Meg reached for Animal, then curled up in his arms and they both fell asleep that way.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA; next morning**_

A shuddering scream from the next room; brought Animal to full wakefulness in an instance. And Animal's sudden wakefulness woke Meg up from a deep sleep just as another piercing scream came from the next room. Animal and Meg both ran from Meg's bedroom to Katie's where they found Katie upright, eyes unseeing, her whole body shaking, in the midst of a open-mouthed panicked scream. Animal knew immediately what the problem was because he had experience similar instances of waking up in the middle of the night shaking in fear after Korea. It had subsided, mostly, but the shock of being awoken early in the morning had him shaking too. He, too, had relived the whole rescue mission several dozen times in his head during those dreams.

"Katie!" Meg said as she wrapped her arms around a shaking Katie. "You are ok. You're safe." Animal also took the time to reassure her that she was safe. He knew what she was going through. This was post-traumatic stress disorder, the stress, the trauma of the past few weeks was finally starting to sink in and this was the brain's way of dealing with the stress that it had undergone. It essentially broke and the psychiatrists would have to piece it together again. Katie's violent shaking had subsided and Katie had slumped into Meg's embrace, heartbreaking sobs coming from her. Again, her mother and father had been brutally slain and she had seen their blood-soaked bodies as she was walked through the house, bound and gagged and taken to her place of captivity. How was a teenager of seventeen supposed to reconcile that?

"My mom; my dad!" Katie cried… "Nothing's going to be OK…anymore." And that was the brutal truth for which there was no amount of reconciliation. Her mother and father were gone and nothing would be the same again for Katie. There was no amount of reassurance that could make up for the loss of Katie's parents and neither Meg nor Animal would be able to sugarcoat or minimize the impact.

"We need to get her help." Animal stated to Meg as she held Katie tightly. "Otherwise, she's going to go completely to pieces." Animal remembered RADM Pointer telling him to get his ass to a psychiatrist after hearing from Animal's bunkmate about him being unable to sleep at night, while onboard ship after the incident. Meg nodded knowing that Animal was right. PTSD wasn't something that they could deal with. They didn't have the knowledge to do so.

When Katie was cognizant of her surroundings again, she tried to apologize profusely for waking Meg and Animal up. Animal wouldn't hear it. "Katie…you've gone through a painful experience…" he said softly. "something that you should never have had to, but you did. This is a reaction that can't be helped. It has to come out or it will eat away at you. You have nothing to apologize for. Katie. You can't be expected to go through something like this and not come away with scars…" Katie looked confused. Animal pointed to his chest; his heart. "Scars that can't be seen, Katie, scars in your heart…that is." He explained. Katie sobbed and clung to the both of them.

"I miss my dad and mom so much…" The heartbreak in Katie's voice brought tears to Meg's eyes. Animal and Meg nodded silently. What could they say to that?

"You're going to have to talk to someone at Bethesda about how you're feeling, Katie." Meg said. "If you keep this locked up inside, it'll hurt you a lot." Katie nodded. She wasn't sure of what she could say to anyone she didn't really know about how she felt, but she figured that it was better than feeling like this in the mornings for the rest of her life.

Meg contacted BuPers to let them know about the change in plans and that BuPers should bring Katie's relatives to Bethesda as Meg and Animal were taking Katie to see a psychiatrist there who would try to help Katie with her PTSD.

_**Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD**_ _**1000hrs**_

Animal turned to Commander Wexler, the BuPers representative along with Katie's relatives in a private meeting room that was provided to them, while Meg and Katie remained outside, and stated. "Katie has signs of PTSD. She's going to need to talk to a psychiatrist. It doesn't mean she's mentally ill. It just means that she's undergone a lot of stress recently. As far as the course of treatment is concerned, I'll let you and Dr. Corbett discuss the particulars since he's the professional." Looking over at Katie's relatives he said. "I'd recommend that you keep up appointments with Katie's psychiatrist. It's covered under military benefits to minors."

"How bad is it?" Eli Waters asked. He was a large man, much larger than Animal, but Animal's khakis and stern demeanor intimidated him. After all, Eli was only a staff-sergeant when he had gotten out of the Corps. "I know…I was a 0311 (infantry MOS) in Viet Nam and I've had to deal with a lot of this sort of thing in my own life."

"To put it bluntly, she lost her mother and father and she woke up screaming this morning. You're going to be in for a lot of heartache in the mornings and you have to guide her gently to health again." Animal said. "Frankly put, Mr. Waters, it's going to put a lot of strain on your family. If you're not up to it…" the threat was clear.

"I'll do what it takes…" Eli stated firmly. "Katie's our family…we need to do what's right for her." Animal nodded silently as he took in the demeanor of the man in front of him. It reassured him that Eli was willing to do the right thing.

Katie and Meg came into the office after Animal retrieved them from the waiting room. "Uncle Eli?" Katie asked tentatively.

"Katie-girl…" The huge man opened his arms as Katie stepped forward and into his hug. "I…" he couldn't find the words and just chose to hug his niece; his grief for the loss of his brother and sister-in-law spilling over. There were a lot of tears in that room, Meg included and Animal stood silently…his own heart throbbing in sympathetic pain.

After promising to stay in contact with Katie, Meg and Animal took their leave. Outside the room, Meg closed her eyes tightly as tears slipped through. "I don't know…" Meg said. "It's so heart-wrenching for her." Animal nodded silently as he guided Meg through the long hallways of Bethesda Naval Medical Center as they headed towards the exit and back to their car.

Animal knew all too soon that his leave was going to be up and that he would have to report to Naval Medical Center San Diego to start undergoing his physical therapy. Meg only had two weeks left of her three week leave-time so Animal wondered what they would do for that week that he had left.

Meg looked at him as they got in the car. "I'm coming with you to San Diego for the remainder of my leave." She said quietly as she ran her gaze over him. Animal didn't object to that and just nodded.

He just said quietly. "We're going to need tickets to get to San Diego. Since I'm on leave, I'm not taking military transport. We'll have to fly commercial." They drove back to Meg's apartment in silence. Katie's stuff was packed up that morning and taken with her to Bethesda so the room was empty except for the visitor's bed. They stepped into her suite, closing the door and Meg leaned into Animal as they kissed, Animal's hands running through her hair. "Mmmm…" Animal said after they separated from the kiss. "That was nice." Meg gave him an endearing smile as her eyes lit up. "I'm going to pack…for the two weeks and we're leaving now…"

"Before Harm gets back?" Animal teased.

"Harm's a big boy… he can handle himself." Meg stated, her mischievous grin unrepentant. "Besides I'm sure that he'll be back when I get back and he'll have questions that I don't want to answer." She laughed. "…and that'll drive him crazy." And laughed even more when Animal muttered…

"Good."

_**NAS JRB New Orleans, Belle Chasse, LA**_

The Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base New Orleans flight line was full of Air Force F-15s and Navy F-14 and F/A-18s of the A,B and C variety as well as the Super Hornets and Harm ran his eyes feasting at their sight. "Hey flyboy…" Imes grinned at him. "You look like you're enjoying the scenery way too much."

"Well…I'm not going to miss a chance to take in the smell of jet propellant." Harm replied as he grinned a cocky grin at her. "I'm a former aviator…this is what I lived for." He said, his tone a little melancholy as Imes raised an eyebrow taking in his gold aviator's wings.

"You mean you used to fly those things?" Imes asked trying to reconcile the image of a former aviator now a JAG attorney.

Harm gave her another cocky grin. "Well, Carolyn, Dress whites and gold wings…" he gave her a knowing wink.

"Uh-huh…" Carolyn snickered with a smile. "That…should have been a red-light…Commander, but…"

"Let's get these interviews done…" Harm stated laughing. Carolyn wasn't his type…she was more of a bookish librarian type officer – but he missed Meg and the fact that Animal was courting Meg openly and that Meg was falling for his "current aviator" status like a fish to water, didn't make him particularly happy.


	15. Chapter 15

_**NAS JRB New Orleans, Belle Chasse, LA. 1330 hrs**_

Sitting down for dinner at the officer's mess-hall, Harm looked disgustedly at the food offered. Watery eggs, corn and mashed potatoes…was all that was fit for his vegetarian palate…and he'd asked for a big plateful owing to his dietary requirements. He looked over with a dour expression at Carolyn Imes who was digging into steak strips, corn and mashed potatoes with a look of absolutely disgusting ecstasy plastered over her face; he rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me that this insanely delicious steak is not good for my heart?" Carolyn teased seeing the look of horror on his eyes as she skewered another steak strip with her fork. The mashed potatoes she had slathered with beef gravy which made them doubly not good for her cholesterol levels…

…and Harm made a point of telling her that. But it didn't ring as teasingly as it did when he teased Meg about her dietary habits which consisted of a huge 1 inch thick quarter pound steak heaped with beef gravy with a side of beef meatballs, deep-fried French fries and 7 strips of bacon as well as vegetables as an afterthought. Uncharitably he thought, _that's why Texans suffer one of the highest rates of coronary heart-disease in the nation_. Was he really jealous? Lately his thoughts had been taking a mean turn when it related to Meg and her relationships outside the office; even though it wasn't any of his business.

"You know…you should call her…see what she's doing?" Carolyn said as Harm looked at her sharply. "I don't know why I got pegged to do this investigation with you, but here I am…" she stated firmly. "Your head hasn't been in the investigation so far…"

Harm snorted sarcastically. "Well, the admiral told me to team with you, because Meg had to deal with Katie and making sure that she was reunited with family. Our interviews went fine here…" he said indicating the briefcase beside him, "…and we know what we have to do with regards to the charges that we have to lay. We'll let the CO here know what's going down and what he needs to do with regards to the individuals he has to take into custody, then we can get on a plane and head back." Harm finished.

"Well…good to see that you're with it…" Carolyn replied. "Wasn't sure for a moment there…"

"I'm not about to let personal issues take precedence over an investigation, Lieutenant Commander." Harm growled. Luckily for Carolyn Imes, she heeded his tone and let the matter drop.

_**Ronald Reagan - Washington National Airport; Arlington, VA 1400 hrs**_

Meg and Animal walked through the airport heading for Domestic Flight Gate 38. It wasn't that far to go as they were taking a US Air direct flight with a Boeing 737-300. Animal grumbled. He would have preferred a Delta flight, but that would have involved an overnight in Akron Ohio or some out-of-the-way spot in God-Knows-Where, Wisconsin. According to Animal, you could sneeze from one side of Akron's downtown to the other. Animal had immediately bumped both their tickets to first-class which Meg thought was quite the treat. They were wearing civilian clothes, but carried their military ID on them, their uniforms were checked luggage. When the gate number was called, Meg grabbed her walk-on and stood up as Animal yawned and stretched before getting out of his seat.

"Hey…sweetie…" Meg said, grinning at Animal. "Our gate number got called. We'd better get going and make sure that we make it there while the first-class tickets are allowed first-boarding privileges." Animal nodded as he took his carry-on and walked over to the gate arm in arm with Meg, her curvy cut jeans and white blouse topped off with a jean-shirt causing men's eyes to turn her way, which in turn caused Animal to eyeball them with a _back-off_ stare.

Going down the air bridge towards the awaiting 737-300, Animal grinned at Meg. "Does this seem like a great date or what?" he said cheerily as Meg gave him a smile and nodded. As they approached the hatch for the 737 passenger cabin – there were eight first-class seats in total on the 737-300 and Animal picked the first two seats to the left. Meg took the window seat and Animal took the aisle seat. It was no problem. Animal preferred the all-around view of his F-14 Tomcat's cockpit over a cramped window and seated beside Meg who was peering out the window was worth sitting in the aisle seat. Animal settled in after making sure that the overhead was secured with their carry-on luggage. Leaning over, he indicated softly, "The view will be better when we get airborne." He grinned at her as she turned around to look at him with those blue eyes of hers and that smile.

"I know…but I'm taking in the entire flight and enjoying it…" she said with an impish grin as she looked over at him.

"oh?" Animal inquired interrogatively.

She winked at him. "…because I'm with you…" she said as she leaned in shoulder to shoulder with him and gave him a lingering kiss to the ever-present amusement of the private school kid in the next seat over across the aisle. "…that makes this flight even more special…"

"_Welcome to US Air Flight 372, I'm Captain David Tyson; In about fifteen to twenty minutes, we will be getting ready to be pushed back from the gate and then we will be starting engines. Our flight this afternoon will take four hours and fifty- five minutes. We have a 10 knot headwind that will affect our arrival time and the weather at our destination is sunny with visibility up to fifteen point three miles. We'd like to thank you for flying US Air and we hope that you have a great flight with us." _

It was another twenty minutes after initial loading of first class passengers that the jet-way was pulled back from the airliner and the 737-300 was pushed back out of the gate. When the jet was parallel with the direction of the taxiway, a whine was heard as the pilot engaged his port engine…then when it spooled up to a certain pitch, another whump was heard as the starboard engine engaged. Animal looked over at Meg and asked. "Did you want air on?" he asked.

"I'm fine for now…" she was eagerly looking out the window as the aircraft engines finished spooling up to taxi. The 737-300 started moving slowly forward, the wings rocking slightly as the aircraft moved towards the taxiway heading towards the runway. They had buckled their seatbelts in preparation for take-off. As the 737-300 nosed its way onto the runway, the captain keyed the intercom.

"_This is your captain speaking, we are now moving onto the runway…_" (the runway was the long one 19) "_…and we have clearance for departure. We will be at thirty-five thousand feet on a transcontinental route across the southern United States. For safety, please ensure that your tray tables are in the upright position and locked and your seats are in the upright position._" Captain Tyson indicated.

Animal ensured that his buckles and Meg's were securely fastened. As the 737-300 turned onto the runway, Animal felt the comforting surge of engine power that indicated that the engines were at full throttle and the light bumps of the paving on the runway were felt as the 737-300 accelerated down the runway. Meg looked over at him, smiling as Animal's fingers encircled hers as his left hand reached for her right.

"Not as quick as a Tomcat, hmm?" Meg inquired. Animal shook his head. He lived for the feel of the F-14's afterburners. There was nothing like two solid kicks in the ass as he engaged zone one to climb out of NAS Oceana. He felt the nose of the 737-300 rotate and leave the ground as it took almost another five full seconds for the main-mounts to leave the runway. God, this thing was slow. By this time, Animal would have rotated his Tomcat pitching up at an eighty-five degree angle relative to the ground and hit zone five and he would have been going vertical through twenty-five thousand by now. Meanwhile this 737-300 was slowly making its way through ten thousand feet. It would take a full thirty-two minutes for the 737-300 to reach cruising altitude of thirty-five thousand feet. Animal thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't in the Air Force flying a cargo hauler, he would have fallen asleep by now. _Hallelujah for the Navy_ _in more ways than one_…he thought looking over at Meg who was still looking out the window.

About one and a half hour later somewhere over the western tip of Oklahoma, the cabin crew brought out a hot meal. Three slices of beef with fragrant Thai Rice, string beans and gravy. The smell of the food was appetizing. Meg thought it looked delicious too and opted for that as well. They also provided warmed buns with pats of butter. Meg looked over at Animal and said. "The rice is delicious." Animal nodded in return as he dug in happily into the meal. Airline meals were usually bland, but US Air had a decent selection of meal options.

When the meal was over and their tray was returned to the upright position and locked position about an hour and a half later, they were somewhere over Arizona and descending from thirty six thousand connecting to Albuquerque ARTCC (Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center).

The weather was such that visual flight rules were in effect and the only contact that they needed to make was with San Diego approach to know the incoming vectors of the different aircraft so that they didn't chance a mid-air. All of this was happening in the cockpit, unbeknownst to any passenger who wasn't a pilot. As Animal was a naval aviator, he knew exactly what was going on in the cockpit of the aircraft though the 737 flight procedures were not something he was familiar with but with the comms he'd know that he'd be contacting ground control at the moment to get a vector and lining up his descent with the single runway available at San Diego International, more likely that it was going to be the Runway 27 side. In about an hour and a bit they would be contacting LA ARTCC and then finally San Diego Approach East at 124.35 as the 737-300 got set to touch down at San Diego International Airport. And the funny thing was that they would be debarking from the aircraft only about two hrs local time difference from where they started from whereas they had been airborne for over four hours and forty-five minutes. Animal shook his head with regards to how air travel made time difference insignificant. But he still figured he could have gotten there faster with his Tomcat.

Meg looked over at the ground visible from the airliner window. A lot of what they were flying over was rugged desert terrain which would switch over to water as they flew over the Salton Sea with a gentle bank to the north-west as they lined up with Runway 27. Animal sat back in his seat and enjoyed the gentle vibration of the 737-300 cabin as he waited for the flight to terminate in San Diego. He noticed the warmth of Meg's hand as she covered his left hand with her own. Looking over at her he noticed that she was looking directly into his eyes. "I'm glad I'm able to come with you to San Diego…" she said softly. "At least we'll be together while your therapy is getting started."

"I'm glad too." Animal replied to Meg as she leaned her head against his shoulder. All too soon, the 737-300 made it's descent to San Diego and the buildings of the city came into view through their passenger. It was mid-afternoon and it was still about half an hour to an hour before the rush hour started. Hopefully by then they would have gotten a hotel room – _rooms_ Animal thought to himself, he had been raised to respect women and sleeping with a woman before they were in a declared relationship wasn't the normal way of doing things for him. The chirp-chirp of the tires on runway broke his train of thought.

"We're here…" Meg said as she squeezed his hand.

_**The Grand Del Mar, San Diego, CA**_

Meg grinned unrepentantly as she looked at the absolute gob-smacked expression on Animal's face as they went to the check-in at the Grand Del Mar. Considering that it was twenty-five minutes away along the I-5 from Naval Medical Center San Diego at Balboa Park and was a private get-away, she wanted to make sure that Animal's mind was not on the treatments and worrying over his shoulder. Worrying wouldn't help his healing anyways.

"We're so far away from the Medical Center." Animal said.

"Well, Tosh, I don't want your mind to be worrying over your treatments. We go there, you have your treatment and then we come back here to get your mind off that and rest and recuperate." Meg grinned at him.

"…and why do I think that resting and recuperating isn't something that's topmost on your mind…" he said suggestively smiling and showing teeth in a big wide grin.

"I have absolutely no idea." Meg said primly belying her stuffy air with a wink. "What you're thinking is the farthest thing from my mind"…and gave him a kiss while the concierge smiled indulgently.

"A couple's room?" the concierge asked innocently as Animal turned beet-red in embarrassment. "Perhaps the Palazzo Suite?" Meg nodded.

"How…the…affordability?" Animal stuttered.

"Shhhh…sweetheart." Meg said. "I'm gonna cover this. Our ranch is making money and I don't have just my lieutenant JG salary to cover this, y'know."

Animal's jaw nearly hit the floor. "You do know this place is four figures a night?"

"Don't worry…" Meg grinned as she pulled out a platinum Amex. "One week…" she said firmly to the concierge. "…with an option for a second."


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: **__OK, this is the last chapter before I have to head up to Sechelt/Gibsons for my son's hockey tournament for the weekend. So I'm going to make this a rather long one. Note that Louis Armstrong International was renamed in 2001. Since this is 1995, this airport remains New Orleans International. With regards to the Palazzo at The Grand Del Mar, check out /san-diego/hotels/the-grand-del-mar/ and you'll see just how posh this place is. _

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, August 1, 1995 0700hrs**_

Harm walked through the office bullpen; the smell of this place assaulted his nose, the place just smelled different than the office that he used to work in at the Washington Navy Yard before the Judge Advocate General's office got moved. The Navy Yard was cramped with officers tripping over each other as several different departments were nestled in one high-rise building on the Navy Yard premises. Carolyn Imes and he had returned from NAS JRB New Orleans the night before and he had barely managed to get about six hours sleep before having to rouse himself, grab a morning coffee and fight DC traffic into work. They had thought they would be able to get back on a Saturday, then he'd be able to talk with Meg about what was going on. But there had been a few things that had tied up matters and thus they weren't able to get out of Belle Chasse until Sunday flying out of New Orleans International Airport. He noticed that Meg's office was dark. The legalman in charge of the admiral's itinerary shrugged his shoulders upon Harm's inquiry and said. "I'm sorry, sir, Meg left after Miss Waters' matter was dealt with. She received the rest of her leave back…" he paused for a moment as if wondering if he should continue.

"What is it?" Harm asked, slightly irritated at the legalman's reticence. "Was there something else?"

"Well, sir, she left with Commander Nakamura, sir." The legalman finally admitted.

Harm nodded briefly as he turned back towards his own office. "Thank you." He said, not wanting to show the disappointment in his face to the legalman. After all, enlisted didn't have any reason to know the personal matters of officers. As he moved to step out of the admiral's anteroom, he heard a clearing of a throat. Turning around he turned to see the admiral standing there, arms crossed. Coming to attention like a plebe, he stood there.

"A moment of your time, Lieutenant Commander." Was all that the admiral stated and gestured towards his office. As Harm stepped into his office, squaring off by his desk, Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden shut the door behind him. Standing forty-five degrees to the left of Harm, the admiral stared at him until Harm got very nervous. "Is…there a particular reason why you are interrogating my legalman?" Chegwidden asked acerbically. "Do you not have cases that you have to sort before morning staff meeting?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I suggest you get to it rather than sanding the hide off my legalman. Rabb." Chegwidden's eyes flashed. "Considering the fact that you have no need of knowing the whereabouts of Lieutenant JG Austin…"

"She's my partner, sir." Harm objected knowing that he was close to stepping over the line of civility.

"Not for this case, Lieutenant Commander." Chegwidden said with finality. "…and I highly suggest keeping your mind on this case. The Lieutenant JG is a big girl, she can handle herself…" he crossed his arms. "…dismissed."

"Aye-aye, sir." Harm snapped to attention, about-faced and strode to the door.

"…for your information. Rabb, I gave her the rest of her leave back after pulling her unceremoniously from her last leave for the Waters case. And I highly suggest you leave it alone." He said; Harm instinctively knowing by _it_, the admiral referred to the leave that was returned to Meg.

Harm nodded as he left the admiral's office chastened. He knew that he had no claim over Meg, but the male inside of him roared his disapproval.

_**Flashback: The Grand Del Mar Palazzo Suite, San Diego, CA, 1730 hrs. 2 days previous**_

Meg opened the door to the suite taking in the entire suite. Animal, on the other hand, was freaking out inside at the cost of the suite. This was a fully contained home within a building. The entrance way was a foyer. There was a little kitchen off to one side. Just in the door was a small room with a dresser in there that could be termed as a walk-in closet. The main room was a living room/dining room. Two windowed doors with gold trimmed handles allowed occupants to step out on the terraza level with a small courtyard. When they went to the bedroom, there was only one bed at which Animal looked over at Meg with a shocked expression. Meg just casually smiled at him. There was a large interior window from the bedroom that when open overlooked the ornate bathroom; when closed, it provided some privacy for the bathroom user. The main bathroom had a separated shower as well. There was a second bathroom. Also each bathroom had what was known as a water-closet, the toilet was separated from the bathroom by a door and a privacy room.

Meg looked back at Animal. She was amused by his prudishness as well as slightly irritated. But she figured, that was how he was raised. But they were modern adults, each with wants and needs of their own and fully in control of their own bodies. If they wanted to, with mutual consent, they could be intimate. But Meg knew that Animal wasn't ready for that step yet. They were still in the courting stage of their relationship, however, Meg also knew that she controlled the pace at which their relationship would progress. "What do you say we relax a bit after all this travelling?" she asked him casually as he looked like he was just about to drop. The porter had dropped off their bags in the foyer and Animal brought their bags to the bedroom.

She grinned at him. "I'm going to go take a bath. I feel absolutely grimy." She barely held in a laugh as Animal's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he hastened to go shut the open window between the bedroom and the bathroom to give her some privacy. Meg didn't know whether to be amused or disappointed at the haste in which he did that, but settled for giving him a kiss, then grabbed a pair of towels and headed for the bathroom.

Animal groaned. Her feminine charms were going to be hard to resist, but his sense of honor, integrity and chivalry prevailed when all he wanted to do was to go into the bathroom, take her up against the bathroom wall and ravish her senseless. God, she was gorgeous and these next two weeks were going to be hard if he was going to make sure that Meg came through this close contact with her honor intact. Hell, he wasn't a damned monk, nor was he a saint; he had physical needs just as much as Meg did, but until there was a commitment of mutual agreement that they were in a relationship, it was hands off. And dammit, now he had to go take a shower too. But he was going to make damned sure that it was in the second bathroom.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, August 1, 1995 0930hrs**_

Harm was grumbling to himself as he looked over the files that he was working on. It didn't seem the same as when he was able to work with his partner. Frustrated as heck, he continued to hash his way through the paperwork noting each hour that Meg had one less hour of leave left before she had to return to JAG and if everything worked out, she'd leave Animal on the West Coast. Harm's rational side thought that he was being uncharitable, Animal was an honorable guy, but the devil on his other shoulder didn't care. He still wanted Meg back at work…safely…with him.

_**Naval Medical Center San Diego, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, August 1, 1995 0930 hrs**_

Meg opted to wear civilian clothes and brought only her purse and her Navy ID to be able to get onto the Naval Medical Center grounds. The palm tree lined entrance was curved to the left from Florida Drive as she turned the rental car onto Bob Wilson Drive. As they drove up to the gate-guard house, Meg could immediately sense that Animal was nervous about the whole thing.

"You'll be fine, sweetie." Meg said as they pulled in watching the Marine Lance Corporal walking over.

"Identification?" the Marine asked as he looked in the window to see a woman in civilian clothes and a Navy Commander in khakis, his eyes widening when he looked at the woman's Navy ID to note that she also was a Navy Lieutenant JG, JAGC. "Ma'am…you and the commander are cleared."

"Thank you, Lance Corporal." Meg stated as she nodded in return to the Marine's salute, then engaged the car in drive to drive them up to the parking lot of the hospital. Knowing that PDAs were frowned upon in the hospital, she opted to give Animal a lingering kiss in the car, then they both exited the rental vehicle and headed for the front door of the hospital.

It wasn't a long wait before Commander Milos Nikolic, navy flight surgeon, walked out to greet Animal and Meg. "Commander, I see you've had a time of it. Commander Lazaros mentioned that you aggravated your arm in between the last visit and now. I've seen the X-Rays that the doctor has taken of your arm; I presume that nothing much has happened to aggravate your arm any further in the last three days."

"Not that I'm aware of, sir." Animal answered as Commander Nikolic looked over at Meg.

"No un-necessary use of the arm so far? Good to see you too, Lieutenant JG. Still on leave from JAGC?" CDR Nikolic inquired.

"Having the rest of my leave reinstated. My CO had to yank my leave because of a case so I was back in uniform until two days ago." Meg replied. "Now I'm here helping CDR Nakamura recuperate and rest his shoulder."

"Well, we're slowly going to work that shoulder so that it gets back to full strength and he can perform his flight duties again." CDR Nikolic stated as he tested Animal's range of motion on that shoulder. Animal's wincing had Nikolic nodding knowingly. "Yes, it's definitely inflamed. You need to stop 'combat-rolling' on that shoulder." Animal groaned. He wasn't going to live that one down with the doctors. "Stop groaning, commander, you aggravate your shoulder, it's going to take it that much longer to heal. As it is, you're probably going to have to go back to a RAG to get back in flying shape again." That shut Animal up real quick. "We'll be assigning you to physiotherapy with Lieutenant Commander Diana Mitchell and just because you have silver oak leaves doesn't mean you growl at her, OK? You listen to what she has to say and we'll get you back in flying shape." He smirked at Animal and chuckled, then said as an aside to Meg. "…and you keep an eye on him, Lieutenant JG…and make sure he doesn't over-do the exercises that LCDR Mitchell assigns to him during the course of the remainder of your leave. I know that you have to head back to DC."

"Two weeks Sunday, sir, but aye-aye, sir. I'll keep a frying-pan close by if I see him over doing it, sir." She grinned evilly at Animal who didn't know whether to be grateful or start to worry about how Meg was going to oversee his recuperation.

"Frying pan? Hopefully we won't have to treat him for a concussion." CDR Nikolic grinned conspiratorially at Meg.

"No, sir…only if he overdoes it, sir. And I'd have an excuse, sir." Meg said smugly.

"Oh?" CDR Nikolic inquired.

"I'd tell the court that I was protecting him from himself, sir. If he reinjures himself, then he'd be putting the security of this nation at risk. My concussing him would enable him to recuperate that arm of his." Meg smirked at Animal who rolled his eyes.

"Interesting thought, Lieutenant JG. But I'm not sure that human physiology works that way though your case defense may be sound." CDR Nikolic said. "Now…Commander, I'm going to introduce you to your physical therapist, Lieutenant Commander Diana Mitchell. She's tough and no-nonsense. She's made SEALs cry." Animal had this picture in his head of a three hundred and fifty pound Wagnerian Valkyrie armed with a spear and an armored breastplate. His brain did a disconnect when a khaki clad, lithe red-headed navy Lieutenant Commander dressed in khakis walked in, gold oak leaf rank insignia on one collar, silver acorn on gold oak leaf on the other. After briefly introducing everyone to each other, Animal's interview with the physical therapist was started.

"Morning, sir. Commander Nikolic informs me that you're in need of physical therapy." Meg looked sourly at LCDR Mitchell – there was something about the lieutenant commander that rubbed Meg the wrong way.

"I might be…" Animal offered.

Looking over Animal's medical file that Commander Nikolic handed to her, LCDR Mitchell grinned. "Not might be, sir: **definitely will be**." She emphasized looking him over up and down focusing on his ribbons and Naval Aviator's wings. "We need to get that shoulder of yours taken care of so that you can resume flight duties."

Meg thought to herself _what the hell does the rest of his body have to do with his shoulder _and subtly moved closer to Animal. Her civilian clothes allowed her the closeness that a Navy uniform might not have. And LCDR Mitchell didn't miss the possessiveness that Meg exhibited and gave Animal a subtle look that said that she was going to enjoy the rehabilitation process. But LCDR Mitchell didn't get to be a Navy Phsyical Therapist without being professional but there was something about tweaking a junior officer's possessiveness that played right into her sense of humor.

"So…Commander? Tomorrow 8AM bright n' early?" LCDR Diana Mitchell had an southwestern Arkansas twang in her voice. Animal rolled his eyes. 8 AM? That meant he'd have to wake up at six to get ready. And he'd be cross-eyed. "Oh…come on, wawling your eyes isn't going to make having to do this go away." She teased. Meg was absolutely determined that she was going to be there every day that the therapy was in session for as long as her leave held out.

"I'll make sure I get him there for eight sharp." Meg pointed out.

"That'll be great, Lieutenant Junior Grade." LCDR Mitchell replied. "It was great meeting you…" she said to Animal who nodded. "sir."

"Good to meet you too…" Animal replied. "Lieutenant Commander."

"I bet." Muttered Meg inaudibly.

As Meg and Animal walked back to the car after the appointment, Animal casually looked over at her. Meg looked supremely disgruntled. "fangs out?" Animal inquired casually.

"What?" Meg asked, slightly nettled.

"Fangs out? Means you looked a little pissed off at the Lieutenant Commander." Animal said.

Meg growled. "She was supposed to be discussing your physical therapy, not looking at you like a piece of prime roast that she just bought from the grocery store."

"You're jealous that she was checking me out?" Animal asked innocently and Meg whirled around to glare at him.

"Yes, damned right…I'm jealous." She snapped. "She gets to…to…" she sputtered furiously. "oh…hell…do things…for you for several hours…"

"She's just going to work my shoulder…" Animal said, a little surprised at the venom in Meg's voice.

"Yeah…and I'm sure she's got other things on her mind too." Meg snarled. Animal's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He didn't realize how worked up Meg was getting. As they got back into the car, she said in to him. "Yes, it bothers me…" She looked over at him. "She was checking you out and you looked like you were responding to it…"

"…I? All I said was _good to meet you_. You read THAT much into it?" he asked confused.

Meg huffed as she started the car. "…and I can't get you to react to me in any way shape or form…"

"What? How?" Animal wasn't sure where the hell this was going.

"This…" She leaned in…took his head in both hands…brought his face in close and kissed him…passionately. Then looked disappointed and said. "See…"

"Meg…what do you want me to do?" He asked. "I…"

"Dammit…Tosh…I want you to show me that you love me." Meg snapped. "I'm here because I love you."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's Note: **__Are Animal and Meg going to get intimate before the events of __**Absence**_ _or not? Lots to think on. Also…fic-rating change. Screw it…It's going to M. _

_**Author's Note 2:**__ Yeah…THAT'S why. _

_**On I-5 Northbound, San Diego, CA**_

Meg looked over at the passing traffic as she floored the gas-pedal as she merged into traffic. Harm used to always have conniption fits when she drove as he'd say that Meg considered speed limits a suggestion and not the rule of law. The power of the rental car – she'd rented a Chevy Corvette Grand Sport Convertible and the asphalt flew past as she pointed the car back towards the Grand Del Mar.

Animal mulled silently over the admission by the woman beside him that she loved him. What did he feel for Meg? All he knew was that she was an absolutely beautiful and loving woman who _loved him_ but he certainly didn't feel worthy of her. After all, the Austins were wealthy horsemen in Texas, former military who bought into a cattle ranch at a certain time and made it their money making enterprise. And what was he: a temporarily grounded naval aviator who didn't really have much to bring to the table. Sure his family was three generations United States military, however when it came down to money, his family was not rich, in fact, most of them weren't still alive; and he was maybe a couple of pay-checks and a paying job away from the bread-line.

Meg loved him; that much he knew and his heart exulted that she did but he wondered if he could ever be worthy of that regard.

"So…what…you're not saying anything…" Meg growled ominously…as there was dead silence after her admission.

Animal looked at her from the passenger seat then turning to look over at the passing scenery, he said after a long moment. "I know that you love me…" he said softly, just barely audible to her. "The thing that I'm trying to figure out is how I am so damned lucky that I ended up with you."

That admission from Animal nearly caused Meg to rear-end a car that was traveling under the speed-limit by about 10 miles per hour and she honked at the car to hurry him up. She thought to herself that she would have to pull off the I-5 and get something to eat if they intended on continuing this conversation which appeared to be going the way she wanted it to – minus the near collision of course. "I need something to eat." She said…as she looked for an exit off the I-5 that wouldn't put them into gang-territory. Finally she just floored the accelerator and said. "We'll eat when we get home…" and pointed the nose of the car towards the Hotel Grand Del Mar.

_**The Grand Del Mar Palazzo Suite, San Diego, CA**_

When they got back to the Grand Del Mar, she parked the car in the space provided for them and dragged Animal back in their Palazzo hotel room, where she promptly shut the door with her foot, roped her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him. A confused Animal looked at Meg with a "I thought you were hungry…"

"mmmhmmm…" Meg muttered to herself with her lips firmly fastened on Animal's. She tugged at Animal's short-sleeve khaki uniform shirt with such vehemence that Animal was starting to find out that her hunger was not of the "food kind". Pulling it off him, she threw his shirt off to the side, her lips still hungering after his, her hands questing at his face.

"M…Meg…what…" Animal stuttered as he felt her bare hands tugging at his t-shirt. "What…are…" and then felt her hands under his t-shirt, pulling him towards her.

"Shhhh…" Meg said as she yanked his t-shirt over his head, the breeze of the t-shirt coming off sending a slightly cooling brief wind across his chest. "We're consenting adults…" she said looking at him as Animal had a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face especially when her hands started reaching for his trousers. "I said before that I love you…" she looked deeply into his eyes and said. "I want you…"

Animal returned her questing look and said. "Are you sure?"

"Yes…" she murmured softly as her lips sought his…and his mind pretty much went blank as her hands undid his trousers "I've never been more sure in my life." The soft clink of the buckle of his khaki web-belt on the carpet of the bedroom didn't even register on his mind as Meg pulled him so that he stepped out of the now pooled trousers on the floor. The steady stream of kisses on his face and his lips sent his mind elsewhere.

Meg's mind flipped back to the time that she and Krennick had talked frankly about Harm; sure she loved Harm, but the regs made it impossible to be with Harm and she had despaired of ever finding anyone that she could find as attractive to her as Harm; that little something that was more than physical attraction, but a meeting of minds – though she grinned to herself, that she was making Animal's mind go completely blank at the moment and she was secretly pleased that she could do that.

She remembered what Krennick had said when they were in Hong Kong. _After Krennick had asked whether Harm and Meg had ever slept together, her answer was, "We never slept together."_

_Krennick had given her a sharp look "But you thought about it."_ The unspoken question was "_Did you wish you had?"_

_Meg nonplussed had actually stammered "Yes." And Krennick had been right in what she had said next and it floored her that she over Krennick would have thought-processed like that. Meg hadn't believed that Harm had actually survived; she had thought that the Chinese had killed Harm already. She was trying to protect herself from the emotional pain that she would have experienced in learning that Harm was dead – a compartmentalization of emotion so that she could function. _

But that was over a several months and a few investigations in the past - including the Medal of Honor investigation and a new possibility; the possibility of a relationship not hampered by regulations, had emerged and damned if Meg wasn't going to take full advantage of it. Animal was a little bit unsure of himself though a damned good naval aviator; it was disarmingly pleasing to see him stammer when flummoxed – the gold wings were admittedly an attraction, he was shorter than she was by two inches; which came from his Asian genes and he was an active duty pilot, but those were all physical attributes. Whereas what attracted Meg to Animal was his emotional openness - he didn't keep secrets. He said things honestly and he meant what he said. He didn't engage in wordplay or try to conceal important matters and though he could be a bit inscrutable at times – though Meg had studied the Chinese language as well as Japanese, she wasn't up on Japanese culture and there were some things that she didn't understand yet. As she slowly unbuttoned her shirt, she thought to herself that maybe a course in Japanese culture 101 at night-school might be a good start. She chuckled softly to herself as Animal's eyes went completely wide, as she sensuously shrugged out of her white blouse letting it fall to the ground around her ankles as she started working on the button snap of her own jeans. It was just as well that Animal seemed to be frozen as he didn't move one inch.

In Animal's mind, all that was going through his head was Meg's brother's and mother's question to him back at the ranch. _"What are your intentions towards my daughter!?"_ He was sooo dead.

Meg by this time had stepped out of her jeans stepping forward to him and wrapping her arms around him. They were both clad only in under-things now. Pulling his hands around her and drawing Animal close, she fastened her lips on his, nipping his lower lip softly with her teeth. Drawing his hands towards the fasteners of her bra, she unhooked them with his hands and let the straps fall off her shoulders. She then swiftly drew her hands down his torso, hooking her fingers around the elastic of his briefs and giving a sharp tug downwards. "Step out of them…" she murmured softly as she drew them to the floor. Sliding up his body, causing Animal to shiver, she pulled his hands towards her own panties. "Make love to me…" Meg purred softly as she bit his ear-lobe.

_**Naval Brig/CCU Norfolk, NAS Norfolk, VA, **_

At the exact same moment, Harmon Rabb Jr. was in an _oh kill me now_ interview with a recalcitrant prisoner who was convicted of espionage. With the nation not being in a state of war, the death penalty would not come into play, but the prisoner was looking at a sentence of life in prison with no parole. And the damned spy knew it so he wasn't talking. Threats of throwing everything short of the death penalty hadn't worked. If Meg was there she would have managed to soften him up and get him to talk. _But she was off playing footsies with Animal_, he thought to himself.

The door opened in the interrogation room and a force of nature erupted into the room. Slamming two what appeared to be paws on the table, the human whirlwind growled. "You can start talking or I'm going to remove your fingernails from each finger one by one! Then we'll go on to breaking finger joints."

"What the hell?" Harm exclaimed furiously as he rose from his chair. Being interrupted in an interrogation didn't do wonders for his mood.

The man turned to him fixing steel grey eyes on him, "Name's Darach Cleary, Special Agent, Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Seems like you were getting nowhere with this asshole." Harm took a closer look at this Special Agent Darach Cleary. Evidently he was brown-haired, muscular and a bit of an abrasive personality. And abrasive didn't go well with interrogations all that often – it more often than not made the prisoner clam up. Though shorter than him by four inches, the forceful personality of this special agent made Harm recoil. Slamming his hands on the table, Cleary shot a look at the prisoner again. "So…you going to talk or am I going to have to get the pliers?"

"Wait, physical abuse of a prisoner is violation of US Code under statute against assault." Harm interjected.

"…and this prisoner sold information to parties who are hostile to the United States. He's sold information that could potentially kill US soldiers. Commander." Cleary stood toe to toe with Harm.

"I won't get the information out of him by damned near beating him to death." Harm replied.

"…but you'll sleep over dead soldiers…if you don't get the information out of him by any means possible." Cleary snapped back. "Hope that sits well on your conscience, Commander, because it doesn't by my books. Harm glared back at him with only one thought going through his mind that he wished Meg was there to help him with the interrogation, because if that muscle-bound asshole, that was trying to justify _excessive force_ to twist information out of this prisoner, made one move as if to do so, Harm would pound him into the ground.

_**The Grand Del Mar Palazzo Suite, San Diego, CA**_

The tub was luxurious with gold plated fixtures, but Animal had absolutely no interest in the fixtures in the suite. What captivated his attention was the beautiful blonde woman in the tub with him, the water flowing over her body as she lay back against him. The marble tiled edging around the tub was useful as an arm-rest.

Meg's eyes were closed in absolute bliss at the feel of Animal's arms against her bare skin; his forearms resting under her breasts. She sighed softly; that burning need deep inside her had subsided to a fulfilled feeling of warm contentment as she lay against him. "Love you…" she murmured softly at Animal that he could barely hear it. He contented himself with giving her a kiss against the side of her neck that elicited a passionate whimper as she turned around and fastened her lips on his, kissing him. Pulling him from the tub, she walked over to the floor length mirror, where she stood there guiding his hands all over her, showing him where she wanted him to touch her, leaning back against him, guiding him where he had been all over again.

Meg was an upright naval officer, firmly rooted in navy tradition and standards, but she was also a woman and she had needs, more rudely described as an _itch to scratch_, she rationalized as she and Animal partook of the rites of pleasures. They were both mature consenting adults and they both loved each other, so what harm could it do to avail themselves of physical pleasure?

Shuddering in bliss, she sank to the cushion absolutely boneless in her legs and had to be helped back into the bathtub. "Mmmm"…was all she could say as Animal slipped in behind her as they emptied the tub of the now luke-warm water and replaced it with hot water again.

"We're wasting water, aren't we?" Animal teased.

"Hmmm, gallons and gallons if you keep doing that to me…" Meg purred. "I need to duck under the water for a moment…I need to wash that San Diego pollution out of my hair…" Yeah, the smog was a thick yellow haze that morning when they had gone down to the San Diego Naval Medical Center. Animal sat up, and Meg took a deep breath holding it as she ducked under the water, coming back up with hair slicked back completely wet. Using a small dollop of shampoo she worked it into her hair getting the dirt and the oils out, as Animal watched her. Evidently their comfort level with each other's unclothed bodies was higher. Then she leaned back into the water and rinsed the lather off. Grinning at Animal, she said, briefly. "It works better in the shower." And eased herself out of the tub, heading for the shower. Animal pulled the plug on the tub and headed off to join her. It was just wide enough for two people to squeeze in. "I need to rinse what lather is still on me…" Meg stated… "…and it just might get on you…if you're too close…"

"I don't mind." Animal grinned, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course, I could wash you off too." Meg offered innocently.

"I'd definitely take you up on that offer." Animal grinned back as he looked her up and down with obvious desire.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA**_

Harm was not in a very good mood at all after the confrontation with SA Cleary and the recalcitrant prisoner. Imes was not going to be much help with this new case…and Meg was still gone for another thirteen days. He wasn't going to get much work done at this rate and it seemed that the case had gone even farther down the crapper than he thought, the prisoner had lawyered up with Washington Super Lawyer, a lawyer renowned for getting high-profile cases and winning them. Some Croatian-American second generation lawyer by the name of Neno Knežević who had told him to clam up even tighter than he already was.

Harm was already catching flak from the admiral on why the case wasn't progressing as fast as the prosecution would like it to progress.

Meg had a way of making suspects talk, without using the heavy handed ways that SA Cleary was thinking of using. What an inconvenient time for Meg to go on leave and couldn't Animal get his shoulder rehabilitation by himself. Animal was a big boy now, even older than Harm, and didn't have to be guided to his appointments without being handheld like a two year old attached to his mommy.

He tried to remember what Meg had said. _"Naw, Harm, it'd be better if I go alone…" _and she had made some off-hand remark to throw him off about her mother and her possibly being in tears…and how that would make him uncomfortable. Then of course that familiarity with Animal during the last day in Yokosuka…and the fact that he had found Animal with Meg at her family's ranch in Texas. It all came together in a blinding flash of pain as his fist impacted the palm of his other hand. "Dammit!" Harm growled. "She's with Animal!" His inner male roared with displeasure as the thought of his partner being with his former mentor ran a course through his thoughts.

"What?" Imes' voice interrupted his internal raging. Since when did the door… "Your door was open." She gestured. "The entire bullpen heard you." She raised an eyebrow. "A little problem there?"

"Shit!" Harm muttered. "My apologies, Commander." He said formally.

Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Imes grinned. "No problem, Commander." She said handing him a case folder. Turning to go to the door, she threw over her shoulder. "You might want to talk it out with the Lieutenant JG. After all…you need to get it all out in the open…"

Harm shut the door, rolling his eyes. _I really need to get it together before I end up with a Conduct Unbecoming charge in my folder. _Walking over to his chair, uttering a groan of frustration, he held his head in his hands.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Addison, Grand Del Mar,**_ _**San Diego, CA**_

"So…this changes a lot of things…" Meg looked up from inhaling her Kobe Beef short-rib to find Animal looking into her eyes.

"What?" Meg questioned her lover's quiet statement.

"It changes things..." he continued softly, almost inaudibly. "We can't go back to the same Tosh and Meg that we were before we became intimate…"

She swallowed deeply…hesitant of where this conversation was leading to.

"…and I'm not sure I want to go back there. I want us to move forward. But once my rehab is done, I have a deployment to prep for, refresher courses in getting battle-ready, pre-deployment workups…and a fleet readiness cruise to consider." Animal looked at her, cautiously hoping that the next words that he spoke wouldn't harm their relationship irreparably. "I'm not going to have much time to breathe, let alone be able to date on a regular basis. On top of that, VF-41 is Pacific Fleet and you're headquartered in DC. So unless the CNO turns around and puts the Black Aces on the East Coast, our relationship is going to be a long-distance one…"

"I'm willing to wait…" Meg said reaching her right hand across the table to take his. "I've said before that there's no one other than you that I want to be with…"

"I'm glad to hear that…" Animal relaxed imperceptibly. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't thinking I was getting cold feet. I'm willing to wait too. But understand that this job of mine is a dangerous one. As the squadron XO, I'm flight lead on most missions…"

Meg interrupted him. "I know. You're in harm's way. There may be a mission where your luck runs out so on and so forth. But I'm willing to take that risk." She reached out to cup Animal's cheek in a tender palm and said resolutely, "I want to believe that _there's an us_".

Animal cupped her hand in silent affirmative response. The two lovers looked into each other's eyes for a long moment before resuming their meal in mutual yet comfortable silence.

The five star restaurant was a diner's delight, but it required formal dinner-wear. Animal wore a formal suit (as he was on medical leave and didn't need to wear uniform unless he was heading to the Medical Center in San Diego for treatment) and Meg wore a black evening dress, spectacular to the nines.

"So what do you plan to do once you get back to the fleet?" Meg asked, expecting an answer. Animal took a long moment to think before opening his mouth to speak.

"My deployment will take the better part of six months of the year…so I probably won't be back in San Diego till next June or July." Animal looked over at Meg who reached over to take his hand. When they were done, they paid for the dinner and headed back up to their room, the understanding being that they needed to rest as Animal had physical therapy next morning. But before they retired for the night, Animal reached into his luggage pulling out a small felt lined box. Meg's exhale of surprise caused Animal to smile, as he reached into the now open felt-lined box and pulled out a necklace. It was 14K gold and balanced a circular pendant – there were three broad-leafs, one upside down from the top, two at a forty-five degree angle. Reaching up around Meg's neck, he took the two separated sections of necklace and connected it.

"It's beautiful…" Meg gasped. "What is it?" Animal smiled broadly.

"It's the Nakamura family crest, in Japanese we call it _kamon_ or just _mon_ for short." He explained. "I figured it would be a bit more personal than a Navy Aviator's wings."

"Thank you…" Meg caressed the new necklace and pendant. It was something to remember him by. She grinned. "I guess we can consider this a '_we're together'_ pendant?"

Animal reached for Meg and pulled her into a loving embrace…nodding affirmatively.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 0800hrs**_

Briskly striding past the bullpen, Harm looked over at Imes, "Have you met with Special Agent Cleary – if you haven't, set up a meeting with him, find out what he's managed to learn from his interrogation and if any of it is actionable, we can start setting up the case against Lieutenant Commander Constantin. Go through his financial records, while I start getting on the horn with the CIA to find out what they know and secondly, I want to know if the espionage ring goes beyond Constantin. If it does, I want it shut down."

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Imes smiled at him. "I'll get right on that, sir" enjoying the pleasure of tweaking Lieutenant Commander Rabb's nose as they were actually of equal rank. She headed out the door as Harm rolled his eyes.

"By the way, find out what Knežević knows and what we can do to counter it." Harm added as a way of a parting shot. "Because if he hasn't gotten us his discovery documents in twenty-four hours, this case is pretty much wrapped up in a gift basket."

"I'll see what I can find out…" Imes said as she headed out the door.

Harm grumbled to himself, thinking himself ill-done as he was stuck doing this case pretty much all by himself. Meg wouldn't have had to think twice about how to get things done here, and as it stood, Imes had to be guided through the process of what information to gather. It just wasn't getting done as efficiently as he would have liked it and he was starting to like that fact less and less.

About an hour later, Imes was back with a sheaf of documents containing LCDR Constantin's financial records. "Just talked to the spooks at Langley…they're going to send over what they could declassify as admissible evidence and even that took a good amount of pulling teeth." Harm said.

_**Naval Medical Center San Diego, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 0800hrs**_

"You're very lucky, Commander…" Lieutenant Commander Mitchell said as she looked over the X-rays. "The original wound was a straight-forward in and out, where it punched through muscle, narrowly missed the axillary vein and thoracic artery and you lucked out in that nothing was nicked when the bullet went through. All we have to do is build up the muscle tissue and make certain that it doesn't bind every time you utilize that arm…" she stated with a smile on her face. "…and unfortunately, that…is going to end up resulting in a lot of painful exercise, I'm sorry to say." Her face projected the impression that she wasn't the slightest bit sorry regarding that as Animal groaned. "We're going to begin with a few resistance exercises."

Meg patted Animal's uninjured shoulder. "Don't worry, sweetie, you'll be OK." She reassured him with a teasing smile.

"Gee…thanks…" Animal grumbled. "So…" he asked LCDR Mitchell. "…how do we keep the muscle from tearing again?"

"Well…we take it slow. Commander." Lieutenant Commander Mitchell replied. "You start off with resistance exercises with the rubber band." She held up a red elastic band that looked like an elastic band on steroids. "You do repetitive exercises with this thing to build up your muscle tone. What this exercising will do is develop micro-tears in your current musculature and then those muscles will heal…with proper diet and the process will start over again. Commander, it's the same system that would happen with your lifting weights though lifting weights seems to be more fulfilling to the male ego." LCDR Mitchell smirked. Unfortunately your lifting weights at this moment would do you more harm than good; hence the reason why we are looking at elastic resistance training, so that we can build up your muscles back to the point where you can start looking at weight training."

Three hours and a lot of sweating and swearing later, Animal realized that the elastic resistance training was just as tough and grueling as lifting weights and his shoulder felt much abused.

"Tomorrow we'll look at cardio as well, to increase blood flow to the muscle tissue and promote healing." Lieutenant Commander Mitchell reassured Animal as to how the therapy would continue. "You can also do some mild exercising at home to help the process out." She showed him how to do the shoulder blade squeeze and shrug as well as utilizing the wall to help strengthen his shoulders. She also showed him how to do the static rotator cuff contraction which was resistance training against the pull back of his own hand-strength. "I know it's going slow…but that's what we have to do to help develop your shoulder again so that it won't fail on you."

"I just really need to not get shot again…" Animal muttered acerbically as LCDR Mitchell and Meg grinned at him.

"There's that too…" Lieutenant Commander Mitchell replied.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 1100hrs**_

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb!"

Harm groaned inaudibly as he heard the voice of his commanding officer hail him as he was exiting the coffee room with case file-folder in hand. He had been on the phone earlier with Cleary going over the interrogation results. Constantin hadn't talked yet and considering his lawyer, Knežević, had told him to shut the hell up, that wasn't about to change any time soon.

"Rabb?" Admiral Chegwidden looked over at his subordinate. "How's the case going?"

"Lieutenant Commander Constantin has lawyered up. His lawyer's told him to keep silent and Cleary has been in several times to talk to him, but it hasn't worked so far. Constantin has been practically clam-like in his silence. This isn't going to be an easy one to crack, sir." Harm replied as he looked over at the file.

"Well…all we can do is keep at it and hope the evidence itself is enough to convict." Chegwidden replied. "So what is Imes doing on the case?"

"She's pressuring Knežević on getting the discovery documents. Prosecution requires them so that both parties know what the situation is or we can derail the case based on defense holding on to evidence pertinent to the case and move for retrial…" Harm stated. "Considering that Constantin is looking at life in prison based on the espionage charge…they don't have much with which to negotiate with. And if they don't come up with the discovery documents, we can put the capital charges back on the table when we move for a retrial…"

"Hardball." Chegwidden nodded. "If they don't want to go down that route, then they need to give us something."

"Exactly." Harm replied. "Considering that a lot of the documents violated national security; he's lucky to get off with a life-sentence." Some of the documents had related to ballistic missile submarine deployments and had resulted in COMSUBLANT and COMSUBPAC having a lot of sleepless nights altering the patrol routes for SSBNs to an extent where the locations of the submarines would not be compromised altering first-strike capability which was a necessary leg of the nuclear triad. RADM Chegwidden looked shocked. He hadn't realized the extent of the leak was so pervasive. That wasn't good.

_**Grand Del Mar,**_ _**San Diego, CA 12:30 hrs**_

Animal looked over at Meg as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. Considering how much pain and exertion Animal had gone through during therapy, Meg wanted to guide him into the suite and let him rest. He looked absolutely beat and the road had just barely been embarked upon. But he was not going to let this injury beat him – he was going to do whatever it took to get back in the cockpit.

"You'd better get some rest." Meg stated as she looked over at Animal who was starting to pull off his uniform to change into some shorts and a t-shirt. "You look exhausted."

Animal grinned at her. "I may be tired, but I'm not going to quit…" he grinned. "You wanna go for a run with me? I need to go work on my cardio."

Meg laughed. "You are insane. You really should rest rather than pushing your heartbeat into the red zone."

"Didn't we put a lot of effort into putting both our heartbeats into the red-zone yesterday?" he asked with an innocent expression.

Meg smirked at him. "Well…we could work our cardio that way. I can guarantee that would be considerably more fun than pounding your ankles into dust on a trail and considering the time of year, my love; dodging rattlesnakes."

"Well…honey, when you put it that way…" Animal grinned at her. "Considering the number of explosive little venomous landmines that seem to populate this area…" he stated. "The idea of getting bit by a rattlesnake isn't on my list of _to-do_ things today."

Meg laughed. "So…my idea of cardio seems to have gained a little more attractiveness?"

_**Harm's Office, JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 1330hrs**_

"So, Rabb. I've managed to get the tapes of the interrogation if you want to listen to them." Special Agent Cleary tossed a padded envelope onto Harm's desk. "Maybe there might be some useful info for the prosecution to throw the book at him with."

"Like what?" Harm retorted, his eyes narrowing at the NCIS special agent. "Last I heard, his attorney told him to shut up. Has he changed his mind? Right now I've been trying to get info from the CIA and what they've managed to dig up, but all of that is circumstantial evidence until we get a taped confession."

"…and you're not about to utilize other methods of interrogation to coerce a confession out of him. Meantime our first-strike assets are vulnerable. We need to shut this damned leak off." Cleary snapped back. "Who's to say the Russians aren't tracking our subs right now and putting their Victors on our boomer's tails ready to take 'em out?"

"We don't do this the proper way, we're going to wind up with a lot of egg on our face." Harm rebutted. "If we're going to shut off the leak, we have to use the right tools. Right now, you're using a hammer to beat on a valve when you need a pipe wrench."

"Well, let's hope that your finding a wrench doesn't take too long." Cleary narrowed his eyes. "…or the Russians may take advantage of their information and take out one leg of our first strike triad. I don't think a mushroom cloud over the Beltway is a situation that we want to experience."

"I see fear-mongering is in style over at Quantico." Harm's response was mocking.

"Simple fact, Rabb, tactical advantage…you should have learned this in War College. When the opponent has a weakness…it's the most advantageous opportunity to strike." Cleary retorted. "If you didn't learn that in strategic tactics; then you're not seeing the entire picture, are you?"

"They didn't teach me that in Advanced Law in Georgetown."

"Well…maybe it's time to crack the books. Tactics don't go by _rule of law_. Rabb." Cleary turned to go. "Maybe it's time you cracked open your _Evolution of Nuclear Strategy_, by Theodore Freedman. It's a fascinating read. Might open your eyes that there's more than mere legal tenets riding on the prosecution of this scumbag."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Harm's Office, JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 0630hrs**_

Harm snarled softly to himself as he looked over at the even more incriminating evidence that was mounting up against Lieutenant Commander William Constantin. Damn Cleary and his sanctimonious attitude. Harm sat in his chair and pondered about what could possibly be done with Constantin. Looking through the file he noticed several potentially damaging intel leaks that Constantin had given up.

Picking up the file, he stood and walked over to the admiral's anteroom. When he arrived there he nodded to the admiral's yeoman. "Tiner, I need to see the admiral, it's urgent."

"Yes, sir." Tiner hastily got on the phone and after a brief conversation turned to Harm and said "Go on in, sir."

"What is it…Lieutenant Commander Rabb?" Chegwidden looked up at Harm when Harm was standing in front of him.

"Sir, I've noted two significant breaches of military security while looking over the files and they are sufficient enough to carry with them a capital charge for espionage under Section 106a." he paused for a long moment to let that statement sink in and then continued, knowing that internally the admiral was probably having a coronary. "The first being the seemingly innocuous shift changes of Pentagon civilian workers which seemed innocent at first, but when one takes a deeper look it gives anybody who has the information a chance to attack the Pentagon at its most vulnerable and exposes a glaring gap in the shift changes between military and civilian personnel. The gap would have to be remedied by overlap of shift and even then the schedule is only as secure as word of mouth. The second was control codes for the SUBROC, though decommissioned; the codes were still valid and as such were considered Top Secret. The UUM-44 SUBROC was a submarine launched rocket designed as an anti-submarine warfare weapon and carried a five kiloton nuclear warhead. The SUBROC is decommissioned but as a sidelined weapon."

"I understand what the SUBROC was designed to do, Commander. I was surface warfare at one time." The admiral noted wryly, "I worked hand in hand with those bubbleheads."

"Yes, sir." Harm replied, suitably chastised.

"Do you expect that that further investigation of the file will turn up other items of note that could potentially result in further charges." The admiral did not look pleased at all. This could ignite into a shit-storm of epic proportions.

"These were the main ones that I could find from a cursory inspection of the file, but I'm sure that there will be more emerging as I dig deeper, sir." Harm replied, not really liking the idea that this was going to turn in to the trial of the year material.

"I'm assigning Mattoni to be your assistant." Chegwidden said shortly, running his hand over the bald spot on his head. "Between the two of you, I want you research the charges and evidence and bring this to a muted conclusion. We don't need to have a media hue and outcry over the trial." AJ knew that the media would be attracted to this like bees to honey with roughly the same result – a sticky mess full of stinging insects. "Tell Knežević to keep silent on this. If he opens his mouth to the media; we'll clamp chains on him so fast he'll be doing time for the rest of his miserable existence in ADX in Florence. National Security should shut him up."

"Yes, sir." Harm replied wondering if that would actually do the trick. In Harm's dealings with civilian lawyers, he knew that they took umbrage to being told what to do by who they considered knuckle-dragging Neanderthals: at least anybody in the military. Also he wondered if Mattoni had the experience to deal with an espionage case as complicated as this one was shaping up to be. This case was not going to be one for a neophyte to cut his teeth on.

"I know, Lieutenant Commander Rabb, that you think the civilian lawyers won't listen. But when they get the threat of a potential life sentence looming over their head for illegal disclosure of national security information, you'll see them shut their trap like a clam hiding their internals when a predator's nosing around." AJ snorted sarcastically. "Amazing what two words _national security_ and _life sentence_ does to quell talkative lawyers."

"I certainly hope so, sir." Harm said as he noted the admiral's demeanor.

"The situation could dissolve into a stand-off between the two nuclear superpowers. We both know the information is going to the Russians. To believe anything less is stupidity. What I want to know is who is making the profit on that and if it's somebody wearing a US Navy uniform. If that's the case, I want his ass removed." AJ paused. "Make a call to Langley. Get Webb out here. Maybe he might know something. If he doesn't then we'll go higher up his chain."

"Yes, sir." Harm dutifully replied. After all, he was only an O-4 and not privy to everything deep, dark and mysterious – namely the pile of crap that Webb dealt with on a daily basis. Deep down, Harm felt a foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach – this case was going to blow up and blow up big and like it or not, he was stuck right smack in the middle of it. He felt like a huge target was plastered to his back.

"Get on the horn…Lieutenant Commander, dismissed." AJ returned to looking over his files as Harm came to attention, about-faced and departed from the admiral's sanctum.

_**Harm's Office, JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 0930hrs**_

It was 0930 by the time that the phone rang in Harm's office and Harm irritatedly picked it up. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb." He barked, his irritation plain to the person on the other end of the phone-line.

"Well, hello to you too…looks like someone got out of bed on the wrong side." Harm rolled his eyes at the sarcasm dripping from the other end of the phone. "Look, I'm going to have to meet you over at your office. I can't talk about this over the phone. What's your itinerary like?" Webb was typical mysterious spook and Harm's disgust rose a few more notches.

"I'm not skipping lunch, so you'd better come over pretty damned quick." Harm snapped as he looked at the clock on the opposite wall.

"I can be there in half an hour." Webb notched up his sarcasm level a few notches and Harm gritted his teeth. "Surely you Navy lawyers don't keep bankers hours, right?"

"Only on the last Wednesday of every month, Webb. If we don't get there early, the restaurants are all full up with those on social assistance." Harm replied with dripping sarcasm. But he hadn't really meant the biting tone. If it hadn't been for his mother working hard, after his father's death, they would have ended up on the breadline, before she had met Frank, they had had a tough time of it. It took damned near six months for Harm's dad's Navy life insurance to pay out and they had almost been evicted out of their home. In fact, once Harm's dad had been shot down and MIA, BuPERS had insisted that the Rabbs find other accommodation. Welfare wasn't necessarily those who were hooked on drugs or alcoholics. There were many who had suffered bad circumstances or misfortune and Harm knew that all too well. It was a tough six months and Harm realized that there but for the grace of having a good job, went he. It was only after Harm reached adulthood that his mother told him why they had moved so quickly to Belleville to be with Grandma Sarah. It was because the child protection agency was sniffing around trying to justify that a single parent bereft of her husband was incapable of raising a child on her own or whatever excuse they tried to concoct with regards to _child removal_. Trish had realized to her indignation that the CPS would utilize every means that they had to remove a child that they considered _at _risk and rather than risk Harm being removed, she opted to swallow her pride and move to where there were supports in place. It had been a near thing and the single CPS visit that had happened had convinced Trish to uproot and move to Pennsylvania where Harm grew up with his grandmother. Although he didn't know how to deal with his mother remarrying the used car salesman (the disparaging joke, about Frank being a Chrysler VP), he was grateful to Frank for giving his mother a second chance at love and a secure future for himself and his mother. Not once had Frank raised a voice to him other than the time that he had run away and gone to Viet Nam and in that case, now that Harm looked at it from the vantage point of thirty years of life experience, Frank was justified. Frank had told Harm in no uncertain terms that the young Rabb should apologize to his mother for scaring her half to death and had lit into Stryker for taking Harm with him. They had moved back to California a few years later after Trish had managed to build a burgeoning art consulting business and there she met Frank, though Harm was not the slightest bit impressed at the time. But it prevented Child Protective Services from getting a hold of him and Frank and Trish had managed to keep it that way with a strong united front.

"Well…Rabb, I'd better get off the phone or I won't be there in thirty minutes." Webb replied, shaking Harm out of his reverie.

_**Grand Del Mar,**_ _**San Diego, CA 0630 hrs**_

Meg groaned softly as she woke up as the alarm went off. 5 days of her leave left. With travel she'd have to leave on Sunday to head back to DC. Looking over at her somnolent lover, she reached over and tickled him. A rather irritated looking eye opened peering at her through sleep encrusted eyelashes.

"Hmmmph…" Animal snorted and promptly closed his one open eye again. Meg grinned as she reached down under the covers. That woke him up, albeit reluctantly because he knew what was in store this morning at San Diego Medical Center.

"Wake up…lover…" She purred sensuously pausing for a moment while Animal's brain figured out what the incentive was…slowly, then dropped the bomb on him, "it's 0630…we need to head for the medical center."

Animal's voice was a whine. "Awwwwww…do we have to?" He preferred the idea of staying in bed and resting. His shoulder throbbed.

"You still have to go in." Meg said mercilessly; "You want to get better, don't you?"

"I guess so…" Animal grumbled as he looked for some sympathy. Nope…none there. "You're a slave-driver." He opined.

"Well…if that's what it takes to get you better so that you can fly your Tomcats, then so be it." Meg grinned at him, no pity at all…she was harsh, Animal thought as he frowned balefully. Meg ignored it.

"What no good-morning kiss?" Animal grumbled irritably.

"I'll think about it…after you brush your teeth…" Meg remarked. "Your morning breath is enough to gag a maggot."

"Thanks…" Animal said sourly as he got up and headed for the bathroom as Meg admired the muscular rear view – a few moments later, Meg could hear the shower running. She smiled as she waited her turn. Animal was quick so it was much better that he dove into the shower first and utilized it so that she could have a slightly more leisurely shower, though not by much as they had to make it to the medical center by 0900hrs which was Animal's scheduled appointment time.

Animal once he had finished his shower was slightly more coherent and in a slightly better mood. "They just have to set it at oh-god nine hundred hours…don't they."

Meg snickered as she headed into the bathroom, completely naked, causing Animal to grin appreciatively at her athletic legs as well as her firm butt. Meg grinned back as she noticed Animal's eyes travelling over her body. "Don't get any ideas, flyboy. We gotta get going soon. We should grab a bite to eat on the way there." Animal looked a little disappointed, "Well…we've got plenty of time later…" she grinned. "Considering how much you're going to be sweating in the heat after the rehab exercises – you're going to need another shower by the time we get back…maybe we can take a rain-check on this one?" she said indicating the shower that she was standing in, causing Animal to groan softly as he reacted to her naked presence. The things that woman was doing to him. Cupping her hand as she upended some shower wash into her hand, she started rubbing it into her body, lathering up.

Animal figured that he'd better get his boxers on before he couldn't get them on for the reaction he was getting and retreated to the bedroom where he grabbed a set of white underwear, a pair of shorts that read NAVY and a t-shirt that had the gold naval aviator wings embossed on it. His pectorals rippled the shirt enough. He wasn't a body-builder, but as a naval aviator he had to work out to maintain g-tolerance, which meant that he had big strong arms, a stocky muscular body and a bull-neck – the typical physique for a naval aviator. He may have been shorter than the tall lithe Meg Austin, but his height did not seem to matter much as his physical presence was commanding, even when he wasn't wearing service khakis and it seemed to others that his presence was bigger than the taller junior officer.

Without feeling self-conscious, Meg came out of the washroom, towel-drying her hair, still sans clothing causing Animal to groan audibly. "What?" she inquired.

"You know what you're doing to me?" he whined. Evidently she did because she grinned as she reached into the luggage to pull out a bra and panties ensuring that he saw every bit of her body. "We're not going to get out of here very quickly if you keep making me react every time I see you naked."

Meg grinned evilly. "I know. Just testing your resistance to temptation."

"I knew it. Females are all born with an evil gene." Animal threw up his hands as he strove to get himself under control.

_**RADM Chegwidden's Office, JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 1015hrs**_

Webb looked incredulously at Harm and AJ. "Are you kidding me? You want to know the whys and the wherefores of Lieutenant Commander Constantin's dealings with the Russians?"

"I want to know who his handlers are…" AJ said, his patience growing thin. "I want to know who his handlers report to and whether any of them are currently serving US Navy personnel."

"My superiors aren't going to like this." Webb prevaricated as he looked for a way out of the trap that Harm had set.

"I don't really care if your superiors are going to like it or not." AJ replied as. "We have a Lieutenant Commander William Constantin retaining a known big mouth attorney by the name of Neno Knežević, well known criminal defense lawyer and all-around scumbag."

"They say he's got connections to the Czech mob that has ties to the Russian intelligence." Webb said as he furrowed his brow.

"This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it, Webb." Harm said sarcastically. "You see any reason why we should keep Constantin alive? It seems like it'd be all-around better for national security if he disappeared with no trace to be found." Turning to AJ, Harm asked. "So, sir, what do we do in the interim while the Christians-In-Action try to do something about Constantin's connections."

"You get to the nitty gritty. Commander, that's what they pay you to do." AJ replied with a smirk. "I want you to find the lid to this information leak and slam the lid on it. You, Mattoni and Austin, when she gets back, start digging."

"I'd suggest though, that you be very careful…" Webb stated, "These Czech mob bosses don't play around. The last time one of our guys got too close, they put him in a meat grinder and ground him into hamburger that they fed to their dogs."

Harm paled…_and he was about to get himself neck-deep in this shit_? Where the hell was the escape trunk when you needed one?


	20. Chapter 20

**_Author's Note:_**_ for Chapter 20 (still underway) visit AO3 (Archive of Our Own) under CdnJAGScribe titled Wild Horses n'Aviators the Missing Chapter. where explicit chapters are allowed. You get the picture. On to Chapter 21_

**Wild Horses n'Aviators The Missing Chapter (the abbreviated version)**

* * *

**Grand Del Mar, San Diego, CA 1245 hrs**

Animal and Meg "did it" a lot.


	21. Chapter 21

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 1445 hrs_**

RADM AJ Chegwidden aimed a laser-like stare at LCDR Harmon Rabb Jr. who knew he was on the hot-seat. "I've got Constantin's lawyer yappin' at me about verbal abuse coming from that NavIntel puke. You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Wood would have caught fire from the intensity of Chegwidden's glare which didn't bode well for Rabb's continued existence.

"I was getting prosecution's interview out of the way when he blundered in like a wayward cow." Harm stated as the admiral glowered. "Special Agent Cleary tried to threaten the prisoner to make him spill but Constantin kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to speak without his lawyer present."

"I'm going to give Director Tibbetts a call..." Chegwidden growled; his tone as ominous as his countenance. "I want this Constantin's head on a pike for disseminating classified information and this idiot is going to wreck it with his bull-in-a-china-shop routine." AJ didn't ordinarily get worked up like this. As a former Navy SEAL he was schooled on how to remain calm under fire to carry out his mission but lately things irritated him and part of this was some of the escapades that the officer standing in front of him regularly got into. That errant aviator had blundered into a Communist Chinese trap in Hong Kong. And that no-load Ted Lindsey kept telling him about the headache and a half with regards to Rabb getting mixed up with a drug pushing ring when they investigated a crash in the desert near 29 Stumps. He ran his hand over his scalp trying to rub away the rather painful beginnings of a stress headache that he seemed to be getting. "When is Lieutenant JG Austin getting back?" He snapped then mentally smacked himself in the head. He had given her the remainder of her leave but that had slipped his mind in his ire. He assumed that LT JG Austin was spending it with CDR Nakamura and reminding Rabb of that would not go over well with the younger officer. AJ had seen the look in the younger officer's eyes and he knew a jealous man when he saw one. "Forget I asked that. Lieutenant Commander." AJ grumbled. "Forgot..." He said briefly and didn't elaborate further. "Just keep me informed on any new developments with the Constantin case. Commander Rabb."

"Yes, sir." Harm replied. Chegwidden dismissed him and turned to the phone on his desk. As Rabb exited, closing the door behind him, he could hear AJ's sarcastic growl verbally eviscerating the NCIS Director Jeremy Tibbetts on the behavior of the agent under his charge. Harm made his get-away efficiently as AJ got rolling.

As Harm walked away from the admiral's office he was waylaid by LCDR Imes who motioned him into her office and shut the door. As Harm looked at her with a questioning glance, she commented casually, "LCDR Rabb. Got some sensitive information for you. Constantin was seen at the Mason Inn on Wisconsin Avenue with a known intelligence agent for the Russian Foreign Service on May 16th about three weeks before he was hauled in for questioning. It's not known exactly what was discussed between the agent and CDR Constantin but it's safe to suggest matters of high classification."

"Was this NCIS that spotted him or Joe Public on the street calling in? If it's the latter, Constantine's lawyer is going to push the mistaken identity gambit to try and get the case thrown out." Harm looked at Imes; his brows furrowed in thought as to how to counter the defence's argument even before the card was played.

Imes reassured him of the former and the case against Constantin was airtight or at least they figured as much as they were aware of.

**_Constitution Gardens, Washington DC 1530 hrs_**

Colonel Mikhail Parlovsky; Russian Foreign Service official and intelligence agent puffed on a Havana cigar even though illegal in the United States, with his Russian official Foreign Ministry visa he had diplomatic immunity from prosecution for possession of a restricted item. The Cuban ambassador had kindly given him a lovely box of fifty cigars the last time he had visited the UN Buildings in New York. Their meeting had taken place in a corridor within the building. The complications this case had produced proved more an irritant than actual difficulty. The American mole that they had placed within the military structure was a way of ensuring they knew American troop movements before any trap was sprung. It was just a matter of prudence even though the Americans would not see it that way. The Americans were paranoid about concepts such as gentleman's agreements. Parlovsky thought that was a quaint notion that served no purpose in the world of espionage.

Ever since the mole was uncovered the Kremlin had been tying up loose ends via the utilization of the street mobs. Hits that made it look like a string of underworld slayings and those who appeared to be the victims of random street violence who, when the victims' histories were uncovered, actually weren't innocent bystanders after all.

Anybody who had been in contact with Commander Constantin was now a target. Constantin was lucky that he was in custody or he would have been eliminated. The Kremlin was doing what it had to in order to make new intelligence inroads into America's military infrastructure and that would take some time. Parlovsky had supervisors but knew that operations went at a pace independent of what his supervisors wanted and he wouldn't do anything to speed up the process. Parlovsky was a practical man; he knew that a project hurried would be full of problems.

Looking down the park trail, Parlovsky got up from the park bench after gazing at the man-made lake for a long while. Mikhail Parlovsky was a man of average height but his long thin skeletal face made him an imposing sight; the air of lethality that surrounded his very person made those who were of ill-intent avoid him. Stalking towards his diplomatic vehicle in the parking lot which was surrounded by five burly ex-Spetznatz; detailed to him for bodyguard duties, he headed back to the consulate. "Golovrev. Did you make sure the vehicle has been untouched?"

"Yes Comrade Parlovsky. We never moved beyond five feet of the vehicle."

"Very well," Parlovsky nodded perfunctorily at the man. The drive back to the Russian Embassy was uneventful. As the nondescript vehicle cruised along Wisconsin Avenue past the US Naval Observatory, in the distance he could see the imposing white building that was the representation of the Rodina in Amerika.

Parlovsky reflected as the vehicle reached the main gates of the Russian Embassy: In forty six years of running intelligence operations he had shown nothing but loyalty towards the Rodina and the Rodina had paid him back in an excess of gray hair and stress related illnesses. The intelligence business was not for the weak-willed, he mused, but one would have to be even more iron willed to be able to run a profiteering operation underneath it all. Luckily he was not romantically attached to anyone so financially he would be able to keep the money. Trud cheloveka kormit, a len' — portit. A job feeds a man, laziness spoils him. Well Parlovsky thought, this man worked for many years with but a mere pittance of recompense from the Rodina and in his old age he was mere rubles away from being penniless after so many years of dedicated service. Who did he have to support him in his old age? Who would give him enjoyment in his elder years as he had slaved for over four decades for the improvement of the Rodina? No family to care for him as he grew infirm. The wave of bitterness washed over him; surprising in its intensity. From now on, Parlovsky thought to himself, he would consider his pocketbook first when undertaking intelligence operations for the Rodina. His welfare would come first in direct inverse proportion as his health declined. He determined that he would retire a wealthy man.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA 1645 hrs EST_**

The minutes ticked away as the file on his desk lay open. The minefield that was the Constantin case scared Harm like nothing he had ever dealt with before. Even the suitcase nuke that he, Meg and Kate had disarmed had never spooked him like the thought of a Russian sweeper team targeting key individuals in the case for elimination. Perhaps it was because his father had disappeared into Russia never to be seen again after going down in Viet Nam. Perhaps it was the knowledge that anyone associated with the Constantin case had a target on their back. Perhaps he was overreacting but after Hemlock and seeing Meg lying motionless in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of her nose and head to relieve the pressure of a bullet to the brain meant for him, maybe he was right to over-react. Sure; he was not in the office at the time but all the same he had the file; had asked Meg to put the file away in her safe. He felt guilty and if it weren't for the admiral asking her to assist with the Constantin case, he would keep her away from this as far as possible. And he had to wrestle with the fact that he had feelings for Meg, even if she wasn't his anymore. He snorted derisively as he thought She never was mine to begin with. We were just friends and co-workers. But he was lying to himself.

Ever since Animal's Medal of Honor investigation it seemed as though Meg had moved beyond Harm. Whether her near-brush with death had created a longing for a relationship that was based on something more than mere physical attraction, or she just found him lacking he couldn't bring himself to think it, but Meg wanted something more than a pretty face and a hot body warming her bed. He prided himself on being more than that. But evidently Meg wanted a man who could give her a connection emotionally, an open emotional connection and the feeling that she would never come second in a relationship. If Harm had to be honest with himself he knew that he could never give Meg that which she craved. He knew that he would always be searching obsessively for his father until he found the answers for which he was seeking and eventually that obsession would drive a wedge in any attempt at a relationship. Their flirtations were fun and tantalizing glimpses into the psyche of one Meg Austin but Harm knew inside that until he got the persistent question mark answered with absolute finality, he could never truly give one hundred percent of himself to any woman and Meg wanted and deserved one hundred percent in a relationship. And he hoped that one Commander Toshio Animal Nakamura, United States Naval Aviator, XO of the VF-41 Black Aces squadron and Congressional Medal of Honor nominee, recognized that he had one special woman in Lieutenant Junior Grade Megan Austin.

Because if he didn't; Harm would rip that sonofabitch a new asshole.

"Lucky sonofabitch!" Harm muttered morosely; resolving that he wouldn't ask what Meg had been doing over the course of her leave with Animal. He figured the less he knew the better, with regards to Meg's relationships.

**_Grand Del Mar, San Diego, CA 1245 hrs PST_**

At that exact moment the subjects of Harm's contemplations were nuzzled together closely laying on the bed, Meg's leg draped over Animal's as the breeze from the ceiling fans flowed over their overheated bodies. "Wow" Meg murmured sated as she felt the breeze on her bare skin.

"What was exactly the point of our shower?" asked Animal with a wicked twinkle in his eye. "We're all sweaty again?"

"I don't remember..." Meg said nibbling his earlobe, her breath tickling him. "I seriously think my brain shut down after the last mind blowing..." She grinned, not finishing the sentence and giggled as she saw Animal start to puff up with red-blooded male pride.

"Really?" He grinned.

"Yeah, really" Meg grinned rolling on top of him and looking down at him from her position atop his torso and leaned in to kiss him tenderly. "Love you..."

"I love you too, Meg." Animal replied as he ran his hand along her back sending shivers of pleasure down Meg's spine. "I hate to digress from this line of activity but do you think we should get something to eat?" He asked looking into her eyes "We need to keep our energy levels up if we're planning to continue this or we're going to pass out from exhaustion."

Meg contemplated her choice with an amused expression then reached down under the covers. "Hmmm." She purred throatily as she found what she was reaching for and grasped it firmly causing Animal's eyes to widen dramatically. "Hmmm." She purred again. "This or...Eat. That's a tough choice."

Animal grinned "You're not making this easy, are you?" as he bit the inside of his lip to keep from letting out an impassioned groan as Meg ramped up her exquisite torture of him. "Minx."

**_An Abandoned Warehouse, Washington DC 1935 hrs EST_**

"What should we do if we cannot make the hit." The man in shadow, apparently the leader, looked at three others as the question was asked by one of them. All spoke flawless English, a testament to the spy school that they went through back in the capital of their homeland. All of their training had led them here: a squalid little warehouse in a rundown industrial section of Washington DC in which no-one would even consider looking for them. They had been given an assignment by a higher-up diplomat to search for and eliminate an American Naval Commander who had been caught by authorities for transferring information to the Motherland. They were highly trained assassins who cared for nothing but the glory of the Rodina.

"You will not get caught." It was an admonition rather than an encouragement. "You know your fate if you are to be captured." The man in shadow responded to the question. It was a sobering thought that their own country would disavow any connection to what was in essence a citizen but such was the nature of intelligence work. The benefits were only to the state. They were just a dispensable cog in the espionage machine; interchangeable and anonymous.

The target was scheduled to be moved to the Judge Advocate General courthouse and the only way that they could take out the vehicle would be by ambushing the vehicle enroute between the Navy prison and the courthouse. It was assumed that the prisoner would be transferred by standard Navy vehicle; not an armored vehicle but they would bring an RPG just in case. A RPG would appear to be overkill but the target had valuable information on the operations of the Sluzhba vneshney razvedki more widely known as the SVR.

Considering the route from the Navy Brig at the Washington Navy Yard, there were really only a few places where an ambush could be set up in order to eliminate Constantin and there was plenty of chances where unfortunate collateral damage could occur but the shadow-man stood firm that Constantin needed to be removed completely for the good of Mother Russia. He held too much information that the Americans could use to undermine spy networks that were carefully inserted into the United States. His contacts and handlers would all be in danger of discovery.

Ten' chelovek as he was referred to in Russian had operated in the KGB before the fall of the Soviet Union, his grey hair, a testament to his age and experience, he mused as he gazed upon the younger intelligence operatives. He had operated as a sweeper prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and he was a mentor to this team as well as their guide. "You will strike at the opportune moment. Try to minimize collateral damage as we will need to escape. I have word that he will be moved on the day of the trial and as it is in the morning traffic will be heavy." He paused. "It is inevitable that there will be collateral casualties should you use the RPG however the direktor SVR has stated Constantin is to be eliminated with due prejudice. Is that clear?"

"We serve Mother Russia!" was the unanimous response.

**_Harm's Apartment, Washington DC, 1935 hrs_**

_(AN: Harm in season 1 had a different apartment than that tenement building north of Union Station)_

If it wasn't for the fact that it was pissing rain down, Harm would have gone for a run to take his mind off the multitude of personal and professional problems that were conspiring to give him as Saddam Hussein had stated, prior to getting his ass handed to him on a platter by Coalition forces, the mother of all headaches. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get Meg Austin out of his mind, her tantalizing physique taunting him with the fact that he had to work with her; the indelible fact that she was his JAG investigative partner. She was a beautiful woman and he had to admit to himself that he would have liked to get to know her better; ok he was lying to himself: he wanted to get to know Meg Austin a lot better.

"Damn Animal!" He growled under his breath. "Sneaky sonofabitch!" Animal had just had to slide in and steal Meg from him. But then it was all a matter of tactical maneuvering, Harm thought. Animal was a consummate aerial tactician and a damned opportunist. His sly tactics in Yokosuka and Meg falling for that innocent act: "I'd really like to be at that fly-in..." She'd said. Goddamnit he thought I need a beer! He wandered over to his fridge to grab himself a beer muttering pungent oaths under his breath. And then what had followed that: Meg looking at Animal like a love-sick puppy "I've been thinking about what you said, sir" Harm fumed. "What he said? What he said was to get you in the sack with him, Meg!"

"Hey buddy, I don't know but I sure don't see no Meg 'round here." Harm just about nearly dropped his beer as he turned around to see an open door. "...and I sure hope you ain't developed a habit of talkin' to yourself."


	22. Chapter 22

**_Author's Note: _**_Sorry, haven't been able to update due to losing internet as well over the Christmas holidays. Just got it back today. Have been extremely busy writing though. Pls read n'review, thanks _

**_Harm's Apartment; somewhere in Washington DC, 1940 hrs_**

"KEETER?!" Harm exclaimed bear-hugging the man punctuated by reciprocated teeth-rattling back-slaps. "I thought you were still out on deployment with the Cougars! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Naw, Harm, been feet-dry two days now. Fly-in was day before yesterday and got my leave the next day. Decided to check-in on you, buddy. So hopped in my GT and drove all the way to DC..." Keeter paused his narrative long enough to size up his friend and Academy classmate with a sardonic stare... "Then I find you mumbling to yourself." He grinned at Harm's look of annoyance. "What's going on?"

Harm feigned ignorance "oh... Nothing". He replied disingenuously hoping that it would cause Keeter to drop the subject.

It didn't. "Bullshit, Harm. I know things get pretty bad if you start mumbling to yourself like you lost what little marbles you have left and when it's somethin' about that pretty blonde-haired JAG Lieutenant JG, it's somethin' 'bout woman problems."

"Drop it, Keeter" Harm growled.

"No, Harm... It's somethin' you gotta get off your back or you're just gonna drive yourself nuts." Keeter was relentless. "You got yourself emotionally tangled again. Didn't ya?"

"Hell, you're an annoying cuss. And what if it was?" Harm huffed in annoyance. Turning towards the fridge he grabbed a beer then tossed it to Keeter who caught it and opened it when Harm tossed a bottle opener at him.

"So who's the other guy?" Keeter asked then took a swig of his beer as he waited for a response.

"You remember our old RAG (Reserve Air Group) instructor?" Harm asked, his tone decidedly acid.

"Shit." Keeter's eyes went wide. "You mean Lieutenant Nakamura?"

"The very...only he's not Lieutenant Nakamura any more; he's an O5 and XO of the VF-41 Black Aces." Harm said dourly.

"Yeah, so...you gotta fight for your girl." Keeter said as he looked over at Harm who gave him an incredulous look. "What's he got that you don't?" Evidently Keeter was an adherent to the view that those who can; do, while those who can't...teach.

Harm gave Keeter a jaundiced glare. "A signed and sealed blue-button nomination!" And then followed it up with "CMH, Keeter." after Keeter said nothing in response.

After a long painful pause while digesting the information that Animal, despite the disparaging teaching credo, was more than willing and able to back up his instruction with a demonstration of just how well he could walk the walk, Keeter rubbed his chin thoughtfully and answered. "Congressional Medal of Honor, huh?" His eyes widened.

Harm nodded silently; his countenance was indicative of a drowning man looking for a lifeline; yet all for naught.

"Yep, you're fucked".

"Gee, thanks for the inspiring vote of confidence, pal!" Harm growled sarcastically.

"What are friends for?" Keeter grinned at him shrugging his shoulders then turned serious. "But seriously, what about you and Diane? You and she were pretty tight there for a while."

"She's deployed as the PAO for a tin-can." Harm replied. "Haven't heard much from her because she's so busy. But she's supposed to be pulling into Norfolk in two months time."

"Buddy, you've fallen for another woman and you got Diane on the hook. You need to figure out who you want to end up with." Keeter looked at him seriously.

Harm looked at Keeter with a pained expression. "I care about Meg but I also care about Diane too."

"Great sex isn't something to establish a relationship over, Harm." Keeter admonished him.

And if Harm looked at his relationship with Diane, he realized that there really wasn't as much of a foundation for a relationship as he had thought. Sure they had great times; the sex was mind-blowing but was there an emotional connection? If he was truthful with himself, he realized there wasn't much to go on. Diane was happy-go-lucky; always curious to see what was around the next corner. An airy flirt was what Keeter called Diane Schonke and there was some truth in that description of her. Harm let out a frustrated sigh. "So what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Keeter looked at him as if he'd grown two heads, "What do you think?" When all Harm could give him was a puzzled expression, he rolled his eyes and said "Harm, you gotta see where each of the two women you're interested in stand."

"...and just how do you expect me to do that when one of them is probably playing hide the banana with my RAG instructor?" Harm snapped petulantly.

"Look, Harm, you gotta decide for yourself which one you want to end up with and from the looks of it, Meg's in a relationship so she's off-limits unless you're stupid and you want to go toe to toe with our former RAG instructor. I dunno bout you but that sonofabitch was scarier than a one-eyed western diamondback rattlesnake with an attitude problem and seven inch fangs drippin' venom." Keeter shuddered.

"That's because you never studied, Keeter." Harm said, a sarcastic grin plastered to his face, "That's how come you always got the rattlesnake's fangs in your ass."

"Yeah, smart ass." Keeter retorted. "You remember that time in the bar that those jarheads from Marine Recon decided to get lippy? They were on SERE Desert."

Harm shuddered at the memory. It was the reason why in a bar fight, Harm knew to always throw the first punch. He knew he wouldn't always win the fight but at least he'd make the other sonofabitch remember him and hurt for the efforts.

_/flashback: A burly Gunnery Sergeant looked over at the aviators who were knocking back a few beers relaxing. "Well...well...well..." The inebriated Gunny gave the aviators a sarcastic look. "What do we have here. A coupla nasal radiators." There were two instructors and three RAG students seated at a table at the bar plus a couple more students at a table next to the main table. He got up shakily apparently having had a few beers too many. "Seen a few of your type go through SERE. They're the ones always whining." He laughed derisively as the rest of his Marine unit joined in. _

_Harm and Keeter looked at each other as if to determine if they were going to respond to the insult. Animal didn't even bother looking up. _

_"You know the difference between a jet engine and a naval aviator?" The Gunny asked the bar patrons. When he didn't get an answer he snorted. "A jet engine stops whining when you cut the gas." _

_Harm looked up and grinned. "That's a real funny one, Gunny. You wanna know why Navy jets have to pound the beaches before you guys get to 'em?" _

_"Sure...Navy...why?" _

_Harm got up out of his chair and mimed a blind man walking around with a cane. "So that you guys don't trip mines when you get off the LCUs..." That got a burst of laughter from the Navy personnel in attendance. The civilian contractors who drank at the Globe &amp; Anchor knew there was trouble brewing and most of the smart ones got out of there. _

_"Funny, Navy..." The look on the Gunny's face spelled trouble. Then Keeter decided to throw in his two cents. _

_"You know what Marines use for the Standard Intelligence Test for Marine Corps NCOs?" The Marines shook their heads and Keeter continued obnoxiously. "The DSMIV Manual of Psychiatric Mental Disorders." The Marines looked at each other with some confusion. "You know why there are no Marine doctors or psychiatrists?" _

_"No..." _

_"You're all fucking nuts!" Keeter commented before getting a right hook to the jaw from the nearest Marine sending him windmilling into a table and knocking over two chairs. Harm jabbed, feinted a blow to the cheek of another Marine and followed it up with a connecting haymaker. The Marine went down like he was pole-axed. _

_Animal just sighed, taking a sip out of his beer, muttered "Shit!" Not even getting up out of his chair, he reached up to grasp the Gunny by the front of his collar, pulled the hapless non-com off-balance and slammed him face-first into the table knocking over his own beer and growled ominously "you owe me a beer, dickhead." Getting up he picked up the nearest chair slamming it across the prone Gunny's back, dodged an incoming punch and side-kicked the offending Marine, who just happened to be the one who cold-cocked Keeter, across the room knocking him headfirst over the pool table. Grabbing another incoming arm, he hyper-extended it and pulling the torso attached to it off balance, he counter-punched the Marine in the nose breaking it, causing the Marine to stagger back as his head snapped back. Lunging forward, he pivoted on the ball of one foot and side-kicked the Marine in the stomach so hard he could see the man's eyes bulge out. The apparent force of the kick knocked the wind completely out of the Marine who sank to the floor trying to breathe, apparently in a lot of pain. _

_Meanwhile Harm had to contend with three Marines trying to use him as a soccer ball. Animal, having disposed of three Marines, tapped the shoulder of one of the ones trying to abuse Harm. _

_"Hey, asshole. What ya doing?" Animal asked then kneed the Marine in the groin as he turned around. Applying a painful wrist lock to the screaming, bent-over Marine, he snapped one of the Marine's fingers which elicited a bloodcurdling howl of pain. _

_"What-the..." The other two Marines stammered as yet another snap and yet another scream caused them to cringe. _

_"Knock off..." Animal said, coldly, jerking on the Marine's ring-finger drawing forth yet another scream as the finger bone splintered. "Or I'll break all his fingers." The excruciating pain caused the Marine to pass out and Animal let him slump to the floor: senseless, eyes rolled up in his skull. _

_The six remaining conscious Marines looked at each other. Evidently they were calculating the odds of rushing Animal to free their unconscious compatriot. There was only Harm and Animal left standing out of the Navy contingent; the rest of the Navy aviators had cleared out while the getting was good and Keeter was knocked out cold tangled amidst the two knocked-over chairs and upended table. Animal nodded casually as Harm loomed up like an avenging demon behind the six and knocked two of the Marines' heads together knocking them both out. Then it was fists of fury as Animal spun, ducked, kicked and punched. A fist headed towards Animal but he ducked under, grabbed the arm connected to the fist as that Marine was flipped over and was sent flying into a wall, face-first - one down. A leap over a swung chair and a roundhouse kick to the side of the head sent another Marine, unconscious to the floor - two down. Two sets of arms reached out for him and it was time to use the remaining two Marines as martial arts dummies. Animal tattooed a staccato repertory of concussive fists to the torsos, arms, legs and heads of the two Marines left standing attempting to hurt him. The glazed looks on their faces and slack arms to their sides told of a tale that Animal had done enough damage to them to put them out of the fight. Pushing them both with his index finger, the two Marines fell over like felled logs. The red haze of CQB faded as he looked towards Harm standing beside an barely conscious Keeter who was just starting to stir, as Harm calmly smoked a lit cigar. Keeter's eyes once they could focus widened as his jaw dropped open in shock at the display of carnage that lay before him. _

_"What the fuck were you doing?" Animal asked petulantly at Harm who was grinning at him as he puffed on his cigar. _

_"...well..." Harm grinned taking the cigar out of his mouth so he could enunciate his words "You were doing so well, I didn't want to interfere." _

_The Gunny groaned and stirred. Animal picked up the large porcelain centerpiece from the bar table and dropped it on the Gunny's head knocking him out again smashing the centerpiece in the process. Growling under his breath, he muttered "Asshole!" as distant sirens became audible. end flashback/_

"Who bailed us out?" Keeter asked calmly, dimly remembering a rather uncomfortable night locked up in the drunk tank.

"I think it was Commander Benetti, the Grim Reapers XO. If I recall correctly, he wasn't too happy with us."

_/flashback: CDR Richard Benetti was furious; his cold, clipped and clearly enunciated words made it absolutely easily understandable to Keeter and Harm that they were in a major shitload of trouble. "So you three went down to the Globe &amp; Anchor, got soused, got into a fight with eleven Marines out of which you three reprobates were the only three left with minimal injuries. Do you make it a habit out of going onto Marine turf and pissing off the natives?" Animal, Harm and Keeter shook their heads. "Goddamnit, I just got the riot act read to me by first the CNO and then the Commandant of the Marine Corps wondering why the hell VF-101 just declared war on the United States Marines! One of the Marines can't write out the circumstances of his injuries by himself because he's got injuries so severe that such haven't been seen inflicted on US military personnel SINCE REPATRIATING AMERICAN POWS FROM THE JAPANESE MAINLAND AFTER WWII! Three of his fingers were snapped in three different places! And this same particular Marine has to have one of his balls surgically lowered again because you kicked it back into his torso when you kneed him in the nuts!" Animal tried not to grin but CDR Benetti saw it out of the corner of his eye and laid into him. "Do you happen to think it's funny? Lieutenant Nakamura?" _

_"No sir..." _

_"Two of the Marines you attacked are eating out of a straw because they can't keep down solid food: three cracked ribs apiece, the other four have concussions. And the Gunnery Sergeant has developed a nervous tic every time he hears the words naval aviator! And all of them are going to need extensive psychological therapy before they'll go anywhere within one hundred and fifty miles of any naval air station which makes it rather difficult for their unit to deploy anytime soon since the Marines are a branch of the UNITED STATES NAVY! Maybe your goddamned call sign should be Tojo instead of Animal." Keeter tried to keep his laughter from escaping but he couldn't stop a chuckle from getting loose. _

_"And whattayou think's so damned funny? Numbnuts!" Commander Benetti turned to snap at Keeter. "You didn't even inflict a single knockout punch. Even worse you got yourself knocked out! You're a goddamned embarrassment to naval aviators frequenting bars everywhere! Even Psycho here got a better score than you...he tallied three." Benetti jabbed a thumb towards Harm. "A goddamned laughing-stock." He glared nose to nose at Keeter. "Do you have anything to say for yourselves..." Benetti growled affixing each aviator with a glare. "You?" _

_"No...sir..." Harm said. Benetti snorted transferring his glare to Keeter. _

_"No...sir..." Keeter chimed in looking straight ahead; his eyes boring holes in the wood. Benetti turned and affixed a stone cold glare at Animal. _

_"As a RAG instructor, you should know better, Lieutenant, unlike these cone-heads. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Lieutenant." _

_"Hoo...rah...sir?!" Animal said barely cracking a smile. As Benetti glowered at him, Animal amended it to: "Oopsies?" _

_Benetti groaned audibly and shook his head, "30 days confined to quarters when not in classes, instructing" Benetti gave Animal a pointed glare as he said the latter, "...or flying. You three are going to make me old before my time!" End flashback/_

"Honestly, Harm, considering what Tosh did to those Marines, who are skilled in CQB, during that bar-fight. Do you think you'd even have a chance going toe-to-toe with him?" Keeter asked since Harm had started to think beyond his immediate jealousy. "Face it, buddy. There are plenty of fish in the sea and Meg's already hooked from what I can see out of this whole shitty situation. You try to go toe to toe with him and you're gonna get chewed into little tiny pieces. Love can make men do real strange things especially when they think another man's trying to go after their woman."

Harm looked like a little kid deprived of a favorite toy, "...but...but I saw her first..."

"Firstsies only works for little kids. Harm. There's another kids saying: Finders keepers..." Keeter dropped a proverbial wet blanket on Harm's hopes. "You never made Meg aware of your interest. Plus on top of that you've always been by the book. In love you gotta throw away the book and go with your gut. Otherwise, you lose out every time."

"Advice in love from the proverbial bachelor?" Harm asked acidly.

"Hey, just because I choose to rent the cow don't mean I don't know how to milk it..." Keeter grinned at him.

**_San Diego International Airport, San Diego, CA 4 days later 1845 hrs PST_**

"I love you so much..." Meg sighed as she nestled into Animal's embrace, prompting grins from those who saw them. Because of certain factions threatening air travel, travel attire allowable to military personnel was restricted to civilian clothes so that they could travel incognito. But considering how easily one could pick out military from actual civilians, Animal didn't really think the powers that be in the military had thought this whole thing through.

"Love you too." Animal grinned at her as they nuzzled each other forehead to forehead, eyes gazing into each other's. "Write?"

"Of course..." Meg replied as she leaned in seeking another tender kiss while waiting on her flight back to DC to be called. Meg realized that it was going to be a lonely flight back and her eyes filled slightly as her emotions spilled over and she curled into Animal's arms. "I don't want to leave." She sniffled, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

"I don't want you to leave..." Animal mumbled, his arms around Meg, his nose in her hair smelling in the floral scent of her shampoo that aromatically lingered in her hair.

"Then don't make me..." She pleaded, clinging to him.

"...but I don't want to see you court-martialed either." Animal replied as he wrapped his arms around her tightly not wanting to let go either.

"...then...if you won't let me stay then we'll just have to write each other and make sure we see each other regularly..." Meg affirmed.

Animal looked dour, "The writing part will be easy, but getting together will be difficult." Being an active duty naval aviator scheduled for deployment, upon completion of his physical therapy regimen, was going to test their relationship a lot. But he had faith in Meg and she in him.

"I know..." Meg replied as she looked at Animal. She knew that dating a naval aviator had potential for great heartbreak but she had faith in Animal's flying prowess; that when he deployed, he'd find a way to make it back to her. "We'll have to try to make our leave-time coincide. And that's really going to take some doing." She grinned through a sheen of moisture in her eyes trying hard not to cry.

"United, Flight 375, from San Diego to Washington, DC. Now Boarding at Gate 16!" The interruption of Meg's flight announcement caused Meg to grimace.

"I hate that I have to go back." Meg said clutching Animal, tears clouding her eyes, no few trickling down her cheeks.

"Be brave, Princess..." Grinned Animal as he gave her another kiss.

Meg laughed at Animal's pet name for her, sniffling a bit as she and Animal walked to the sliding doors which beyond them lay the boarding gates waiting to take her away from the man she realized she loved. At that very moment, she hated everything about airplanes even though it would be an airplane that brought her to her lover or would bring him to her when next they would be together. A final passionate kiss and whispered nothings, a teary goodbye and Meg had to leave him. The walk down to the Boeing 737 was a long lonely walk, her vision blurred with the silent tears she shed, her heart aching to drop everything and run back to the man she had left behind, but she kept moving forward, back to JAG, back to duty and back to a partner who she knew was an honorable man but still she knew how hard it was going to be to work with him and see the jealousy in his eyes.

Because what lay in her carry-on luggage, was an item that could potentially light the tinder of resentment into full flame.


	23. Chapter 23

**_Author's Note:_**_. Over the Christmas Holidays this story's little muse evidently popped by and sat on my head for days coaxing several chapters out of me which I will be posting at a rate of one a week. So please read n' review as it makes my muse blissfully happy. _

* * *

**_Washington National Airport, 0455 hrs EST_**

Meg got off the 737 wanting nothing more than to grab a taxi, go home and crash for sixteen hours. She felt emotionally distraught, not the least of the reasons being having to leave her boyfriend in San Diego when she wanted nothing more than to stay in San Diego with him, for the rest of her life or anywhere for that matter, provided that he was there with her. The flight home was a six and a half hour duration test of her patience as she was stuck in a flying tube with wings with chattering, loud people, screaming children and a boorish, chauvinist seat-mate that she had more than once wanted to ask for a pillow so that she could either smother him or herself to drown out his constant come-ons. Hearing the words "pretty lil'lady" and his ridiculous advances one too many times brought her to the brink of "justifiable" homicide. She felt the beginnings of a pressure behind her temples, a precursor to a headache, usually brought on by stress. She sighed: it was Saturday, she had one day to recover after flying for most of Friday evening, night and early Saturday morning. I miss you, Tosh. The thought of her boyfriend back in San Diego caused more moisture to flood unbidden to her eyes and she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

"Hey, Meg..." She looked up to see her partner standing there. He looked concerned at her open display of emotion. "Are you alright?" Harm felt a slight wave of rage aimed at Animal. If he had hurt her in anyway...

"Harm? What are you doing here? I never told anyone about this flight. How..." Except the admiral. Meg remembered. She had forgotten that she had told the admiral what flight she was on. Dammit. Just when she needed some alone time to decompress.

"Didn't want you to be coming home and having to grab a taxi." Harm grinned at her. Meg noted that his flyboy grin, that he usually used to flirt with her, didn't make her weak at the knees anymore. Maybe that meant something.

"Harm, I appreciate this... " Meg started to say and paused. "...I'm really tired. I need to go home and take today and Sunday to really wrap my head around things."

"Sure..." Harm said. "...if you want to...uh...talk..."

"No..." Meg said rather sharply then relented still firm in her dismissal of his unspoken offer of help. "I'm sorry, Harm, I just need some alone time."

Harm nodded though he looked a bit hurt at her rejection. "OK. After I drop you and your luggage off at home, I'll bugger off." He reached out to gather her luggage. Meg noted albeit with some satisfaction that he didn't make any attempt to invade her personal space. He had learned that Meg's personal space was hers; Harm had given her space gauging her mood; but as yet was unaware that the parameters of her personal spatial boundaries had changed. Harm didn't realize that now only Tosh was allowed within her personal and intimate space.

The drive back to Meg's home was silent. Meg spent most of her time looking out the window of Harm's Corvette, mostly in contemplative silence. Luckily she had packed light as Harm's Corvette didn't have much trunk space. As Harm pulled up in front of her apartment, he said, "I'll just bring your things up and then let you get some rest..." Meg nodded silently allowing him that much leaving Harm to wonder why she was brooding so much all of a sudden. And he did exactly that. After bringing her luggage in, he didn't expect a cup of coffee or anything, Harm just left her after saying "See you on Monday." Meg breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. He wasn't about to press the issue. _I miss you so much, Tosh_. Her eyes filled as she stifled a sob. She wanted him here with her. The six and a half hour flight back home flying alone was the worst she had had to endure in her life. She curled up on the couch and cried out her loneliness.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Monday, 0645 hrs EST_**

Meg strode through the swinging double doors dressed in khakis: a khaki skirt topped by khaki shirt, her Lieutenant JG collar devices and her black corfam pumps shined to almost a mirror-like finish. "Good morning, sir," she said to the admiral as she headed for her office. She projected an artificial cheeriness to hide her true mood. But she resolved to work as hard as she could despite her glum mood and be the very model of efficiency. Advancement in rank would enable her to pick her next duty station and she'd be able to be close to Tosh.

When she got to her desk, she reached into her purse to pull out the one thing she cherished: a picture in a frame that she had picked up at the local mall. It was a picture of the two of them enjoying a day out at the San Diego Zoo. It brought a smile to Meg's face. Tosh was standing in front of the marmoset cage holding a partially peeled banana trying to eat it, with Meg standing beside him; while right behind was the monkey trying desperately to reach between the bars to grab it from Tosh. Tosh had relented and gave up his banana to the cute little bugger despite the Please Do Not Feed The Animals sign. Meg was laughing joyously in that picture. She smiled again and placed it on her desk.

"San Diego Zoo?" Meg looked up startled to see the admiral standing behind her with a kindly expression on that gruff exterior. "You know, you're going to have to tell him." He said.

Meg knew immediately the _him_ referred to Harm. "He's going to be jealous, sir."

"It's not good for him to keep clinging to false hope, Lieutenant. If you want I can get both of you new partners." New partners would sound a death knell for both of their careers; showing that they could not work well with one another, or even worse, it would be a precursor to an Article 32 investigation for Conduct Unbecoming out of which Harm would be hit hardest. Meg valued his friendship and their careers too highly for it to come to that. They would have to work together professionally and not let former flirtations get in the way of their work. Her personal relationship with Tosh was legally fine to pursue; her flirtations with Harm were not and he needed to know that. The admiral needed reassurance that she would be able to keep her partnership with Harm professional and he would have that reassurance. Meg shook her head. "No, sir, I can work with him just fine."

The admiral nodded, satisfied that he wouldn't have to intervene. RADM AJ Chegwidden had a soft spot for his young JAG attorneys but he wouldn't hesitate to lower the boom if they contravened the articles contained within the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Monday, 0730 hrs EST_**

Harm hurried into the office heading for his own personal office. His Corvette, usually reliable chose this exact Monday morning to be balky and he wondered if his alternator was about to bite the dust. As a result he was almost half an hour late and probably had raised the ire of RADM Chegwidden. He aimed to quickly drop his briefcase off and head for the morning staff meeting with the admiral and his JAG staff. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the new picture frame on Meg's desk. It took him all his effort to keep from sneaking into her office and taking a look at the photo on her desk. He gritted his teeth and continued on his way to his office. He was certain this day had just crapped all over his happiness. Well, at least Meg was back if not with her usually cheery demeanor.

Dropping his briefcase on his desk, he opened it and grabbed that loathed Constantin case folder and after shutting and locking his door headed to the staff boardroom for the weekly staff meeting.

AJ looked up at him and growled. "You're late, Rabb." The other officers looked up at him: Meg with some semblance of concern, Commander Krennick with her usual salacious smirk, the rest with varying degrees of curiosity.

"Sorry, sir. My car chose this morning to not want to start. Had to kick it before it would. Sir..." Harm replied as he sat down in the chair and set his file down in front of him.

"Well, where were we?" The admiral continued with the meeting.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Monday, 0845 hrs EST_**

Harm thought he heard a hail and as he turned, he saw Meg walking up to him. He smiled amiably at her and asked. "You called..."

Meg gulped, her tone hesitant. "Sir," she said formally, noting that he was a Lieutenant Commander and she was two grades beneath him. "We need to talk."

"Very well, Lieutenant Austin." He paused waiting for her to have her say.

"Sir, it's...not a conversation...meant for outside ears. Could we please go to my office?" She asked with some trepidation evident by the shakiness in her voice. Harm narrowed his eyes at her but acquiesced. Maybe his curiosity about the photo would be appeased too. When they reached her office she ushered him in with a gesture and closed the door. Then she sat in her chair motioning for him to sit down. "RADM Chegwidden told me this morning that he could get me a new partner."

Harm sat upright, eyes wide. This was not what he was expecting to hear. His voice sounded uncertain as he spoke, his throat dry and constricted, "and..."

"I refused..." Meg replied with a bit more confidence as she sensed Harm's relief at her refusal and then followed up with: "I told him that we could work together as partners. _Nothing more_." She didn't realize how painful it would be to say that with absolute firmness. And she didn't realize the cataclysm of emotional pain Harm would feel at those words. She heard his audible intake of breath and hesitated to meet his eyes, aware that they were the windows to Harm's soul; to confront the deep wells of hurt she knew she would find there but she forced herself to meet his eyes or anything she would say further would be something he could deny and she would not have him deny the truth, "I can't be anything more than professional partners when my heart is given to another man." She told him firmly.

Harm's heart shattered into a million pieces as he sighed deeply confirming Meg's suspicions that he had feelings for her. And she would never in her life hurt him by admitting that until she had met Tosh that she had feelings for Harm. It would have been a stake to his heart knowing that he could have had her and lost.

"Is it who I think it is...?" Harm asked hoarsely well aware of the lump constricting his throat. Meg said nothing; her action of turning around the photo on her desk to let him see gave him the answer. He gazed into the laughing expression of a joyous two dimensional reproduction of a Meg Austin frozen in time along with his former Reserve Air Group instructor, now Commander, Toshio Nakamura; the man which Harm had learned his flying skills from, the man who flew with him in the Gulf War and protected him like a big brother; the man for whom Harm had worked to get the nomination for the Medal of Honor passed; the very man...whom Harm had called friend. As Harm looked at the photo and saw the absolute love only for Animal shining in those eyes frozen in time for all eternity or at least until the chemicals in the photo wore away with time, he realized that he had well and truly lost her. His psyche howled at the betrayal. What was left of the remnants of his heart wanted vengeance against Animal but Harm was not a vengeful man: he would take his defeat like a man and work with her every single work-day. Then at the close of every workday: watch as she left to go home to him; Harm's former instructor and a rival he never knew he had until it was too late. He would swallow down all his bitter hurts and hope for a better tomorrow. A better tomorrow perhaps in the arms of Diane Schonke if he could get her to see the light. He wanted a family or was he just kidding himself? And even if he was ready to settle down, was she?

He assumed Meg and Animal were intimate but he sure as hell didn't want to know for certain. The thought of Meg and Animal, naked, coiled together, making out, made for an utterly titillating (when it came to picturing a naked Meg Austin), revolting (when it came to picturing Animal in flagrante delicto) image which ended up making him want to throw up the contents of his stomach. Frankly, he bit down the urge to ask because he knew her answer: despite the disparity in rank and the fact that he was her superior; she would be justified under the circumstances to tell him to go to hell! He took another deep breath and then said formally, "thank you for letting me know, Lieutenant Austin." He got up out of his chair, nodded formally to her and ushered himself out.

As the closing door clicked shut, Meg let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding; the conversation was over. Harm would go off to his office to lick his wounds, recover and hopefully life would go on as usual, without his usual advances and flirting. She hated crushing his hopes like that but it had to be done if she wanted a future with Tosh as she couldn't have two alpha males butting heads over her when she had already selected her chosen one as a mate. And she knew for a fact that Tosh would crush Harm thoroughly and decisively if it came to a rutting war. Tosh's wiry muscles spoke of intensive martial arts as well as MCMAP training. If he unleashed his full hand-to-hand training on Harm, it would devastate him and the side of her who was still protective of Harm didn't want to see him hurt physically.

She put her mind and concentration into the case file that she had been assigned, the case that Harm and Lieutenant Commander Imes had been working on: one Commander Constantin.

**_Naval Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA Monday 0635 hrs. _**

"Good morning, sir!" The cheery hospital corpsman said as Animal strode through the hall of the Naval Hospital leading to physiotherapy and kinesiology. The hospital was large enough to get lost in but having been to physical therapy before, he was able to find his way around with relative ease.

"Morning HM2." Animal replied. As he was on convalescent leave, he was still required to wear uniform of the day for official visits and he was meeting with his doctor and specialist on the progression of his care meaning that it was an official meeting and thus he was required to wear khakis on this morning. He still was pleasantly surprised to see a pair silver oak leaves on his collars in the mirror or when he turned his head to the right or left. It was the only pleasant byproduct from that whole mess with the North Koreans. OK. Correction: Meg was another wonderful addition to his life after that as well.

Actually truth be told, Meg was the most wonderful part of the whole North Korea fiasco. Until she came into his life and made her interest in him well-known, Animal really hadn't known what he'd wanted - only a vague feeling of something missing within his life. And a feeling of something not present in his own life every time he saw a squadron mate walking down the street with a pretty girl on his arm but now he knew what had been missing all along and he felt that hole filled by thoughts of a gorgeous blonde JAG Lieutenant JG with a brilliant smile meant only for him. Animal smiled to himself as he wondered what married life would be like with Meg. It was a pleasant thought but he really needed to get his mind on recuperating so that he could train for the next sea rotation as XO and get back to flying his F-14s.

Commander Napolitano, his specialist, and the lieutenant commander who supervised his therapy sessions were there along with his doctor.

"Commander, welcome..." CDR Marina Napolitano smiled as she looked over at some X-rays in his folder. "Please have a seat..." Animal nodded and gave her a questioning look. "I've been examining your X-Rays..." She said by way of explanation and paused as Animal arranged himself comfortably in the padded chair. "Your recovery timetable is on track if not ahead of schedule. Your last set of X-rays have shown healing in the muscle tissue where the bullet punched through and you seem to have regained some range of motion but you're not at a stage where you can think about returning to flight status yet. That is still some ways away. We still estimate a timetable of three to four months of rehabilitation before we can assess whether your injuries have healed enough to put such a strain on your body again. Your muscles are at a fragile state at current and any strain on your body utilizing these muscles under sustained g-load could tear the repairing muscle tissue negating any progress, and possibly making your condition chronic."

Animal restrained himself admirably from uttering a pungent expletive. "So there is a chance that I could still miss my squadron's deployment?"

The doctor looked at Animal,"Depending on your body's healing factor and pain threshold, you could conceivably make your deployment. However the operative word is still restraint. You do not want to overdo your therapy and end up worse off. We'll revisit your progress in another month and see how far the progression has gone. And then make a decision as to how to proceed."

It wasn't the news he was wanting to hear but what could he do after only the second week of therapy? He would just have to continue therapy and hope that .

"Is there any way to have my therapy moved to Bethesda for the time being if there is no way I will have flight status restored before a minimum of three to four months." He ventured as Commander Napolitano smiled knowingly.

She had seen the pretty JAG Lieutenant JG accompanying the commander to his appointments. She knew the look of a man in love and if anything, Commander Nakamura was most certainly in love with that pretty, young JAG Lieutenant JG. She nodded, "I'll see if I can find a specialist at Bethesda for you." She stated making a notation to his file. Check back with me in a day or two and I'll see if I'm able to conclude the transfer arrangements. And when I do, say hi to Lieutenant JG Austin for me, Commander." Her eyes twinkled with merriment as Commander Nakamura blushed. That was confirmation enough. She'd see if she could effect a reunion as quickly as possible.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Monday 1145hrs EST_**

"So, Constantin is scheduled to be moved from the Naval Yard Brig to Falls Church tomorrow?" Meg asked. From what she had read of his file, she didn't like him at all. Selling state secrets was a good way to get killed and the fact this commander had sold state secrets that endangered the safety of all Americans, she loathed him. RADM AJ Chegwidden had asked her to join the case despite Harm's misgivings.

"Yes. The initial discovery hearing is to be held tomorrow and he'll be moved back and forth as necessary." Harm replied. Meg was starting to feel like a third wheel on the case as most of the work was being done by Harm and Imes and it seemed all that Meg was doing was the work a senior Legalman could do: collate copies and see if everything was in order as well as filing evidence.

As Meg looked over the case file, she started to realize the extent of how dangerous the case was. Perusing the information as disseminated within the file, she learned of Constantin's background; his education prior to the Navy; the appointment to the United States Naval Academy and his sponsors, all of who were now under suspicion; the naval trade schools to which he was assigned; the promotions and awards he had earned. The more she read, the more she wondered how a decorated officer could turn traitor. And she wondered just how safe she was, taking on this case.

**_An Abandoned Warehouse, Washington DC Monday 1935 hrs EST_**

The abandoned warehouse if monitored would not appear so abandoned after all. No matter how discreet the men tried to keep their comings and goings it was bound to be discovered. If they were the slightest bit careless bringing in the equipment required for their hit, they would be discovered. And if discovered, they would learn firsthand the penalties for espionage and murder in a foreign land. If their hit was not successful, Ten' chelovek would end their feelings of failure decisively at the end of the barrel of a smoking Makarov.


	24. Chapter 24

**_Rock Creek Park, Washington DC Monday 2200 hrs EST_**

Walking through the park, Parlovsky looked neither left nor right. He was well aware he was safe. His demeanor was that of a predator. And a predator feared no-one. Even at this late hour, Parlovsky knew that the common thugs who frequented this park would not dare to approach him and if they did, an untraceable Makarov lay within the pockets of his overcoat and another homicide would be noted in the annals of crime within the Metropolitan limits. DC Police would find the victims but not their executioner.

The few birds awake at this hour protested at his passage through the undergrowth of forest. He watched his steps as he knew that timber rattlesnakes, a deadly viper, hunted within this park and were active at night. To be bitten by one of these would be painful if he survived the experience (and that would only be if he managed to reach a hospital in time) as a potent concoction of both neuro and haemotoxic venom would be pumped through three inch fangs sunk into his leg. The closest Russian counterpart, the Russian adder did not have such as the timber rattlesnake. A bite from the Russian adder was survivable with time and medical attention. The timber rattlesnake was a dice-roll, even with anti-venom. Parlovsky had no such desire to meet with such denizens of this forest. He was not afraid of the snake but predators survived by exercising prudence.

As he approached the meeting place he did look around, his analytical, calculating scan taking in the possible threats. His eyes locked in on a dark figure in black standing within the clearing.

"You have come." The figure spoke. "I have notified the Direktor of your monetary requirements." He gazed at Parlovsky with no fear as Parlovsky stepped into the clearing, his Makarov, out in the open, held loosely in one hand. Parlovsky knew that meant his SVR contact had others in concealment with weapons trained on him.

"What became of the request?" Parlovsky inquired casually, his loose stance belying the coiled springs inside. He had an idea of where those who accompanied the SVR contact were covering him lay in wait.

"Three hundred million rubles is a large sum to ask for, Comrade Mika." The contact cautioned, his eyes surrendering nothing in terms of his intentions.

"What price security to the Rodina? Yuri." Parlovsky asked, his guard up. "If the Americans get information out of Constantin, it could mean collapse of our intelligence network in _Amerika_ and loss of any edge we have in national security. What need have the politicians to keep such large amounts but to spend it on vodka and _babushkas_ with no teeth?"

Yuri snorted down derisive laughter. "Ah yes, better that we spend it rather than those old, doddering fools in the Kremlin who wouldn't know a security threat if one came up and bit a large piece out of their ass." He continued, "Mika, it took some maneuvering, but I was able to get you the money. The Direktor will however be very annoyed if all this comes to naught. Maybe even annoyed enough to pick up a broom to sweep those responsible out with the garbage."

Parlovsky knew a warning when he heard one. Make Constantin disappear or you won't live long enough to spend the money.

**_Navy Brig; Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, Tuesday, 0500hrs_**

In the early morning fog off the Anacostia River, the warships tied up at the docks loomed like ghosts in the mist. Harm shivered as he felt the chill off the water and tried to bury his neck in the upturned collar of his Navy jacket. Meg was standing beside him, equally dressed in khakis with her black Navy windbreaker, shivering while watching the armed guards milling around waiting for all the processing of the prisoner to take place.

"Taking enough time, aren't they?" Harm commented dryly. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon towards the east starting to burn off the fog off the water and make the wispy forms of the navy destroyers and guided missile cruisers coalesce into recognizable shapes rather than indistinct blobs of grey which happened to look somewhat like enormous ghosts.

"No doubt..." was Meg's brief reply. She still wasn't too communicative preferring to remain silent and Harm missed the talkative Meg Austin.

Harm realized that the transport of this prisoner was the most hazardous part of the whole prisoner transfer process; they were taking him from a situation they could control into an area where anything could happen. For the guards transport was the most stressful part of the process as this was the prisoner's best chance for escape. It was all too easy for some accomplices to set up an ambush along the convoy route, take out the guard vehicle and stop the convoy. The guards would have to scan the sides of the road looking for areas where a potential ambush could be sprung and be extra-vigilant in those areas. And for safety, only the drivers of each vehicle knew the route which they were going. Too many ears provided too many opportunities for leaks. So Harm had to trust that the drivers would be able to get them from point A to point B without incident. But he reached into his pocket for the reassuring form and weight of his Beretta to insure that he felt safe. An extra three clips of 9mm nestled in his khaki trouser pockets was extra insurance. He had made sure that Meg had brought hers as well. They would be on the road by 0630hrs he hoped.

**_Larkspur Motel, San Diego, CA Tuesday, 0300hrs_**

Animal groaned as he looked at the alarm clock. A ringing phone had intruded on his sleep. He'd moved to this cheaper motel as he wanted to save money but surprisingly there was still a 24 hr concierge.

"Nakamura!" He barked by way of greeting.

"Sorry to wake you, call from Naval Hospital San Diego." The concierge replied.

"OK put it through." Animal said groggily blinking, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. A second later, Commander Napolitano's voice interrupted his wake up routine which was hampered by trying to do it one-handed.

"Sorry to wake you up, Commander, third shift and all, but I have news for you. I've managed to get you an appointment with Dr. Sharpley, a Captain Walter Sharpley who will be taking over your therapeutic treatments for the duration of time that you are in Washington DC. Your appointment is on Thursday at 1330hrs." CDR Napolitano informed Animal.

"I guess that means I'd better make flight arrangements for today if I want to be well rested from the flight for Thursday." Animal replied, the excitement clearly heard in his voice to the commander at Naval Hospital San Diego who laughed.

"Give Lieutenant Austin my regards." She teased.

Animal grinned,"I certainly will..."

**_Navy Brig; Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, Tuesday, 0600hrs_**

Harm was starting to get impatient. Checks, double-checks, triple-checks and quadruple-checks were starting to aggravate him and if someone suggested a quintuple-check of security procedures, he'd get downright ornery. The longer they waited to get out on the road, the more likely there would be an ambush as they would give those with ill-intent time to set up. They needed to be on the road now and Harm motioned the Marine captain over. "Captain, what's taking so long?"

"Sorry, sir, we got some problems with the guard truck." The captain shrugged his shoulders. "They may have some ignition problems."

"Is there no alternate? Captain, we need to be on the road. Safety concerns and a high-security prisoner." Harm inclined his head meaningfully at the truck which had a lot of technicians buzzing around it like industrious multicolored bees wearing the usual Woodland camo BDUs.

"Well...if we can't get this started in the next half-ho-" Harm cut off the captain with a brusquely negative shake of his head.

"Captain, requisition a new truck now. If we get on the road too late, it gives the bad guys time to set up an ambush to take us out!" Harm snapped. "Truck or no, we are on the road by 0615hrs. Am I clear? Captain?"

"Yes, Sir!" The Marine Captain nodded like a bobble-head and headed out to do the Lieutenant Commander's bidding.

Harm turned to Meg and muttered caustically under his breath,"Lieutenant, Marines are like mules, you gotta hold a carrot in front of their noses and then give 'em a kick in the ass. Sometimes you even have to give 'em a poke with an electric cattle prod before they'll move." Meg barely gave him an eyebrow raise in reply.

Pacing around with a gloomy expression on her face, Meg silently paced around wondering when this ordeal was going to be over. About ten minutes later she looked up to see Harm conferring with the Marine Captain who hollered at his men loudly to load-up. M-16A2s at the ready, the Marines jumped onto one of the trucks while four more armed with M-16s got into a Humvee. Constantin was put into an armored vehicle secured by handcuffs. Two more Humvees rounded out the contingent, one armed with a roof-mounted .50 calibre Browning automatic rifle. As each finished loading, they moved to park in the order the convoy would take going down the public roads.

Harm turned to Meg and stated, "Looks like we'd better mount up. Lieutenant!"

"Aye aye, sir." was all Meg said as she grabbed her Beretta making sure it was secure in the tactical holster. Slamming the doors on their Navy sedan, the two peeled into the _second from the rear_ position as a Humvee with another Browning roof-mounted machine gun sidled into the trail position and the convoy moved towards the gate and a right turn onto Maine Avenue bound for the Beltway, not directly going to Falls Church.

Harm didn't know what route they were taking but he realized the rationale of the Marine Corps drivers. Each man or woman in the security unit guarding the prisoner being transferred was well aware of the potential threats looming throughout the move and each would be doing their duty to secure, protect and defend the prisoner from those seeking to free the prisoner or threaten his life. It was their job to insure his security until such time as he was safely locked up behind bars in a maximum security penal institution. For a federal crime such as this: Constantin, if found guilty, would face a maximum penalty of life in prison, in Leavenworth.

Meg kept silent vigil on the road ahead, watching for any threats lurking in the bushes as Harm concentrated on the road ahead. The threats could be anything from armed men with guns to RPGs or anti-tank missiles. If it was the latter two; the objective would be to eliminate Constantin and the attackers would not want to leave any witnesses. Anyone in the convoy would be eliminated if they put up even a token amount of resistance so if it came down to defending the traitor, it would be a bloodbath. But so far all seemed clear.

**_Larkspur Motel, San Diego, CA Tuesday, 0335hrs_**

"Yes, I'm trying to get a taxi for 4:00AM. I need to get to the San Diego International Airport..." Animal said irritably. "Yes, I'm well aware of how early a time it is to be going to the airport, but I **am** trying to get there and, yes, I know that hardly anything is open except for vending machines. Now could I please get a taxi? Thank you!" Animal barely restrained his temper when it came to dealing with the taxi dispatcher.

"Very well, sir, if you will be patient, I will send a taxi for you at 4:00AM to Larkspoor Motel. Thank you very much, sir, for choosing Yellow Cab."

Animal restrained himself admirably in not mimicking "Thank you very much..." in the same accent the dispatcher used. After all that would not have gone over very well. Within fifteen minutes he'd thrown all his belongings into a duffle bag that would be checked into the cargo compartment of the airliner and into a carry-on. By the time 0400hrs would roll around, he would be ready and waiting outside for the taxi.

**_Somewhere on the Capitol Beltway, Washington DC, 0655hrs_**

Riding along the Beltway was an exercise in nerves with traffic in the early morning nearly at a standstill. If they wanted to get anywhere fast it was advisable to get out much earlier; the convoy was now snarled in traffic trying to get to work. It wasn't a situation for the impatient and it made things more dangerous for the convoy as cars surrounded them.

Harm muttered an oft-quoted movie line,"I have a bad feeling about this..." as his eyes scanned the ridge line and the trees along the Beltway. It was quiet, way too quiet amidst the idling cars as traffic inched forward a few feet at a time. But the good point of sitting in a traffic jam was too many witnesses to cause an incident. And provided they could inch forward enough to get to an exit, they would be able to leave the Beltway and find an alternate route. And certainly the others were thinking the same as they inched towards the lane that would get them to the first available exit, that would carry them back through DC in a futile attempt to get through the traffic and get to Falls Church.

Harm looked over at Meg who was quietly scanning the knolls as they inched forward a few feet at a time. Her tense posture betrayed the nervousness she felt. The transfer of the prisoner was not going as planned and Constantin's Russian cronies could be out there planning a rescue or even worse, an elimination of a former asset they now considered a liability. Meg just wanted the whole prisoner transfer over and done with. Excruciatingly long minutes dragged past as it seemed that they were getting no closer to the exit but a surge of traffic heading towards the exit drew them towards it like water towards the drain in a tub. And finally they were off and heading down Hwy 29 back towards 16th Street, past Rock Creek Park and the National Zoo. Harm looked at the time. It was now 0730hrs. They had spent almost an hour stuck on the Beltway and their timetable was completely in shambles.

As they passed the park, the lead convoy vehicle radioed,"X-Ray, this is X-Ray Lead. Movement spotted to our right near park trees lining-...!" The radio was cut off with an expletive as a whoosh audible even through their vehicle followed by a corkscrewing white trail ended in a violent explosion bringing the armored vehicle that Constantin was being transported in to a halt, spewing smoke out of the vehicle. Harm slammed on his brakes to avoid colliding with the Humvee in front of him just as sixteen dark-clothed men all wearing masks or balaclavas came out of the trees holding AK-47s. There was hardly what could be termed as a firefight. Most of the Marines involved were in shock and made only token gestures of resistance as they were slaughtered. Two masked men came up to the sedan that Meg and Harm were in and dragged them out. Disposing of their sidearms, the men trussed the two up. Harm was struck a heavy blow with the butt of an AK when he struggled against being bound.

"I do not know why Ten' chelovek wanted two alive, but this one and this one will suffice." One of the men said in heavily accented English which identified him as a Russian. "Apply the sedative!" Harm had only a brief second before a sharp prick in his arm caused a cascade of drowsiness to which he could not resist. His arms went slack as he slumped unconscious by the vehicle.

Meg asked "What are you going to do with us?" and got slapped for her trouble.

"You will come with us...your friend has another task." A sharp jab of a needle to her arm silenced further questions and the world in front of her eyes faded to black

**_San Diego International Airport, San Diego 0445hrs_**

It took some haggling but Animal was able to find a seat on a 0800hrs flight from San Diego International, through Houston and then to Washington National. Having to sit in the terminal subsisting on snack food until his flight was called would test the patience of a saint, but at least he was able to get a flight the same day.

He tried calling Meg knowing DC was three hours ahead but there was no answer on her cell phone.

**_In a Vehicle Somewhere in Washington DC, 0755hrs_**

A persistent ring of a cell phone from the pocket of the unconscious female naval officer startled Boris Godunov who looked at the driver of his van. The driver shook his head to tell Boris to ignore the phone. The taller of the two American naval officers was starting to stir. He had only been given a light dose of the sedative to conveniently appear inebriated to casual on-lookers. The female had been given a heavier dose of sedative to keep her knocked out until she was at the location where Ten' chelovek wanted her. What was Ten' chelovek's orders? To dump the male officer off at Union Station and take the female to the warehouse so that the plan could be placed into motion.

"Drop the male at Union Station. By then he should be able to stagger convincingly." Boris told the driver, "Here, take this vodka and dribble it over his face and his uniform so that he will stink of alcohol when he is picked up."

When they got to Union Station, Harm was sufficiently conscious enough to stand, though wobbly on his feet, uncoordinated and dizzy. He was not sufficiently conscious enough to be lucid; he and the driver gave the impression of a man trying to coax his inebriated friend after a night on the town back to the base. He left him at the station after appearing to try to slap some sense into Harm.

**_Union Station, Washington DC, Tuesday 0855 hrs EST_**

Nobody took notice of the slumped man passed out on the bench. There were so many drunks and indigent that DC residents paid them no mind.

Harm blearily woke up to a pounding head, a throat that felt like it was rubbed raw with sandpaper, and his eyes wouldn't focus very well. Everything was a dim memory and a persistent ringing of a phone brought him back to full lucidity. Where was he? Where was Meg? What had happened to him? He reached into his pocket, staring dumbly at a phone that didn't look at all like the phone he owned which happened to be missing.

He croaked painfully. "Who is this?" When he'd summoned up enough energy to answer the persistently ringing phone.

"Welcome back to reality, Commander..." A heavily Russian-accented voice speaking English told him.

"Who are you?!" Harm asked trying to work those words around a throat seemingly constricted and sore.

"Ah, I would be stupid to give you a means in which to identify me." The voice paused, "All you need to know is Constantin is dead and you have a task to do for me?"

"Why should I do anything for you?" Harm asked bluntly as he tried to fight down increasing panic.

"Because...the life of your partner hangs in the balance, Commander." The voice was filled with velvety menace. "And I believe you value her life highly".

"Is Meg still alive? You'd better not have hurt her!" Harm snarled.

"Such anger, Commander, one would think you have a vested interest, perhaps love. Then...perhaps..." The voice turned cold, "this will motivate you..." The voice paused, "Your military has two Russian intelligence operatives in their custody, their names are Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev. You have 48 hours to effect an exchange, the operatives for your Meg. If you do not, your Meg..." A cry of pain from a voice as familiar to him as his own turned Harm's blood cold. And the voice chillingly continued, "...will die!"

"MEG!"


	25. Chapter 25

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, 0900hrs_**

Meg's head throbbed as she was jerked roughly to her feet by a silver-haired skeletal-visaged man whose cold blue eyes showed not a whit of care for her discomfort. He held a cell phone in the other hand. "You have 48 hours to effect an exchange, the operatives for your Meg. If you do not, your Meg..." He spoke coldly into the phone as he savagely gripped Meg's shoulder eliciting a pained cry from her as he dug his fingers into her collarbone. "...will die!" He finished, jerking his head at a Russian man who stepped forward to restrain Meg.

"MEG!" Harm's agonized cry was loud enough to be heard emanating from the phone, the man held in his hand, as Meg's heart lurched inside at the pain in his voice.

"Forty eight hours, Commander, if you value the life of the one you care about." The silver-haired man said as he cut the connection. He turned to look at her with a fake smile meant to disarm her. "Now, Lieutenant Austin, what do we do with you?"

"Megan Austin, Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade; Serial Number 926-24-1320/1100, May 26, 1969..." Was all Meg said in response.

"Very well, you will observe your Navy Officer's Code on what to do when captured, name, rank, serial number. So let us see what you will do if we take your phone and search..." The amiable expression on his face vanished as he stared at her menacingly, "...for those closest to you? Perhaps we can find out more about them, like who was calling you when you were being transported by Boris." The grip of the man holding her strengthened as the silver-haired man stepped forward, jammed his hand roughly down her pants pocket in spite of her struggles and pulled out her cellular phone. "So, just who was calling you. We know the Commander who was with you cares for your well-being. So who is this man...Tosh?" The silver-haired man smiled like a man who held many secrets as Meg remained silent, but the sudden tensing of her muscles gave away her response. "Ah, I thought as much." Meg silently fumed as the man stood in front of her with a satisfied grin. "So who is this man? A friend? A lover perhaps..."

A misting of her eyes gave that away too as the man in front of her smiled a cold, knowing grin. "So...you care about the commander, but this man Tosh is your lover. Perhaps...there is a lover's triangle?" He gripped her arm painfully. "So...what is your lover's last name?"

"Megan Austin, Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade; Serial Number 926-24-1320/1100, May 26, 1969..." She stated resolving deep within her soul that never would she give out any information to this man who held her captive, even if it meant her life.

"Very well, I will find that out myself..." He nodded impatiently to the man who held her and Meg felt a sharp jab as darkness whirled in the corners of her vision yet again and oblivion claimed her.

**_Union Station, Washington DC, Tuesday 0930 hrs EST_**

"Commander, what the hell happened?" Harm looked up to see a worried RADM AJ Chegwidden whose nose wrinkled at the smell.

Harm replied in response to the grimace, "You can breathalyzer me, sir. I swear I haven't been drinking, though it smells like it: it seems they dumped a half bottle of vodka on my clothing." He paused and then stated,"The Russians have Meg. I need to talk to Webb and I also need to talk to Meg's boyfriend, Commander Nakamura. The guy who called me on this phone..." If the Russians had been smart they would have made him drink a third of the bottle too. Perhaps they wanted him to be lucid. Harm reached out a cellular to the admiral who took the phone in his hand. " he wants two Russian intelligence operatives in exchange for Meg alive..." He shuddered as he thought of the ramifications.

The admiral looked at him solemnly,"The CIA never exchanges any intelligence agents they've captured, not at any price..."

Harm's expression was agonized, "So Meg is as good as dead?!"

"I don't make the rules, Commander. Now let's get you back and cleaned up." As Harm got up his legs still seemed shaky, "They drugged you?" The admiral inquired. Harm nodded as he focused his mind on the task of putting one foot in front of the other to walk to the admiral's vehicle. "One other thing, Commander, I received word from NCIS that Commander Constantin's body has been positively identified in the wreckage of the armored vehicle that had been transporting him. But all the other bodies are missing. There's blood spatter everywhere and wreckage, but all the bodies are gone." Harm stared at the admiral in shock.

**_San Diego International Airport, San Diego, CA, Tuesday 0730hrs_**

Animal had tried several times to reach Meg and was starting to get worried. After receiving the latest "This is Beltway Cellular Service, the person you are trying to reach is away from the phone or temporarily unavailable. Please leave a callback number or leave a message at the tone..." then a beep letting him know that he could leave a message, he opted to try calling the JAG office; maybe she turned her cell phone off if she was in the office. The aircraft would be loading in fifteen minutes so opting to call the JAG office was the only thing to do.

Animal heard the click as the admiral's Legalman picked up the phone and spoke her customary message, "Judge Advocate General's office, Legalman Two Madison speaking." (AN: Tiner, if I'm correct did not come onto the show until after Season One. I believe he started in Season Two).

"LN2, this is Commander Toshio Nakamura, XO, VF-41 Black Aces, but calling in a unofficial capacity. Is Lieutenant JG Meg Austin in?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid she is not, sir." The LN2 stated.

"The admiral in?"

"No, sir, he was in but then he signed himself out and left in a hurry, sir..." The LN2 told him, "I'm not at liberty to say where he is..."

"No matter, LN2. If LT JG Austin comes back in, please let her know that I'll be in town and I will be arriving on a flight into Washington National at 1745 hrs, this afternoon." Animal stated as he wondered why Meg was not in. It was unusual to be assigned an out of town case that quickly coming off leave; at least that's what Harm had told him, but then again circumstances were subject to change. Such was the needs and whims of the Navy.

He signed off, as the call for boarding for his flight was announced. He was hoping that Meg would get his message and hopefully meet him at Washington National.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, Tuesday, 1145 hrs_**

The admiral and Harm came through the door of the office; Harm having had a change of work khakis, and cologne to mask the smell of vodka still present on his skin. LN2 Madison stood up to let the admiral know there had been a message from Commander Nakamura. The admiral turned to Harm and said, "Evidently Commander Nakamura is on a flight to DC as we speak. He doesn't know the situation, nor is he aware of the fact that Lieutenant Austin has been kidnapped by the Russians." He ushered Harm through the door of his office and shut the door behind him. He turned to Harm as the door closed, awaiting Harm's response.

Harm groaned. If Animal found out his girlfriend was abducted by foreign nationals in DC, Animal would explode in a rage that would make the 50 MT nuclear bomb the Russians set off in 1959 look like a small firecracker and Harm wouldn't bet on long-odds of anybody surviving who was responsible for Meg's kidnapping. "Sir, maybe we should notify him of the fact that we need him to come directly to JAG HQ when his flight lands. But we need to have some answers for him or he will not be happy with us at all."

The admiral nodded and glowered,"We have to notify Webb of the developments with Lieutenant Austin's abduction and Constantin's elimination. We've lost an opportunity to ferret out just how extensive the Russian intelligence networks are in the US and how far they've got their tendrils in the US military." He muttered to Harm, "I'm going to call DDCIA and get Webb here ASAP. I want to know what his next move is going to be. You said the Russian contact didn't give a name."

"No, sir, he refused."

The admiral looked frustrated at being stymied by the Russian. "Well, I'll ferret out possible suspects from Webb when he gets his miserable hide over here. We had forty-eight hours." AJ said looking at the time. "It's 1200 hrs. So we have forty-five hours left to affect a rescue." He ran a hand across his scalp and muttered, "Damn, I hate deadlines..."

Harm growled,"and Webb had better show some cooperation or..." He left off the implied threat. "So how are we going to notify Commander Nakamura?"

Harm's face fell when AJ turned a tight smile at him,"Well, Rabb...I guess you are picking him up from Washington National." Evidently AJ wanted Harm to suffer badly for losing Meg.

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, 1230hrs. _**

Meg's vision slowly came back as she regained consciousness. Her mouth felt like someone had shoved a giant wad of cotton in there. And her throat hurt like nobody's business. She was tied to a post and while she was unconscious someone had stripped her of everything but her underclothes. Several men leered at her while a firehouse was laying nearby making an ominous point that the man who abducted her had no civilized niceties in his aim to get more information out of her. Figures that they would get their jollies out of seeing her scantily clothed.

"Now, Lieutenant Austin, we shall start again? The man who is your lover; his name is Tosh. Who is he?"

"Megan Austin, Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade; Serial Number 926-24-1320/1100, May 26, 1969..." She bit out, the words painful to her sore throat.

The skeletal-visaged man stared at her for a long moment. "Perhaps, you would talk better with a drink of water..." He nodded to a man with a wrench standing by the building's fire hydrant attachment. The man he nodded to turned the hydrant cap a half turn to start the water flowing. The man pointed to two of the other men who grasped the hose and turned the spray on her, instantly drenching her and battering her with the force of the water through the firehose nozzle. He nodded and the man shut off the water-flow. The cold water shower had been freezing and Meg's teeth started chattering. "Perhaps now you will feel more inclined to speak."

"W-What do you w-want?" Meg asked, in between her teeth chattering from feeling cold.

"I wish to know who Tosh is. What is he to you? His last name and what he does for a living...since he means something to you." The man looked at her half-smiling through cold eyes.

"He's my dentist, I'm having an affair with him. He's getting tired of his wife and wanted me as his lover." Meg just made up stuff to tell this man just so that he would stop pestering her about Tosh.

And at first he seemed as though he believed her. "Ah I can see why he would want to take you as a lover if he is getting tired of his wife. After all..." He looked at her with his scary looking half-smile as he stepped forward, looking at her half-naked form dressed only in bra and panties, "...you are a very beautiful woman..." He grasped then caressed her cheek, "Any man would desire to possess you." Meg's stomach churned and she stiffened in revulsion at his touch." He released her and walked back to his table, "but...Lieutenant Austin..." He said picking up a file from the table,"You are a pitiful liar..." He nodded his head to the man again, who turned the fire hydrant a full turn and the two men holding the firehose on her blasted her with water that seemed twice as cold as before and felt ten times as painful nearly half-drowning her and this time he didn't stop them from spraying her with the firehose as he read from the file, "As you can see, Lieutenant Austin, I have ways and means of getting information and what you have told me is an utter fabrication."

Meg couldn't reply to that because it took all the strength she had just to keep the water from going up her nose through her trachea into her lungs and drowning her.

"I have here your Tosh's file that we have compiled from intelligence records. He appears to be a hero. Commander Toshio Nakamura, a fighter pilot in your Navy, nominated for your Medal of Honor. He is being considered for command of a fighter squadron but is currently second in command of the VF-41 Black Aces; he has four kills to his credit over the skies of Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Southern Watch. A fittingly brave man to take as your lover, wouldn't you say, Lieutenant Austin?" The man smirked as Meg struggled in the spray of water from the firehose. "However, he is a little short, wouldn't you say? Five foot eight to your five foot eleven?"

Meg, by this time, was thoroughly drenched, cold and shivering as the spray continued and her soggy underthings made her feel even colder.

"I presume you have sufficiently drank enough water?" The man asked. "If not you can always have more." He looked at her struggling in the spray and nodded to the man who cut the water. He did not offer any towel or replacement clothes so Meg was forced to stand there, hands bound to the post, her bra and panties sodden to the point of near-transparency and shiver, surprisingly cold even in the middle of a Washington DC summer.

This time they didn't even bother drugging her to knock her out to free her from any thoughts, they just left her tied to the post. Evidently, the man intended to use her own vivid imagination as a torture device. But she opted to sink to the wet floor and try to close her eyes and rest if her cold body would allow her to.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, Tuesday, 1435 hrs _**

"Glad you could join us, Mr. Webb..." AJ said, both arms crossed across his chest and a look of distaste on his face.

Webb didn't appear happy at all, "AJ, we lost a lot of potential information from the source."

AJ looked ominously at Webb."Frankly, Mr. Webb, I personally think Mr. Constantin is exactly where he should be: making his excuses to the Almighty in exchange for his immortal soul, so I couldn't give a damn. I have a missing JAG officer and the person who abducted her says he wants two Russian operatives we currently have in custody exchanged for her in forty-one and a half hours. Or she will die..."

"You know, I can't do that. Current regulations have dictated that the Department of State will not negotiate with kidnappers on behalf of-"

AJ's expression darkened,"Webb, if you don't start telling me what I want to hear in thirty seconds or less, I will do a brain-surgery via rectal entry courtesy of my foot up your ass." He moved towards Webb who involuntarily stepped back in fear. "Mr. Rabb will you tell Mr. Webb which two operatives he wanted in exchange for letting Lieutenant Austin go?"

"Sir, my memory may be a bit fuzzy from the drugs the Russians laced me with, but I believe their names were Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev." Harm replied.

Webb turned white. "Do you know who those two are?" He stammered.

AJ turned a disgusted look at Webb. "For all I know they're delivery boys from Ukrainian Borscht House." He said sarcastically. "Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us?"

"They're Russian sweepers. They're the guys that the SVR send to silence those they want to forget about. And they have no morals. They will kill anyone who gets in their way. And your contact..." Webb looked at Harm,"wants those two out on the street?" He snorted in disbelief, "I'd get an iceberg to melt in the middle of the Antarctic at the height of a winter blizzard than get permission from the CIA and NCIS to release those two..."

AJ growled, "Well you'd better start asking God for a miracle, because I want Lieutenant Austin freed. And I will not take no for an answer. Am I perfectly clear on that? Webb?"

"Yeah you made yourself perfectly clear, AJ" Webb replied disgustedly. I'll see what I can do."

"Remember forty one hours, Webb" AJ growled. "We need this done before time runs out. Be back here in six hours to show me what you got."

"I don't take orders from you, AJ". Webb replied as he turned to go out the door.

"It's not an order; Webb! It's a threat!" Webb looked sharply at AJ who just gave him a stony look.

When Webb left, Harm looked at AJ who had his arms still crossed. "Six hours? I'll have gotten Commander Nakamura here by then. He'll be in the meeting too."

"That's the idea, If the Commander shows up and is thoroughly pissed off at Webb, I'm sure he will make life hell for the Undersecretary of State." AJ said.

"He may break a few of Webb's bones for him, sir."

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, 1635 hrs_**

This time, the bastard appeared with a Makarov in his hand and a smile that turned Meg's blood cold. "Time is ticking away, Lieutenant Austin, it appears that everyone has forgotten you."

"Not Tosh..." She made the effort to snarl through a sore throat.

The man chuckled, " Maybe even Tosh too..." His eyes looked her up and down. After all, when the cat is away, the mice will play..." He said prompting a memory of a red-headed, green-eyed therapist with the rank of Lieutenant Commander who had quite willingly shown her interest in Tosh, before Meg had physically claimed her territory and marked it quite willingly with her own body. But Tosh was faithful, wasn't he? The cold, being chilled to the bone from the inadvertent shower, the mental trauma being inflicted by her sadistic captor all combined to make her doubts run rampant. Would Harm even get her out? She gritted her teeth determined to continue resisting. She knew Tosh loved her; she saw it in his eyes. And she knew if he knew, he'd be doing every thing possible to try to get her out of this situation as well as making whoever was responsible sorry they even thought about abducting her. Did he even know she was missing. He'd called several times according to what the captor had said. But the calls went to voicemail. Did he think she had regrets? Was he now writing her off as reluctant to continue the relationship? Would he actually drop all his therapy just to come rescue her? Was she doomed to give her life while the rest of the country went on in ignorant bliss while she was tortured? Was death the only way out of this situation?

It almost appeared as though her sadistic captor could hear the thoughts running through her head and he raised the stakes with a sadistic smile as he put the barrel of his Makarov to her temple. "Thirty-nine hours but of course you could ask for the sweet release of death before-hand. I would be willing to grant you it, instead of the agony of waiting and knowing that you are going to die." He hissed.

Meg growled under her breath, "Go ahead, you bastard..."

The man gave her a cold smile... Meg flinched expecting a sharp blow, brief pain and blackness; nothingness. Her captor pressed the barrel into her temple...in painful anticipation...

...then pulled the trigger.


	26. Chapter 26

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, 1655 hrs_**

...then pulled the trigger. The hammer dropped on an empty chamber and a click. She sobbed audibly unable to hold back her relief. She hadn't wanted to die at all.

"Ah, for all the foolish bravado, you Americans are all alike, you do not wish to die at all, no matter how often you may taunt the tiger. You have no fatalistic leanings such as us Russians, even our children go to sleep on bedtime stories of death and they do not take each day as a granted right. Stalin took that nonsense out of us. No wonder you are considered weak." Her captor taunted. "Your lover on the other hand, if he comes from a family of samurai, he may, however, be a formidable match as an enemy."

She sank to the ground, weeping with relief that breath was still running through her body. Her captor smirked at what he considered was her display of weakness but he had made a critical mistake in thinking she was emotionally broken. Meg Austin had found the critical steel support for her firm determination to resist and slowly stood up again as that iron resolve hardened into place. She would endure anything that the captor would throw at her. And the captor frowned, as he saw her eyes harden, her cheeks still tracked with tears. And Ten' chelovek wondered if he had ever broken her in the first place.

**_Washington National Airport, Washington DC. Tuesday 1735 hrs_**

Animal wondered if he should suggest to Delta that they put kids into containers and stow them in the storage section of the plane. After dealing with a gaggle of kids running up and down the aisles during the halfway point of the flight and having to markedly remind himself not to suggest to the kids to go outside and play he was relieved that the flight was over. He'd wondered if Meg had gotten his message. It was interesting that there was no response at all after having left several messages.

"ANIMAL!" A shouted hail made him look up to see Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb standing there waiting for him. That in itself confused him. _Where was Meg? How did he get the message and not her_?

As Animal walked up to Harm he asked, "Where's Meg?"

Harm's face crumpled in a pained expression,"She's been abducted..." Waving off Animal's frantic questions, he said "You have to come with me to JAG HQ and talk to the admiral." He cringed when he saw Animal's darkening expression and clenched fists. He headed for the baggage carousel and grabbed Animal's duffle bag as it came around and hurried with long strides to his Corvette into the minuscule trunk, he threw in Animal's duffle and carry-on.

"There'd better be a real goddamned good explanation, Rabb!" Animal growled or the chances of Harm's continued survival was very much in doubt. It was a long drive from Washington National and Animal didn't get any calmer as the minutes ticked by. Harm knew the timetable, they had less than thirty-eight hours to effect an exchange for two of the most dangerous sweepers in Soviet Intelligence history for a Navy JAG and no doubt an excellent weapons officer. No doubt the intelligence sweepers' long incarceration had given them plenty of grudges to hold onto with regards to the United States.

"Any rescue mission you set up, I want in on..." Animal said as they drew closer to Falls Church interrupting Harm's mental cogitation.

"What?" Harm blurted out raising Animal's already boiling ire even more.

"I said...Any rescue mission you and whoever set up, I want to be in on!" he growled as he looked at Harm with a glare that could melt steel. "I don't trust anyone else with Meg's safety." He growled ominously as he threw another glare at Harm.

Harm didn't bother to contradict Animal's assertions or his mistrust of others with Meg's safety in mind. He heard the unspoken accusation Animal was throwing in Harm's face: _you were supposed to protect her since I couldn't be there and you failed_! As they turned into JAG HQ, he ruminated on the fact that was at least partially true. He should have been the one abducted and Meg should have been the one let go and now she was suffering as a result of his actions. Animal glowered in silence as he let Harm park.

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, 1755 hrs_**

Footsteps sounded as Meg was curled up and trying to conserve warmth. She kept her eyes closed hoping that she could persuade him that she was still sleeping. Unfortunately all that accorded her was another dousing with the firehose leaving her soaking wet, sputtering and shivering cold. It wasn't a situation that was conducive to keeping a positive outlook. And her mood pitched downwards.

"Ah, Lieutenant Austin, are you comfortable?" The man never identified himself nor did he make any attempts other than to be sadistically humorous.

"Very..." She spat out as she shook her head sending water droplets everywhere, but she regretted that as it sent another cascade of aches and pains throughout her body.

"It appears your coworkers and lover are leaving you to die." The man taunted her. Meg called her taunter Silverhair. At least she could then put a name to that sadistic bastard who was trying to provoke her into a complete mental breakdown. "Does he even know where to start looking?"

"He'll find a way. Tosh always does." She taunted him back. "You don't know how he was nominated for the Medal, do you?"

"Perhaps, you can enlighten me then, Lieutenant." Silverhair replied.

"He took on a whole company of North Korean soldiers...by himself!" Meg said.

"Pah, a bunch of Asian barbarians who can barely shoot straight when given glasses to wear." Silverhair rejoindered as he reached into his pocket for something, "I respect the Japanese more than the Koreans."

"Well maybe we'll find out how he does against you..." Meg snapped back then uttered a piercing scream as taser was applied to wet bare skin for a brief moment.

"How charming." Silverhair replied. "Perhaps we will." He picked up Meg's phone and pressed a button on the phone calling up the phone book. Looking for Tosh on the directory he found it, gave Meg a chilling smile and hit Call on the phone.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Tuesday 1820 hrs._**

As Animal and Harm met up with the admiral, Animal heard his cell phone ring. Seeing Meg's name on the display he picked it up. "Hello?" He said cautiously.

"Thank you, Commander, for picking up..." A heavily Russian accented voice replied as Animal looked over at Harm and the admiral.

"Where have you got her?" Animal demanded, his voice colored with worry.

"Oh, your precious Meg is quite alright, Commander, however as Lieutenant Commander Rabb has told you by now, she has only a day and a half left to live if you are not able to exchange the two men I have asked for in order to receive Meg back intact."

"How do I know she isn't dead already?" Animal had to hold the phone away from his ear as a buzzing noise and a scream from a voice he all too well knew as Meg's nearly deafened him.

"She is alive, however she has had a rather enlightening experience with electricity." The unknown Russian said. "A taser to wet skin is very good at imparting greater knowledge."

"I'll get you, you goddamn bastard!" Animal snarled. Another buzzing and yet another scream from Meg.

"Ah ah, Commander, just do as you are told and she will be returned to you, somewhat shall we say worse for wear." The voice went chilly,"if you annoy me, you may get only her body back. I will contact you for the meeting place where we will make the transfer. You do not wish to double cross me, Commander." A final buzz and a shuddering scream that went on and on until the Russian cut the call.

Animal looked at Harm and AJ in a state of sheer panic. He needed to do something right that instant. The admiral gripped his shoulders and barked "COMMANDER!" He glared. "You don't even know where to start looking. All we can do is wait for his call and hope to hell Webb comes up with something." Animal looked at the admiral with a question in his eyes.

"He's the Undersecretary of State or so he says..." Harm replied. "My money's on the CIA."

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, Tuesday 1829 hrs_**

The echoes of her scream died out as Meg slumped unconscious from the electrocution by taser. Silverhair reached a finger to her throat to ensure that Meg's heart was still beating normally and not beating abnormally.

In Russian he said "wake her up in one hour with the hose." Assured that the Lieutenant was still alive, he walk out of the warehouse into the adjoining office.

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Tuesday 1845 hrs_**

The three naval officers were waiting in AJ's office when the door opened and Webb walked in. He looked around at the three then turned to AJ and asked, "Who's he? This meeting is top-sec-"

Animal glared at the government bigwig and snarled. "Commander Toshio Nakamura." He identified himself. "I can assure you, Mr. Webb, that as a squadron XO, I have enough clearance to satisfy your need for secrecy." And got up pacing forward two steps. "And if Lieutenant Austin comes home in any condition other than slightly worse for wear I will balance that balance sheet from your carcass."

"Are you threatening me, Commander?" Webb asked, annoyed.

"Don't consider it a threat, Mr. Webb." Animal leaned into Webb's face making Webb draw back at the cold look on Animal's face. "Consider it a promise..._that I will...carry out_." The last two words were hissed like the loud exhale of breath from a cobra.

AJ stood to interrupt the two, "Commander Nakamura, Cease! Mr. Webb, as much as I find it amusing to watch Commander Nakamura make you piss your pants, we're wasting time here, have you found anything?"

"I found out that Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev are both in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Inside their maximum security wing." Webb stated as he tried not to shiver at the cold look that he got from CDR Nakamura.

"You knew that information and kept it?" Animal snarled, his temper at the boiling point,"It couldn't have taken six hours to come up with just that!"

Webb didn't bother relating the numerous levels of classification and bureaucratic red tape he'd had to undergo just to arrive at that information alone. He continued on with the facts. "The most likely operative that is masterminding this operation is a Colonel in the former KGB. We're not clear as to his name, but we know that his nickname is Ten' chelovek. If he is who we think he is; he has been well trained in torture methods to extract information, he has no compunction about killing and he is a driven man who will go to any lengths to get what he wants. He is dangerous and unfortunately, your Lieutenant Austin has had the very great misfortune to fall into his hands. As a weapons officer more than as a JAG, she is privy to information that is classified. If Ten' chelovek remains unaware of the prize he has in his hands which is very doubtful, Lieutenant Austin is in for a very rough stay in captivity."

"How long will it take to get the two in Leavenworth released to custody?" AJ asked pointedly. "And Mr. Webb, I don't want to hear that it's an impossibility!"

Webb unwisely muttered,"But it is..." as Animal lunged forward, temper flaring. Harm barely got an arm around him to keep Animal from reaching Webb and pounding him into unconsciousness.

"Get me the SECNAV on a secure line!" AJ opened the door and barked at a lingering LN2 who hopped on the phone and did exactly that. In ten minutes the LN2 was back indicating SECNAV Nelson was on the line.

"What can I do for you, AJ?" The SECNAV's voice came clear through the speakerphone.

"I want Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev released from Leavenworth and placed into Marine custody at the brig at Washington Navy Yard in DC." AJ stated. "Lieutenant Austin has fallen into Russian hands and is being held at an unknown location within the boundaries of DC and tortured."

"Oh that's bad." SECNAV said simply. "I have no idea whether the CIA would be willing to cooperate on this. Those two are currently in CIA hands as you're well aware."

"Are you aware of Lieutenant Austin's work before she transferred into JAG?" AJ asked the SECNAV. He played his trump card,"Can you imagine the amount of setback we would have if the information that she is privy to in terms of Systems Knowledge and Weapons Procedures were to get out? And the longer she stays in custody, the more likely her captor will stumble across it!"

"Hmmm, you do have a point there, AJ. I will make a note of telling the Director that. But I can't promise anything."

"It's a matter of National Security, sir," AJ said to the SECNAV. "We need to get Lieutenant Austin back and we now only have thirty-six hours in which to make the exchange."

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, Tuesday. 1930 hrs_**

Meg awoke to find rough hands stripping away the rest of her modesty. Bare naked she was thrown into a large tub full of ice-cubes floating in water. Her head was forced under water as she struggled. Just as red blurred the edges of her vision and she felt as though she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, she was hauled to the surface. The cold stung every part of her body. And the air on her wet cold skin made her shiver. How long would it take before she became hypothermic?

"What a beautiful specimen you are, Lieutenant." Silverhair was back leering at her naked body. "I can see why your Tosh is so anxious to have you back. I can assure you he was most distressed at having to listen to your screams of a different sort!" His implications were lewd and disgusting but Meg gathered up the shreds of her dignity and gave him a cold stare in return. "I have more questions to ask of you, Lieutenant Austin. You were a weapons officer on the USS Lake Erie..."

"Megan Austin, Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade; Serial Number 926-24-1320/1100, May 26, 1969..."

Silverhair shook his head sadly as he pulled his taser out. "Ah, we are back to that, are we?" He nodded to his men who eagerly pulled her out of the tub. "You have one last chance to give me the information, I seek before I apply a dose of corrective electricity to your skin again, perhaps this time to your breast."

Meg's breaths quickened but she steadfastly remained silent. The two men stepped away from her as Silverhair made good on his threat. A buzz and a primordial scream of agony tore from Meg's throat. The electricity was like a white hot fire coursing through her veins as her limbs jerked involuntarily. Her resolve didn't waver. She knew they were looking for her. It was just a matter of time before they came for her. The white hot fire stopped so abruptly, her limbs didn't recognize the ceasing of the electrical flow and continued jerking for a few more seconds. Silverhair nodded to the men who picked her up and placed her back in the tub, submersing her head underwater, yet again. But Meg resolved to keep taking their abuses and remained silent.

"I see you have tremendous willpower. Lieutenant Austin." Silverhair taunted. "Perhaps a wager; is your willpower stronger than mine?"

**_JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA Tuesday 1945 hrs_**

The minutes painfully ticked by as Harm and Animal paced the length and width of the admiral's room waiting for the call to let them know that the DIRECTOR; CIA had granted their request.

Animal turned to Harm and said in a voice filled with pain, "They can't write Meg off...like she didn't exist..." Harm looked at Animal and was alarmed at the level of desperation in Animal's face. If he knew where Meg was, Animal would more than likely arm himself and throw himself suicidally at Meg's captor with the result that both Meg and Animal would be dead.

Just how close were were Animal and Meg? Harm wondered. This was not the reaction of someone who wasn't intimate with Meg. Harm sighed; he knew that he had lost Meg for good. "They shouldn't." His shoulders slumped, "but that doesn't mean they won't." He continued. The CIA ate their own, disavowing any knowledge of compromised agents. Harm had started questioning his own attachment to the young Lieutenant JG. He had misgivings about going in to retrieve Meg given the dangerousness of the situation. Animal on the other hand would move heaven and earth to get Meg back, even at the cost of his own life. Perhaps that was the difference between infatuation and love.

It was a long hour as the minutes ticked away the time waiting on the SECNAV to call back the results of talking to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. When the phone finally rang, it took all Animal had to remain within the bounds of decorum and let AJ take the call. When AJ put the call on speakerphone, Animal leaned forward.

The SECNAV intoned: "The Director stated that he would only accede on one condition, that Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev do not live to reach Russian soil." Harm looked at the admiral and then at Animal. "He was most explicit on those terms. Karpov and Burev are too dangerous to live."

Harm stared at the admiral then blurted, "but that's cold-blooded murder!" Animal stared at Harm. His expression conveying his unspoken reprimand _How naive are you anyway?_ Harm looked over at Animal and his blood froze as he saw the lethal _I will kill anyone who stands between me and rescuing my Meg _ expression that was on Animal's face. And right then Harm pitied the Ex-Colonel of the KGB who had been stupid enough to abduct Meg in the first place. He had seen Animal in hand-to-hand action against the Marines in the bar fight in the Globe &amp; Anchor and Animal was playing nice back then. Animal would not be nice now.

The telephone conversation had gone on without Harm's attention.

"Rest assured, Mr. Secretary, there's no problems with that directive on Commander Nakamura's or Lieutenant Commander Rabb's point of view..." the admiral silenced Harm with a cut-throat gesture.

"Very well, it will take twelve hours for release of prisoners, transit and and arrangement with the Marines to guard them while the prisoner exchange is taking place. CIA snipers will be at the location to insure that once Lieutenant Austin is safely back in our hands that Karpov and Burev don't take another two steps alive."

_That_ _is_ _if I don't get to_ _Karpov_ _and Burev first_...Animal thought, _then the bastard that took Meg will pay._

The next twelve hours took a major coordinative effort to bring all of it together, all culminating in a call from Animal to Meg's phone.

**_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, Wednesday 0745 hrs._**

Ten' chelovek picked up Meg's ringing cell phone in the office overlooking the warehouse floor where Meg was tied up yet again by the post, still naked. "I hope you have good news for me." He said by way of a greeting.

"Yeah, I do. You'll have your men back. Where do you want to meet?" The angry voice on the other end was that of Tosh.

"I will meet you at Rock Creek Park." Ten' chelovek said surprised his demands had been met so quickly.

"You had better bring Meg unharmed or I will warn you that I will not take it well..." Tosh's voice was sinister. "If she is harmed in any way, you will receive your men back in pieces with their throats slit. Then, I will come after you."

Ten' chelovek looked at the phone in surprise; _was he not the one that was making demands_? "You are telling me you will kill my men and me if Lieutenant Austin is harmed in any way? Whatever happened to the American values of chivalry?"

"Let's just say that I may have been born an American, but I have Japanese blood running through my veins and the Russo-Japanese war will look like a minor schoolyard fight after I finish with you." was the snarled reply.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _** _A few more pre-written chapters left to go and then I'll have to get back to writing again. Please read n'review. Thanks. Got to ply my muse...she's a stubborn one: _


	27. Chapter 27

_**Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, Wednesday 0810 hrs.**_

Meg opened her eyes as Silverhair walked into the main warehouse. Nodding to his men, she was untied and led to the bathtub yet again but this time it was filled with warm, almost hot, water when she was allowed to touch it with her fingers. Had they filled it up while she was asleep.

"Your lover Tosh and your legal partner Lieutenant Commander Rabb have been very busy these past hours and have managed to get what I require." He said. "Evidently your life will be spared." He looked her over. "You will take a warm bath and wash yourself so that you are cleaned of the dust from the floor you have been on." He motioned to a bathrobe that he had left on the table. "For now you are still a captive but you will no longer be tortured. But while I leave you to wash I will leave two men to guard you as you will not be allowed to make an escape. You may dress in this for the prisoner exchange..."

"Where is my uniform?" Meg demanded.

"Your uniform is in shreds...when we cut it off you. And I'm certain that you would not miss your underthings as they were wet and starting to mold after being kept soaked for hours." Silverhair commented casually. Meg barely registered a slight tinge of anger at such a violation, but the relief at being so near to freedom made her weak at the knees. Silverhair gave her a look of amusement,"Please, Lieutenant Austin, have your bath as your Tosh would not guarantee the lives of my men if you were to go back worse than slightly worse for wear. I believe his nickname _Animal_ suits him very well. My men will not do anything to you on pain of death as I would happily leave them for your lover to kill."

_So he was scared of my Tosh_ Meg smirked as she stepped into her bath, seeing Silverhair leave and soaked the pains from her muscles, still keenly aware of the two men watching her bathe knowing that if they laid one finger on her, Tosh would remove them from existence. Then a thought came to her. Tosh had helped the admiral and Harm get an exchange together for her rescue. Her heart exulted _Tosh is on the East Coast; how? I left him in San Diego to head back to JAG. He came to rescue me. He really loves me. He wants to be with me. _She grinned a giddy grin incongruous with her current state of captivity and slipped underwater to begin her ablutions with washing her hair. She checked her body, there were two red marks where the taser had zapped her but they weren't glaringly obvious. Once she was done one man hastily handed her a towel with which to dry off. Another handed her a smaller towel for her hair and then handed her the bathrobe.

Silverhair came back in to tell her that the prisoner exchange would be at noon. Less than three and a half hours away. She was led to and locked in a small clean room with no windows, an office perhaps. There was a small tidy bed for her to sleep on, so she took advantage of two hours of uninterrupted sleep.

_**Navy Brig, Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, Wednesday 1030 hrs**_

Animal said acidly, looking over the assembled crowd,"I wouldn't put it past this guy to have snipers in the woods to take out Lieutenant Austin if negotiations don't go his way." Harm wondered if Animal was referring to the ex-KGB colonel or whether that was a side-barb at Webb. "I want the Marine unit to fan out and look for suspicious people in the woods carrying whatever looks like weapons; could be a guitar case or anything long and then cover them as the prisoner exchange goes down." He paced in front of the assembled Marines. "I want five Marines covering the park entrance and radioing in the plates and description of the vehicles they arrive in." He looked around making sure the CIA weren't there yet. "The _Christians In Action_ have their own agenda! They don't give a shit about getting one of our own back. They just want to get the men Karpov and Burev blown to hell. They do not give a crap about Lieutenant Austin's safety. Which means we have to. Those of you receiving Lieutenant Austin will be wearing Level IV ballistic armor with steel plate on both front and back which will supposedly stop high powered rifle rounds. There are sixteen of you. You will form a tight protective cordon around her and keep her head out of sight. Keep in mind that she is five foot eleven which is tall for a female, hence we have selected only those six feet four and above to be her protection group." He glared at the Marines forming the guard for Lieutenant Austin, "Do not think for a moment that we are safe while in that forest and let down your guard. If...the bullets start flying, I want you to pull her down and turtle over top of her so that she is not exposed to present a target to potential snipers. At no time do I want any part of her exposed. She is to be protected at all costs. Even if I go down, you are to get her to safety. Am I clear?!" He asked stridently.

"YES, SIR!" The Marines chorused.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb, any more thoughts?" Animal asked as he looked over at Harm.

"No, sir, I believe you covered it pretty much, Commander Nakamura."

"Good." He noticed the guards setting up to receive Dmitry Karpov and Alexei Burev. Both were extremely large and extremely nasty looking specimens with cold, unfeeling eyes. The guards hustled them into the armored carrier under armed guard.

"I want you and CPL Mellen to keep an eye on our two CIA snipers. If you see any try to take out Karpov or Burev before Lieutenant Austin gets to safety, cap'em. Because I will not tolerate anyone putting Lieutenant Austin's release in danger. I will deal with Burev and Karpov personally if it comes to that, but only if Lieutenant Austin is safely in our hands." Animal said to GSGT Crandall who nodded assent.

_**Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, 1040 hrs**_

Webb looked at the small assembly of CIA operatives; two carrying sniper rifles, the rest carrying small sidearms. "Understand that Burev and Karpov aren't to reach Parlovsky at all. If you feel that there is any risk at all; that you are certain that the deal will result in Karpov and Burev getting away, then take the shot. These are clear orders from the Director. The prisoner exchange should be in the parking lot so cover the entire parking lot." He looked at the two snipers. "I want Burev and Karpov dead at all costs. They're too dangerous to be let out on society again. Kill them before they reach Parlovsky."

"But what about the Navy Lieutenant? Shouldn't we wait until the Lieutenant is safely in our grasp."

"Doesn't matter. Our job is to kill Burev and Karpov. If they make a move to get to Parlovsky and safety, shoot them. Burev and Karpov are not to reach Parlovsky. The Navy can deal with the ramifications." Webb stated decisively.

_**An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere In Washington DC, Wednesday 1045 hrs**_

"Gennady, the exchange location is in Rock Creek Park, I presume the CIA and the military are all crawling over the park. It is time to bring Lieutenant Austin to the park and release her. Her shoes are the only part of her uniform still intact? No radio bugs?" _Ten' chelovek_ asked Gennady Priakin.

"No Comrade. Her shoes were scanned. Nothing but presumed regulation footwear. No electronic bugs."

"Very well, Gennady, gently wake our guest and tell her that she needs to put on her shoes to go home."

In a matter of twenty minutes a rather drowsy, from her nap, Lieutenant Austin appeared to him in bathrobe and her shoes. He looked at her. Even in a terry cloth bathrobe, she cut a superb figure. A pity she was enamored of that Japanese-American navy pilot. She would make a very fine Russian wife if she was so inclined.

_**Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, 1115 hrs**_

The first units of the prisoner transfer team were in place as the Marines reconnoitered the park, then the rest of the units moved in. Animal and Harm got out of Harm's Navy sedan. The admiral stepped out from the other side armed with a large black sniper rifle. Harm and Animal had Berettas in tactical holsters. Both were dressed in woodland BDUs. The admiral was dressed all in black and wore a woodland ghillie suit. He would separate from the rest to find a high vantage point so that they could have backup if needed from a high-powered rifle.

Animal looked over the area. From what he could see from a cursory inspection, there were at least twelve CIA agents in the area. Most of the Marines had gone to ground in fatigues and face paint much like a war scenario and knowing Marines; if they didn't want to be spotted, they wouldn't be as they were excellent at concealment. It did make him feel better that he could spot the CIA idiots as the Marines would more than likely be able to spot the ones who were better at concealment. Harm and Animal made ready as the armored personnel carrier that held Karpov and Burev trundled onto the scene. And the Marines in Level IV armor formed a solid cordon in three ranks at ease as on a drill square. The rest of the Marines had disappeared into the surrounding trees to form an extensive defensive perimeter relying on their extensive camouflage technique to _now you see me; now you don't _baffle the CIA sniper teams. Animal heard a crackle on his earpiece. "Marine units in place, two Spook sniper teams spotted." Gunny Crandall whispered in his ear through the earpiece.

Animal nodded, Raising his right index finger he scratched the tip of his nose _Maintain high alert; radio silence. _

Harm saw the vehicles before anyone else. He, however, as instructed kept radio silence and waited for them to move into their spots. Watching on Animal's cue to move. He had to trust that Animal had the situation well in hand. But he also knew that things could go FUBAR in a heartbeat. All he wanted was to make sure Meg got back safe even though he had lost her to Animal. And Animal would do every thing in his power to make sure Meg got back safe, even at the cost of his own life. One couldn't have a greater love than one who would sacrifice one's own life to give someone else theirs.

The Russian cars moved into place and the doors opened. Two bodyguard types carrying AK-47 rifles and Makarovs in leather holsters were first out of the car, then a stern grey haired skeletal-faced man stepped out of the car, looked out towards the edges of the park, noticing the CIA men as well as all the Marines. Animal, seeing the man, instantly had a nickname for him and savagely grinned.

Webb stepped forward to stand beside Animal, probably not the wisest thing to do with Animal's low opinion of him.

"OK Skeletor!" Animal called out. "Where's Lieutenant Austin?!"

"When you have shown me Karpov and Burev." The cordon of body-armored men parted slightly to show that the two men were there and immediately closed ranks to block them from view.

"Meg! Now! Skeletor! You've seen Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber."

Webb hissed "stop antagonizing him..." Animal stared at him with a deadly look which shut Webb up instantly.

"I'll do it my way. Asshole. I haven't seen Meg yet." Raising his voice again, Animal said, "You have fifteen seconds to produce Lieutenant Austin before I execute Karpov and Burev; Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..." Animal's hand dropped to his Beretta.

"You play a hard hand, Tosh." The man said as he looked at Animal who had by now raised the flap of his holster to reveal a gunmetal flat black Navy issue Beretta.

"Ten, Nine..."

The man smirked," Very well. If you must be so uncivilized..."

Animal pulled out his Beretta in one smooth motion and fired one single shot into the back tire of _Skeletor's_ car, amidst gasps of disbelief, the tire which promptly flattened. Rifles came up as the man raised his hand to halt rounds being fired in retaliation.

"That's to show you that my sidearm is loaded." Animal said. "Six!"

_Skeletor_ promptly opened the back door again to reveal a Meg Austin dressed only in bathrobe and her Navy issue shoes. Her bare legs were visible and the bathrobe dipped down exposing bare skin that her uniform would have concealed. Animal and Harm gritted their teeth at the sight of her supposed nakedness under the _just barely concealing _bathrobe. As she stepped out of the vehicle she made certain that certain parts of her anatomy were covered as she stood up as the bathrobe barely extended past her thighs due to her height.

"We will each set our mutual prisoners free at the same time," the man said.

"Very well, but there had better be no tricks. Skeletor." Animal said.

"Agreed." The man replied amiably. "Lieutenant, you are free." As Meg started to walk towards them, the armored Marines moved aside to let the now un-handcuffed Burev and Karpov to walk towards the Russians.

Webb started to move his hand a millimeter...

"Don't even twitch!" Animal said as he snapped his Beretta up to Webb's forehead as sweat started to pool on Webb's brow. "Or I'll make you another ear hole!"

The Marine snipers made themselves known pushing two CIA snipers in front of them out of the bushes.

And then Burev made his move, as he passed Meg, he lunged sideways in an attempt to grab her. Two shots rang out as clear whip-snaps in the air. And Burev slumped to the ground, a hole in his forehead. And Karpov gave a look of frozen surprise with a hole in his back and blood spreading on his chest through his shirt as he toppled to the ground motionless all in the space of a heartbeat. _Skeletor_ smiled as Meg stopped in mid-walk to look back at him in shock to see him holding a smoking Makarov.

"Please continue on your way, Ms. Austin." He smiled enigmatically.

She then looked back to see Animal holding a smoking Beretta. He had gotten Karpov while _Silverhair_ had shot Burev.

"As you can see, Commander Nakamura, the SVR wanted to eliminate both Burev and Karpov however they were both in _your_ custody. Mr. Webb. So this elaborate ruse had to be concocted to keep you from noticing our true intent."

"And the dead Marines from the ambush?" Animal growled.

"Elaborate gunplay and fake blood. The explosion from the armored vehicle was a smoke grenade, a bit of gasoline set on fire and a tiny bit of C4 and fireworks. Constantin however was not so lucky. He was a leak that needed to be sealed for parity."

"Very elaborate indeed, Colonel." Webb acknowledged. "I trust you can now tell your superiors your task was accomplished." Animal having replaced his Beretta back in his holster, listened to the man speak.

Meg, finally knowing she was free, ran to Animal and embraced him, hugging him tightly, the feel of her body directly under the terry-cloth robe letting him confirm his original assumptions that she was clothes-less underneath the robe. She hadn't seen the pained expression that Harm had on his face as he watched both Animal and Meg have their reunion.

"Indeed, I will take great pleasure in the many millions of rubles this task has enriched me. I thank you and the CIA _for your cooperation_, Mr. Webb." The SVR Colonel commented as Animal and Meg glared daggers at Webb who looked like a deer in the headlights with a horrified look on his face. Meg let Animal go for a brief second and he lunged at Webb as the Colonel laughed seeing the result of his revelation that the CIA and SVR colluded. Sometimes it was good to be the chess master. The resulting smack of fist connecting with face and Webb's resultant scream of pain emphasized the displeasure that the Japanese-American navy commander felt at that bit of news.

Any thought of CIA agents helping Webb evaporated like mist before the morning sun as the Marines trained their weapons on them.

"I didn't mean *OW* that we concocted all *OUCH* of this...we didn't know *OWWWW!* about Meg's kidnapping... *oh god NO NOT THAT! AAAAAAH!*. You bwoke mah dose..."

"I'll break every bone in your goddamned body before I'm finished, you miserable spook asshole!"

Harm commented casually to AJ "fifty bucks says Animal breaks Webb's femur?"

"I'll take that bet." AJ said casually as he, sniper rifle jauntily clasped to his shoulder; barrel up, and Harm headed back to the Navy sedan.

"OH MOTHER OF GOD; NOT MY THIGH!" A gunshot like crack and an agonized scream of pain.

"Pay up...sir..." Harm smiled extending his hand, palm up. It was starting to be a good day.

_**Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, Wednesday, Much Later**_

Animal and Meg strolled casually arm in arm back to the waiting vehicle, Animal with a smug self-satisfied smile on his face.

"I hope you didn't hurt Mr. Webb too badly. Commander." AJ said to him.

"Not really, he should be walking normally without a cane in about, oh, six months. His ribs might heal up in roughly the same amount of time. However he won't be having relations of the intimate sort for at least the better part of eight." He grinned at Meg who grinned an equally nasty grin. "I didn't know she had that streak in her..."

Harm looked at Meg in surprise. "That was for the tasering and ice baths...so I kicked him in the nuts." She answered acidly looking at the pointy part of her Navy shoes. Harm paled.

"And stepped on his cojones too." Animal cheerfully added with a note of pride in his voice for Meg.

Harm winced in sympathetic pain for Webb. That must have hurt. "But wasn't that Skeletor's doing?" He asked, using the SVR Colonel's nickname that Animal had monikered him with.

"Yeah, but Skeletor saved my life," Meg said noting the shot to the forehead of Burev by the SVR Colonel. "So I forgave him. Webb was the second person responsible for my incarceration and torture, whether indirectly or not, so I decided to take it out on him."

"You know you could have borrowed Gunny Crandall's KBar and neutered him." Animal suggested, his expression innocent.

"But it would have gotten blood on my bathrobe." Meg smirked at Animal.

"Remind me never to make you mad...Lieutenant" Harm said as his eyes widened in horror.

"Shut up, sir!" Meg said, shooting Harm a savage grin.

At that the admiral guffawed in laughter. "Where to now?" AJ asked as he waited for a reply.

"Home, sir..." Meg said shivering in the bathrobe. Even though the Washington DC summer was warm, the ice baths and dunkings had chilled her to the bone and one warm bath wouldn't get the chill out of her body. "I need a hot bath and some rest." She looked at Animal as if to beg him to stay with her. Animal and Meg took the back seat next to each other, as Harm drove and the admiral took shotgun.

Harm said quietly. "Let's swing by the office and pick up Animal's luggage and then, I'll drive the two of you home to your place, Meg."

"OK." Meg said sighing, she shivered again as she nestled into the center seat beside Animal and leaned into his embrace.

The admiral looked at the rear view to see the two lovebirds seated together. Resisting the urge to smile he just said casually, "Lieutenant, take another two workdays off and the weekend, rest and come back to JAG refreshed on Monday."

"Thank you, sir..." Meg said.

"And Commander..." The admiral warned. "Don't send the Lieutenant JG back to JAG gravid." Chegwidden smirked.

Animal winced as Meg blushed. Harm had to bite down a smile as he didn't want to have Meg connect with an elbow to the back of his head. That wouldn't do to get his brain cells concussed especially when he was driving and after she had given her own brand of punishment to Webb for the ill-treatment she'd had to endure in captivity, he figured it was safer to just not acknowledge the admiral's comment.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA 1435 hrs **_

Animal unlocked the door to her apartment, ushering her in while he stepped back out into the hallway and picked up his own luggage. When he stepped back into the apartment suite, Meg was standing there, still in her bathrobe. He asked her, "Did you want me to draw you a hot bath?" as he shut the door to her apartment and locked it.

"What I want..." Meg said as she looked at Animal, "...is for _you_ to make me warm again..." Animal's lower jaw practically impacted the floor as Meg had stepped out of her shoes; her bare toes on the carpeted floor. Her hands untied the sash that had kept the terrycloth bathrobe from flying open and she shrugged her shoulders letting the robe fall off her shoulders to stand there naked and shivering before his eyes. Her eyes filled, flooded and overflowed, "Take away the memories of that kidnapping and make me feel safe again..." She pleaded as she clutched his body with a hint of desperation. Animal looked into her eyes realizing that she had just been showing a mere facade of inner strength earlier when she had really been traumatized by the whole experience. He knew he had made the right decision to stay with her, a string of right decisions that had started with his deciding to transfer his rehab therapy to Bethesda.

He let her lead him into her bedroom, had her strip him naked and allowed her to take what she needed to feel safe again. _It wasn't about the sex_, he thought as Meg writhed in pleasure underneath him. It was about making her feel loved, safe and no longer objectified as she had been in _Skeletor_'s clutches. Even for that short amount of captivity, it had messed with her sense of being. She had been turned into an object suitable for titillation and for _Skeletor_'s men to get their jollies. It had made her feel less than human. As she peaked in a shuddering climax, she curled up in his arms, sobbing. Animal tightened his embrace to enfold her in a cocoon of comfort. When she'd finished crying out her fear and frustrations, she turned to Animal and whispered "I felt so helpless. My life could have ended on his whim...and there was nothing I could do about it."

Animal gave her a reassuring embrace that tried to convey how much he needed her; that she was safe and that _Skeletor_ would not be able to touch her ever again.

"He...he put a Makarov, the same Makarov he shot Burev w-with today...to my forehead yesterday...and pulled the trigger..." She whispered desolately. "If it was loaded, I'd b-be d-dead and I would have never been able to hold you or make love to you again. I didn't know you were there and searching for me. Everything I doubted because he made me doubt." She paused, "but you were the one who came through for me. You contacted him and were crucial in putting the deal together even though we were all used in the end."

"Yeah..." Animal replied. "We were pawns in a game the chess master was playing..." He grinned at Meg who sniffled but tried to smile at him, "...but this pawn is happy because he has his queen back."

"Oh no..."

"What?"

"Bad chess puns..." She murmured softly, finally relaxing and curling up with him under the covers, their bare skin contacting each other sending more pleasant electric signals through their bodies. She seemed to be relaxing and feeling more secure. "I love you..." Meg whispered as she pulled Animal close, one leg over his thighs. The feeling of her warm core against his hip as she clung to him, her arms over his chest, enveloped Animal in a feeling of rightness. She was back with him safe and secure; everything was now right with the world.

"Want to take a shower together, O my queen?" He inquired with an eager smile on his face.

"You just want to see me wet and naked." Meg smirked at him, her eyes, though, showing gratitude that he was there. If he wasn't she would have had to deal with the nightmares at night by herself. Being used as an object had really turned her world upside down. Her personal space had been brutally violated in captivity. And the open display of her intimate space by savagely violent hands while unconscious had been traumatic. She had not been raped but if there hadn't been haste put on her recovery by her JAG CO, Harm and Tosh, she could not deny that the situation could have gone in that direction considering that her captors would go to any length to extract information. Meg shivered again and decided that she would replace those disturbing memories of forced ablutions by firehose or getting _dunk-tanked _along with floating ice-cubesin the bathtub with much more pleasant memories and yanked Tosh out of bed, dragging him to the bathroom; Tosh grinning all the way there.

_**In an unmarked car heading back to the Russian Consulate 1626hrs**_

Mikhail Parlovsky grinned to himself as he sat in the vehicle heading back from the warehouse back to the consulate. _Lieutenant Austin had nearly leapt into the arms of her lover as she was released. And the tall dark-haired man in US military battle dress, standing to the side of the reunited couple, had a look of stricken loss. _Parlovsky smirked as he stared out the window of his moving car: _Apparently he was correct in his intuition that there was a lover's triangle. _But Parlovsky was a good judge of character. Honor would keep the tall man from meddling in his legal partner's love-life. And something in the back of Parlovsky's mind told him that he would see the tall dark-haired naval officer again on another matter of national security.

_Lieutenant Austin's lover was a dangerous man. Almost as quick on the draw as he was. Parlovsky had examined Karpov's body. _He thought to himself. _Karpov's heart was completely ripped apart from the fragmentation of the bullet that had entered Karpov's heart which sent fragments tumbling through ripping valves and chambers apart instantly causing massive internal blood loss and instantaneous death. Nakamura had just changed direction of the muzzle of his weapon in a millisecond and fired as Karpov had shifted his weight. _ Parlovsky made a mental note to tell intelligence agents to keep an eye on Commander Nakamura. Even if half of what was in Commander Nakamura's dossier was true, he was a formidable enemy. Parlovsky smirked as he remembered the curses coming from the men who had to change the flattened tire after Commander Nakamura had flattened it with a single shot from his Beretta. That was a very good shot on the Commander's behalf, Parlovsky conceded thoughtfully, _a rather expensive tire to replace…_he thought.

And he had been able to fire within a millisecond of Burev's twitch towards Lieutenant Austin. _A fine shot, that._ Parlovsky mused as he reflected on the moment. After all, he had made certain that Burev would not reach Lieutenant Austin. And he remembered the look of surprise on Burev's face as the bullet made its initial impact on his forehead then in a flash, changed to a blank look as Burev dropped to the ground like a wet sack of rotten vegetables. _It was a good shot. __Byt' po semu_ _(So be it)_. Burev was an animal and the fact that he went after Lieutenant Austin was unforgiveable.

There was no need to worry about the Americans, they would be too busy trying to undo the damage that Commander Constantin had caused to military secrets to be concerned with one Russian diplomat. And the fact that he had diplomatic immunity helped matters immensely. And he had managed to pocket a sizeable amount of money with the task accomplished that would benefit his own finances. Not a bad start to lining his own pockets and all done in a manner in which the Politburo couldn't determine as fraudulent. Parlovsky smiled to himself, as the car drew nearer to the gate. _It was a good afternoon as afternoons went. _A few calls and the money would disappear as quickly into an unmarked drawing account to which no-one would know where or how to withdraw it except for Parlovsky himself.

_**Harm's Apartment, Somewhere in Washington DC 1930 hrs**_

Harm stood by the island in his kitchen, drinking a beer as he contemplated the events of that day and the fact that they had recovered Meg from that Russian's clutches, but he had lost Meg for good. As in the photo, when Animal was around, Meg's eyes only watched Animal. And nowhere was it more apparent in the seconds after Burev and Karpov were shot in quick succession. Meg had searched for Animal, seeking reassurance and safety; she hadn't even noticed Harm in the background frozen in shock at the sudden, deadly violence that had broken out under the midday sun in the span of seconds.

It had almost seemed in slow motion. That Burev had made a motion to grab Meg to hold her as hostage or kill her. The SVR colonel had put an unerring shot right into Burev's forehead in a splatter of blood. And Animal, who'd had his Beretta trained on Webb, had, in a split-second, aimed and fired at Karpov hitting him center-mass right through the heart. It was only later that it was determined that Animal's round was a Black Talon 9mm which had made complete hamburger of Karpov's heart preventing him from possibly helping Burev; whether he would have, one would never know: the round had dropped Karpov like a sack of rotten potatoes. One shot, swift, deadly and accurate. Of the two shots fired, the colonel's was more impressive; to hit a man's head within a milli-second; to react in answer to a blur of movement, was beyond astounding. But Animal's was meant to protect someone more precious to him than his own life; his shot was vengeance unleashed; a righteous shot as snipers would have termed it.

Harm didn't know what to feel. Towards the end of his captivity with the Chinese in Hong Kong he had found his thoughts turning to Meg rather than to Diane. The pretty blonde JAG Lieutenant JG had somehow stolen his heart and that was why he had found it so hard to let go when she had started showing interest in Animal. But had she stolen his heart or did he just think she had? All he knew was the simple sentence that kept reverberating in his mind "I can't be anything more than professional partners when my heart is given to another man" had shattered both his hopes and his heart. Meg was more than just enamored of Animal, she was truly in love; that her world revolved around Animal and his world, hers. And even worse for Harm, it seemed as though neither could live without the other. That much was evident from Meg's despondency when Animal wasn't around or Animal's sheer desperation when Meg was abducted. In short, Harm had witnessed in brutal fashion, that when it came to a contest for Meg Austin's love, since he was put up against Commander Toshio Nakamura, Harm didn't have _a_ _snowball's chance in hell_ of succeeding. He took another swig of his beer casting a dour reflection on the sorry state of his love life. Sometimes the game of _love_ really sucked!

_**AJ Chegwidden's Home, MacLean, VA, Wednesday, 2030 hrs.**_

AJ looked at his book, _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare; the Annotated Version. _How fitting that the various machinations of the intelligence world coincided so cleverly with that which Shakespeare had so cleverly in his tales. The intrigues of the Montagues and Capulets or the machinations of revenge and the heart in MacBeth still drew parallels in the modern world.

Today had been a day of extremes that tested his resolve in the schemes of higher politics and intrigue. To find that they were thoroughly played by a master manipulator and his young JAG officer coming out traumatized from the experience. Thank God that Commander Nakamura was there to help Lieutenant Austin regain her emotional equilibrium. She would be needed to help sort out this mess as the SECNAV and the CIA would be looking for answers as to why and how they had been thoroughly out-maneuvered. AJ also needed more information on this SVR colonel to whom they hadn't even managed to pin a name onto, because his intuition was screaming that this individual would pop up again like a chronic hemorrhoid.

_This damned game of spy versus spy had nearly gotten us all killed._ AJ fumed silently and it was satisfying that Commander Nakamura had made good on his promise to exact a measure of revenge on one hapless _UnderSecretary of State_ whose operations had a predictable pattern of going south. Of course breaking Webb's femur may have been overdoing it a little, but no matter; Webb would heal and doubtless go back to botching more missions. On the other hand, Commander Nakamura had shown remarkable restraint in not killing Webb outright for putting his lover in danger like that. He smirked at the mental image of the dedicated and driven young JAG LTJG showing her passionate side to the dedicated and driven Japanese-American naval aviator and Black Aces XO. The two of them would be a force unrivaled if the two of them became matrimonially tied.

The only fly in the ointment would be Lieutenant Commander Rabb's reaction and from what he could see, the lieutenant commander was subdued and torn. Perhaps, he should assign him a different case when he got to the office tomorrow morning, perhaps send him out of town for a few weeks so that he could get his head back on straight. AJ mused. _I don't need him mulling over his love-life like a lovesick puppy._ _Especially when Meg has made her choice. _He glanced out the window at the summer sun starting to lower in the sky in its inexorable journey towards the horizon. _Well, I'll take a look at the cases on the docket and assign Lieutenant Commander Rabb one where he has to investigate matters out of town and hopefully he'll fly straight after he gets back.___

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA 2200 hrs**_

Meg sat on her couch, grinning up at Animal. Both of them were clothed again after the intimacy of their coupling. "Hungry." She said simply, a smirk on her face.

"Oh?" Animal smirked right back at her. "Hungry?"

"Yeah…so what you going to feed me?" She had a smug look on her face.

Animal smacked his forehead. "Oh…shit…right." His mind went back to the park. She didn't have a purse with her. "Did _Skeletor_ keep the purse?"

Meg nodded, her demeanor somber. "I think so, I didn't see it nor did he proffer it back." This meant that she was going to have to replace every bit of identification that she had left. Also…what really sucked was that she was going to have to move from where she lived to someplace else. This place of hers didn't offer any sort of comfort any longer. The violation had extended that far and she informed Animal of that fact. He nodded silently understanding the fact that this place no longer was a refuge or safe haven any longer for Meg. _Skeletor_ knew where she lived and the sooner that she got rid of the place the better. "I'm also going to have to close my bank account and open another one at a different bank. That's going to throw major monkey wrenches into my pay because all that has to clear through BuPERS." She huffed. _Getting kidnapped was a pain-in-the-ass_, she thought

A knock on the door caused Animal to reach for his Beretta. "Who is it?" Animal barked, the muzzle pointed towards the door.

"Harm!" was the muffled reply from behind the front door.

Animal walked towards the door, slowly, the muzzle not wavering from the door. "OK…just warning you, I'm armed." He opened the door to a wryly grinning Harmon Rabb Jr.

"Jesus Christ…Animal, a little paranoid, are you?"

Animal lowered his Beretta, "I wish I were. Skeletor's got her purse."

Harm looked worried. "You're sure." He looked at Meg as she nodded an affirmative.

"Harm, he sent me back naked with just my shoes and a bathrobe covering me. I wasn't carrying a purse, was I?" Meg sounded irritable. Harm had to agree with her. After all, he had seen that she had barely enough coverage of her body to keep her from getting arrested for indecency. And considering that now she was home and clothed, Harm felt he didn't have to worry about what she and Animal were doing in between the time he dropped them off initially and when he dropped by now, with some steaming hot food.

Meg was the first to notice the food and gave her long-time partner a hug which he eagerly returned. Animal just watched the two of them with raised eyebrow and a wry grin then gave Harm a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, bud. I was thinking I'd have to order in some food. So thanks for saving me the trip."

Harm sarcastically grunted. "It was to help Meg. Not you, Animal." Meg burst out laughing as Animal couldn't say anything to that. Animal could see that he was joking as he had brought enough food to last for a few days. When Meg offered to have him join Animal and her, he agreed. It would be safer with two men in the apartment for the duration of time that Harm was there.

Dinner was eaten mostly in silence with casual chatter about things that had gone on at the office. It seemed as though Meg was trying to put what had happened behind her. It seemed forced to Animal. Captivity did a number on the psychological stability of a person, but he didn't know how to broach the fact that perhaps Meg should see a psychiatrist to deal with the emotional aftereffects of the kidnapping. And coincidentally, in parallel with the psychiatric help, they should consider a change in home-location. But were he and Meg prepared to take that next step of moving in together?


	29. Chapter 29

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA 2330 hrs**_

Animal pondered those thoughts throughout the course of the meal only interrupted by the snatches of conversation going on between Meg and Harm. Harm was in agreement with the idea of moving somewhere else. Meg didn't feel secure now that her ID had essentially been stolen by the Russian. The Russian had also stolen her state of feeling free of anxiety that they wouldn't find some way of kidnapping her again; this time removing her from the safety of her country. It was that sense of violation that made her want to uproot and move out. But on the salary of a Lieutenant JG, there wasn't much she could do until the home she had so painstakingly bought and made her own was sold. And she sure as hell was not going to fire-sale it, just so that she could regain some measure of feeling like she wasn't being surveilled by the Russians.

Animal was so far lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Harm or Meg ask for his opinion. It took Meg prodding him with her toes under the table to startle and pay attention. "What?" Animal asked.

"I was saying that it's going to take some time to sell this place..." Meg said as she met his questioning glance, "even if I were to get a realtor in tomorrow, it's not going to happen overnight. These things take time. I need to find a place that I can feel secure in while this place sells." Animal nodded at what Meg said.

"One option is that you bunk with me. I have to find a place to live near Bethesda so that I can make my appointments for therapy." Animal stated. And I can find a way of making sure you get to JAG quickly too."

Meg sighed leaning against his shoulder, " Hmmm. Never gave much thought to living north of the Potomac. If you can manage to find a way to get me to work and get you to your therapy, then that sounds good. Animal wrapped an arm around her shoulder giving her a tender squeeze.

"Yeah. We can go view the places after my appointment with the kinesiologist at Bethesda." Animal grinned at Meg. He touched his nose to Meg's in a disgustingly sweet display that made Harm want to heave his cookies, and said, "Sweetie, if it wasn't for your apartment here, I would be temporarily homeless tonight."

Harm rolled his eyes and sighed. "You two lovebirds finished leaving me out of the conversation?" He asked pointedly.

"Not intentionally, Harm..." Meg replied.

"Yeah..." Harm retorted. "If I see any more lovey-dovey displays while I'm here, I might die of saccharine poisoning." He rolled his eyes again for emphasis. The response he got from both Meg and Animal was indulgent laughter.

"Well..." Animal grinned, a bit to smugly for Harm's liking, "when you find the right woman..."

"Shut up, Animal!" Harm growled.

"Hey? Just so you know where we move to..." Animal looked over at Harm like he'd had the brightest idea. "So...you wanna come apartment hunting with us?" Meg looked at him with an look of disbelief. "Meg, hon...it couldn't hurt to have a third opinion, y'know...in terms of location, general neighborhood and amenities." That seemed to mollify Meg.

"But not one word about the color of the bedroom." Meg shot a glare at Harm who winced. "I mean it!" She grumbled irritatedly as Harm regained his sense of humor enough to shoot Animal a glance that meant he was up to something.

"When did you two want to meet?" Harm asked looking over at the two of them.

"Well my appointment is at Bethesda at 1330hrs tomorrow and I was hoping that I needed a vehicle while I'm in the DC area."

"Well, my car is down below in the parkade." Meg offered but then looked worried as she realized that her vehicle was something she had intended on replacing. "I need to visit the dealership tomorrow..." She looked at Animal; "...if we could get that out of the way before 1330." Meg stated.

"Looks like we have an early morning..." Animal nodded. Harm moved to get up from his chair.

"I'll see you later." Harm said moving towards the door, he turned to Meg who embraced him. "Glad you're safe..." He said; looking at Animal meaningfully.

Once Harm had left, Animal looked over at Meg. "You think that ex-Kinda Good Boy did something to your car?"

"I don't know but I'd rather not take the risk he sent someone over." Meg said; her voice soft and frightened. "Also I don't know how long he had my purse for. I also don't know if he has my parkade keycard as well as copies of other things. I just don't want to feel scared any more. I want to feel secure again."

"Then let's get a place together." Animal said. "We'll hit the auto dealership, find you a new car and then stop by the JAG office and the MVA to get you new ID. Of course you need to get a temporary license so I'll have to drive in the morning." Meg smirked at that.

"Really?" She asked. "Why can't I drove my own car?"

"Well," with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Animal grinned. "Can you afford a speeding ticket without ID?" He said, his visage smug and felt his right arm sting as Meg bounced a fist off it.

"Why you..." She sputtered, her grin belying her tone of pique. "I don't drive that fast..." She protested. Animal just grinned at her. "Jerk". She muttered. "See if you get any tonight..." She threatened with a smug look on her face. Animal just wrapped his arm around her as he regarded her with a tender smile.

She leaned into his embrace as they kissed. When their lips parted, her eyes were smoky blue and she got up from the couch and hauled him to his feet. Pulling him towards the bedroom, she pulled him into the bedroom and shut the door.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA. 0730 hrs**_

Harm strode into the JAG office and through the admiral's anteroom only pausing long enough to ask the admiral's yeoman if he was in. Walking up to the closed door and as per naval custom pounding the pine, he identified himself and was told to come in. Upon mentioning concerns about Meg's safety about her residence and her car to the admiral, he was told that a Navy EOD team would be dispatched to Meg's residence and vehicle to ensure that everything checked out. Harm nodded and then informed him that he would be helping Animal and Meg find a place to live. As he explained the situation, AJ's expression was getting more and more amused.

"Is there something funny about this, sir?" Harm asked cautiously knowing that probably didn't sound very respectful.

"Well, I didn't realize that Lieutenant JG Austin would move to...uh...consolidate her position that quickly." the admiral expressed his opinion. He turned to stare contemplatively out the window rubbing his chin.

Harm, though that statement clearly wounded him, commented, "I believe, sir, that people, in times of great stress, do try to hang on to those they care about. And considering what LT JG Austin went through in terms of stress, I think that explanation fits the bill, sir."

"Anyways..." the admiral picked up the phone, "Lieutenant Commander, I have an EOD team to send out to LT JG Austin's residence and you have staff call to prepare for. Dismissed LCDR Rabb."

"Aye-aye sir!" Harm snapped to and about-faced, striding towards the admiral's office door. As he reached the door, he turned for a brief moment, "thank you, sir". Chegwidden nodded and Harm exited the admiral's office, relieved that the admiral had taken his concerns seriously.

_**Meg's Apartment, Reston, VA 0830 hrs. **_

"Do you hear knocking?" Meg asked as she looked over at Animal who looked over at the bedroom door.

"Well if it was an intruder, I don't think they'd be knocking." Animal got out of the bed and quickly put on a t-shirt and shorts to wear. "I'd suggest you get dressed too." Meg hurriedly complied.

More knocking. Animal headed out to answer the door. "Who is it?!" Animal barked out.

"Navy EOD! Sir!" Animal opened the door to be met with a puzzled looking Chief EOD(EWS) Haines who asked "this is Lieutenant JG Meg Austin's residence, sir?"

"Yes?" Animal inquired, curiosity sparked.

"And who might you be? Sir?" Chief Haines asked looking at his file photo and then at Animal.

Animal smirked. "Commander Toshio Nakamura, Chief." Animal identified himself acknowledging the Chief by rank to let him know that he was Navy.

"Yes, sir, Commander. We're just here to check Lieutenant Austin's residence and car to make sure that there are no explosive gifts that the Russians left the Lieutenant, sir."

Animal ushered them all in "In that case...by all means, Chief." Animal looked over at a by-now-dressed Meg who looked curiously at Animal who just mouthed EOD at her. She nodded.

"Chief, I'm Lieutenant JG Meg Austin." Meg stated as she walked up to the Chief EOD(EWS).

"Ma'am. We're here on the JAG's request to make sure that your residence unit and your vehicle are clear of any explosive devices." Meg's eyes opened wide in fear.

"Would be like Parlovsky to leave some nice little toys that go boom." Animal commented sardonically.

"Ma'am would you have the keys to your car. Several techs and I will go down and check your car to insure that there are no explosives attached to your vehicle." Chief Haines stated. Meg looked worriedly at him.

"What is the possibility of explosives being planted by the Russians."

"Well, ma'am. Zelimkhan Yandarbijev was murdered by two ex-Russian intelligence agents and we don't know who the guy you were kidnapped is really working for. So I'd say _better to be safe than sorry_." Chief Haines replied.

"Chief? All clear here." The EOD Team 2 walked up to the Chief.

"Thank you ma'am. Now if we can head down and check your car." He held out his hand while Meg gave him the spare set of keys.

About twenty minutes later, or about forty minutes after Animal first gave them entry, they were given an all clear on both apartment and vehicle.

"Now all we have to do is get the all clear on bugs." Animal muttered.

Meg sardonically commented, "simple solution...get rid of car; get rid of apartment."

"...and move in with me..." Animal gave her an irritatingly smug look.

Meg grumbled as she gathered a few things into a go-bag. "That works all fine, well n'good until you have to head back to Fallon."

"Well if we co-sign on the mortgage, I just put the money in out of my monthly salary so that it gets withdrawn out of my account. Then all you have to worry about is food." Animal gave her a look as if that was a workable solution.

"That might work. But just remember I'm on a Lieutenant J G's salary. And I can't afford to be eaten out of house and home." Meg paused and looked at him. "I'm only making $4400 a month." She said giving him an affectionate nudge in the side. "And you eat like a horse."

Animal's pay as a commander with 15 years of service was about several thousand more than Meg's and additional flight hazard pay was an extra couple hundred in the pocket which helped out. Even at seven thousand a month roughly, it was tight if one didn't economize, but Animal wasn't about to move into a crappy neighborhood for economy's sake. He smirked. "To keep costs down, when I have to sleep at the base in Fallon, I'll use the BOQ. I do get $1200 near Fallon for BAH. And I can sleep at our place when I'm in town. Now let's look up a realtor and go find you a new car and us a new place to live."

"So..." Meg grinned as she ran her hand up and down Animal's arm. "So...I'm your girl in port?" She teased him.

"You're my only girl in port." That earned him a passionate kiss. He held her upper arms at arms length for brief moment as he said. "Estimated at $1600 a month, we could afford it on my salary alone. We could do this."

"I'm convinced." Meg said smugly, "but you snore."

"I do not..."

"Yes you do."

"Love you."

"I love me too." Meg smirked as she gave him a kiss and laughed at Animal who had a faux pout on his face. "Yes, I love you too." She amended as she hugged him again mollifying him. Locking the door to her apartment, they started on their trip to the car dealership.

She watched Animal as he drove. He was a contradiction in terms; cautious, yet confident in his driving skills. Never in a hurry yet could make key lane changes that invariably left other cars far behind; the pace seemed quick but he was never over the speed limit. And it seemed to Meg that Animal would fly the way he drove.

Pulling into a Chevrolet dealership, he grinned. "I swear by Chevy." Animal declared as Meg raised a questioning look at him. "Can't stand Toyota or Honda. Their stuff is overpriced and not made of good ol'American steel. My grandpa drove Chevy, my Dad drove Chevy and me too."

"I wanted something sporty." Meg stated as she got out of the car once parked. She walked towards the lined up sportscars. "Hmmm. You think I could handle this?" She leaned up against the 1995 Camaro Z28.

"350 LT1 V8. Hmmm." Animal rubbed his chin contemplatively. "That's a lot of power under the hood." Meg was wearing a nice tight pair of blue jeans that seemed to effectively break Animal's concentration and a white blouse with her collar turned up. "Stick shift or Auto." He asked innocently.

Meg had a devilish grin as she sidled up to him and said or as Animal would later recall it. "Auto...only stick shift that's responsive enough is..." She put her lips to his ear and whispered "...yours..." And pulled away while Animal turned beet red and grinned sheepishly.

"Hi folks, can I help you with anything today?" A slightly portly balding salesman emerged from the showroom and hailed them. He sounded like he'd moved from Texas the day before. His Texan accent was dripping with Hey y'all and he looked all hat no cattle.

Meg gave the salesperson a grin. "Hi, I'm looking for a car." Her soft Texas accent was barely detectable but ol'Mr. Slicker-than-a-boiled-onion was so obtuse he'd make a circle look sharp.

The salesperson looked her up and down; evidently her hot jeans and blouse was working in her favor as the salesman couldn't seem to concentrate on anything above her neck. Animal glowered at him darkly wondering if he should ask the salesman for a test drive of a Camaro Z28 then scare the absolute shit out of him. "I hear she wants a Camaro Z28," Animal opined, his tone innocent and just for shits and giggles gave an exaggerated Pennsylvania hick accent. "Now ya known, don't know much 'bout cars so'n I reckon ya might tell'r some thin' bout dat dere car?" Meg just about cracked up laughing since the look on the salesperson's face showed utter dumbstruck confusion. Evidently he wasn't used to a Pennsylvania accent coming from an Asian mouth.

"A Z28?" The salesperson gave her another close inspection and Animal wondered just how much inflation he could get out of this salesman if he jammed a air hose down the guy's pie hole. His mind gave him a comical impression of the salesman floating off into the stratosphere like a suit-dressed weather-balloon and he barely resisted laughing. "That's a lot of horses to handle. Missy. Four hunnerd sixty of 'em to be exact." He grinned thinking he'd intimidated Meg into something a little more female friendly. And the hick accent pretty much wrote Animal off as a sort of a _doesn't know anything about cars _in the mind of that salesperson.

Meg looked innocently at that salesperson. "Well do you think you could get us a test drive with that Z28?"

"Are you sure you can handle that kind of horsepower, Missy?" Meg was starting to get annoyed at the condescension displayed by this salesperson.

...and said "I'm sure I will..." She pointed to a black Camaro Z28 in the corner. It was a 4-spd Automatic transmission, all leather seats and trim. Animal barely restrained a grin. That was a nice looking ride.

Animal grinned as the salesperson resignedly led them to the indicated 95 Camaro Z28. He grinned even wider when the salesperson asked "so which one of y'all folks is gonna test this machine", looking to Animal first, who indicated that he was going to let Meg drive it first as she was going to buy the car. That confounded the salesperson even more.

Meg grinned at Animal then told the salesman, "I'll test the car and see if it fits my everyday driving needs and then my boyfriend will test the car's limits and see how safe it really is."

"Well Missy, is your boyfriend gonna schedule a diff'rent time to meet." He looked at Meg and then at Animal. "I'm sure your boyfriend would like to see the car before you buy it..."

Meg looked at him. "I'm sure my boyfriend can see the car just fine..." She said looking over at Animal and rolling her eyes. "Can't you? Honey?" The salesperson looked from Meg to Animal and back again.

Animal grinned malevolently. "Well shore I can. I'm tryin' to say, suh, that I shore ain't blind. The good Lor' gave me dem two eyes in ma head. So I reckon that I kin see it right good." Oh he was sure going to scare the living daylights out of this salesman and the evil glint in Animal's eyes didn't escape Meg!s attention as she buckled up tight in the driver's seat; the salesperson taking shotgun, Animal having crawled in the back seat. Meg pulled out of the lot after the salesman retrieved the demo plates from the other salesman and the keys from the lockbox. The salesperson directed her to make a nice gentle turn onto the main road. And Meg sedately drove the car not driving her usual speed not doing anything out of the ordinary. One would almost call this a grandmotherly pace. Animal barely stifled a yawn. For a test-drive it was hardly out of the ordinary and it certainly didn't tax the V8 under the hood.

As the test drive concluded, Meg turned to Animal as she parked the car, "Sweetie," she asked "did you want to try driving the car?"

The expression on Animal's face was sheer nefariousness. He looked over at his beloved and asked in an unimpeachable tone, "May I?" Meg grinned back at him as the salesperson looked at both he and Meg with an unreadable expression.

Meg grinned as she and Animal traded places. The salesperson dug himself deeper by asking if he could see enough to drive, to adjust the mirrors; all innocent enough questions in their own right, but set Animal's temper dangerously close to the boil-over point. Foot on brake pedal, Animal mashed down the gas pedal, the rear tires spinning to produce a cloud of smoke.

"Foot off the brake! Foot off the brake!" The salesperson panicked.

"OK!" Meg nearly burst out laughing when Animal suddenly released the brake-pedal and the V8 took over. Timing his brake just right; the salesman nearly catapulting face-first into the front passenger dashboard only restrained by his shoulder/lap belt, Animal gauged his entry into traffic by milliseconds, spinning the wheel hard right and stomping the gas pedal as car horns blared their protest as to his unorthodox traffic entry. The poor abused Camaro fish tailed briefly before straightening out. Several cars passed him; their occupants waving middle fingers. One even rolled down his window to yell out "Goddamned Oriental driver!" Animal took the same route as Meg had done, but at a much higher rate of speed and rate of acceleration; braking hard and making the first right turn so hard, the g-force of the turn nearly put the salesperson into the driver's seat and pinned Animal against the door. He tested the brake by stomping on the brake pedal so hard he nearly put the salesperson through the front windshield. By this time the car salesman was praying out loud.

"Oh, Lord, Help me Jesus." Animal grinned malevolently as he took the next corner on two wheels, helping the car salesman's conversion to the Christian faith take an even louder turn. "O Lord Almighty! I won't drink no more if I get out of this alive! Please help me, Lord Jesus." As the final corner and the turn in to the car lot approached Animal spun the wheel pulling into the car lot keeping right narrowly missing the front bumpers of the new cars lined up; cutting the wheel hard left in the direction of the turn, pinning the salesperson to his passenger side door, hitting the brake hard and spinning the car to line up and park in front of the main door entrance to the car dealership; the car salesman letting out a final loud "Lord Christ Almighty!" and hyperventilated for a few moments. Animal pulled the key from the ignition and tossed it to the car salesman getting out of the car and letting Meg out. Her legs were a little wobbly too after that test-drive.

"Jesus Christ! Where did ya learn to drive? In all my life I ain't never seen anything like that!" The salesman blustered. "I got a half mind to throw y'all off my lot. Ya dang near killed me! I'm surprised if they'd even let you ride a bicycle. Are ya crazy?!"

"No, sir." Animal said and then stepped into the portly salesman's personal space cutting off his rant. He leaned in growling,"What I am is annoyed at your blatant condescension towards my girlfriend intimating that she doesn't have the skill to drive this vehicle. Secondly, the United States Navy entrusts me with something even more expensive than this vehicle." He turned to indicate the Camaro Z28. "I'm a naval aviator and I fly F-14 Tomcats for a living." The expression on the face of the salesman was laughable. Animal didn't think he could give the person a bigger shock than that. "Thirdly, I land on aircraft carriers which means my reaction times have to be honed to a millisecond. So, sir, I face those kind of dangers every day." He smirked evilly, his face almost in the salesman's face. "So if you had quit staring down the top of my girlfriend's shirt admiring her unattainable assets, perhaps you would have gotten to know your clients better. As it is, bring out your manager and start praying to your God Almighty because it's going to take a goddamned miracle for you to close this deal." The salesperson was so in shock he didn't even realize that Animal had dropped the hick accent and had reverted to his northern New York State accent. "Now go get your manager! Now!"

As the now cowed salesman scuttled off like a speared crab, Meg looked over at Animal,"Was he really staring at my boobs?" She asked, sounding thoroughly disgusted.

Animal snorted. "If he had been looking any closer, his tongue would have been hanging down your cleavage."

"Ewwwww".

In about ten minutes the salesman came out accompanied by his sales manager. "My salesperson says you wanted to buy a car?" He asked Meg paying incredibly polite attention to her.

"What he also didn't inform you was his blatant discriminatory conduct towards me and to my boyfriend." She snapped. "I presume he also didn't mention that he was spending more time staring down my shirt than trying to sell me a car. I just so happen to be a Navy lawyer, a judge advocate general lawyer to be exact. Let me enlighten you on that..." She glared meaningfully at the salesman who nearly wilted. Both he and the manager paled. "You could get away with it due to laxness in the US Code for sexual harassment being restricted to the employer-employee relationship, but I trust your manager has more brains than that." She glared at the manager who winced and shot a glare at the salesman. "Let me tell you that you are very close to losing a sale."

The manager nodded like a bobblehead and told the salesman to go back to the showroom and that he was taking over the sale as punishment.

Meg stated that she was thinking of purchasing a car and that she would consider a proper trade-in value as compensation for the harassment she had received for the car but she needed to take a few hours to contemplate the situation.

Both Animal and Meg got back into Meg's car and headed out to talk things over with a car appraiser in Fairfax stating that they would be back to talk things out with the dealership. As they drove off, Animal remarked to Meg. "You think we'll get the car bought before Harm gets off work?" Meg burst out laughing.


	30. Chapter 30

_**In Meg's car, 1225 hrs. **_

Animal looked at his watch,"oh crap! I've only got one hour before I have to head to Bethesda for my appointment." Meg looked at him in amusement as she caressed his shoulder.

"Hon. I'll call the assessor enroute and make sure he understands we'll meet up,with him after the appointment." Meg said as she picked up her cell phone and started dialing. After talking with the guy, she grinned at Animal and said, "he'll meet us at the dealership after your appointment. That way we can get this done quickly."

It was a twenty minute drive to Bethesda Naval Medical Hospital. Turning onto Wood Road, Animal pulled out his Navy ID then realized Meg had no way of providing ID. Pulling to the guard house Animal showed the guard ID then told the guard to call the JAG office to fax over her Page 1 of her military file until she could get her ID. It took fifteen minutes for the clearance to come through and Meg and Animal finally drove through to the parking spot.

"Dang it!" Animal muttered; aggravated at his slip of uniform code. "Forgot my uniform!"

"We're here early..." Meg stated fingering her visitor badge. "You can pick up,a set of work khakis and a naval aviator's insignia at the hospital NEX." So Animal diverted to the NEX and got a set of khakis and insignia as well as some Navy Aviator wings. Getting an overseas cap was easier on the wallet than getting a cover. Just a small officer's insignia pin and another set of collar insignia.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you need a set of your ribbons. I have your awards and decorations file right here and it will take me fifteen minutes to arrange them in order." Animal checked the time. "Please make up a set. I'll pay for them now but I have an appointment so I'll pick them up later." He said as he put a NEX debit card on the counter. The LS1 cashier smiled and rang him up after checking his Navy ID. Using a change room, he quickly changed into the khakis. They weren't entirely pressed but Animal figured it was close enough for hand grenades and he didn't have time to get them pressed.

Animal made it into the doctor's office about five minutes before his appointment time, Meg by his side.

"Commander Nakamura?" The nurse Lieutenant asked looking up from her computer terminal at the reception desk. Animal nodded showing her his Navy ID.

"Sir, Captain Sharpley will see you in a few minutes." She gestured over at the seats, a small smile on her face, encouraging them to take a load off their feet. "If you will have a seat."

It seemed only a minute when Captain Walter Sharpley came out, smiled and stated, " Good afternoon, Commander. If you and your companion will follow me. We can begin discussing your treatment schedule. You're a long way from San Diego, Commander." Captain Sharpley commented as he walked down the hallway; Animal and his companion trailing after him. At one office, he stopped and gestured, asking them to enter ahead of them. He sat down behind his desk and said, "You were decorated for the Purple Heart for being wounded under fire and nominated for the Medal of Honor?"

"Yes, sir, for the Purple Heart, as to the Medal of Honor, that's debatable, sir."

"Why is that, Commander?" Captain Sharpley looked amused.

"Well, sir, I was just protecting the men who were with me on that undisclosed mission, sir." Animal replied. "I asked them to come help me retrieve our downed RIO, they opted to come on that request. I wouldn't have been doing my job, if my job description didn't expand to cover them, sir…and they wanna reward me with a pretty blue ribbon and bauble? I was just doing my job, sir. I mean it's an honor and all, but..." he trailed off.

"They said you were humble." CAPT Sharpley grinned. "Are you sure you're a fighter pilot?"

"Well, sir, the gold wings on my uniform tell me I am…" Meg grinned indulgently at Animal as he responded, puffing his chest out. "Those who can't; boast, those who can; do. And, sir, it's not fighter pilot, it's naval aviator, we're a cut above zoomies."

"OK…" CAPT Sharpley replied. "I see." He said glancing up at his DSMIV "Yes, you are definitely a naval aviator."

"Delusions of grandeur, oversized ego?" Meg asked innocently. "Convinced that he's the best naval aviator in the world?" She looked at Animal who looked rather deflated at those comments. "Shades of narcissism?"

"Psychiatrist? Ma'am?" CAPT Sharpley asked even more amused at Meg's comments.

"No…she's a lawyer." Animal said dryly, "A Navy JAG."

CAPT Sharpley looked at Meg, then back at Animal. He wasn't sure whether to congratulate Animal on a catch or shake his hand in commiseration. He settled for commenting just as dryly as Animal had, "Lawyer, huh?"

"Yes, sir." Meg said proudly.

"Well, we will take some x-rays to see how well your shoulder is healing up. Left shoulder injury, two bullets originating from an AK-47 firing a 7.62x39mm round. Punched straight through the muscle, missed arteries and surprisingly your entire shoulder joint. The first passed through to the left of your humerous." CAPT Sharpley commented, looking at his file.

"Well, it didn't seem so humorous at the time." Animal intentionally misinterpreted it, getting a chuckle out of the captain.

"Yep…that never fails to elicit a joke." The captain grinned at him. Animal figured he was going to get along just fine with the medical services Navy Captain. "The second bullet went between your clavicle and your scapula. If it had hit your scapula, it would have shattered it and we'd be looking at a medical down chit from flying. You were extremely lucky, Commander."

"Yes, sir. I definitely missed the axe on that one." Animal responded, looking at Meg, with jaw dropped open. The doctors hadn't gone into that much detail before, they just tossed him onto rehabilitation. But knowing the near-miss to his flying career, he resolved even more that getting shot at was 'for the birds'. From now on, he was going to stay comfy in his F-14 Tomcat…and resist getting shot down, even if he had to take down an entire enemy squadron by himself.

After a series of x-rays, he was pronounced fit to go and to come back every other day for rehabilitative therapy, except on weekends. Animal resolved to himself that he would make sure that the accommodation matter was settled this weekend.

Coming down from the office, Meg and Animal noticed a loitering 6'4" officer hanging out by the door. "Hey, Harm!" There were looks of amazement from passers-by as to the familiarity and the non-salute between the senior and junior officer as well as a few looks of outrage by senior officers O4 and above. Animal chose to ignore them.

"How'd you know where I was?" Animal asked.

Harm remarked, grinning widely at Meg. "I got off early. The admiral told me that you needed your replacement ID and told me to bring it to you, BuPERS got it finished quickly. Plus, I hear you're replacing your car today and going over to a realtor to look at houses. Can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, go ahead." Animal said, ushering Harm and Meg back to the NEX. "Gotta go pick up my ribbons."

"Bought another khaki uniform set?" Harm asked, bemused.

"Yeah, Harm. I keep forgetting that I need to wear one when I go to Bethesda or San Diego." Animal scratched the top of his head in a contemplative gesture.

"How many does that make now?"

"Oh…I'd say about a dozen." Harm looked at him incredulously.

"At least, they're relatively cheap."

"I think I can start losing my garrison caps." Animal said as he walked up to the LS1. "Hi…back from the appointment. Are my ribbons ready?"

"Yes, sir." Animal grinned at the LS1 who proffered him the bagged ribbons and rack. Animal took off his khaki uniform shirt and placed his ribbon rack properly with the naval aviator wings above. The top ribbon at that point was the Silver Star. Accompanying that was the DFC with three gold stars signifying the fact that Animal had downed four aircraft in close air-to-air combat which evidently had taken some fancy flying to accomplish. The Navy Marine Corps Medal was next for providing air cover under bingo fuel for a Marine platoon pinned down under heavy fire. He'd gotten his ass royally chewed out for that after crossing the fantail on vapor. His engines flamed out in the wires and he'd had to be towed out. But his CO and the Air Wing commander had written him up…for the Navy Marine Corps Medal after telling him to _watch his_ _goddamned fuel gauge _after that. After the Purple Heart was the Air Medal for number of sorties with a V for valor. The Navy Marine Corps Commendation was for another air cover mission flying against Republican Guards to help out a SEAL Team extract while taking fire. The rest were campaign medals and a sea service medal covering four deployments. At the bottom were two marksmanship medals; Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert.

"Woah…five plus rows, huh?" Harm grinned at Animal as he assessed the awards on Animal's rack. "A genuine hero." He teased his friend.

"Naw…the Purple Heart just means that I was stupid enough to get in the way of a bullet; actually two bullets in this case. That's why I'm here…" He gestured taking in the whole medical complex.

"Hold up a minute." Meg said, "I need to get a new khaki uniform. Mine got shredded."

"OK…" Animal replied and whispered to Harm sotto voce, "At least this isn't a boutique store…"

"I heard that." Meg's voice floated back towards him as she disappeared into the racks, looking for her size, which at 5' 11" was not regularly carried on the racks at boutique stores. At least the Navy was efficient in that way. They covered every size even though some uniforms could sit on the racks for years before being bought.

Harm grinned at Animal who winced. "So, when do we have to be at the dealership?"

"1500hrs, we have some time." Animal replied. Meg came out with two sets of khaki uniforms in her hands headed for the sales counter. At least the one that got shredded was the working khaki uniforms. So she had one to replace the one lost and another to have as a spare. After paying, they headed for the parking lot. Harm surprisingly had managed to find a parking spot just two cars over from Meg's.

_**Leeds Chev-Olds, Falls Church, VA, 1450 hrs **_

Animal pulled into the Chevy dealership. A big smirk on his face, he opened the door and got out. The salesperson that they had dealings with on their prior visit had another set of people that he was working with. That salesperson looked over at the returning car and paled. He had turned sheet white when he saw Animal get out. Evidently Animal's uniform was intimidating; he had purchased a set of corfam Oxfords polished to a high shine. And the brand new officer's collar insignias and wings were even more so. He pulled on his garrison cap and strode towards the waiting manager and the vehicle appraiser who stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jeff." The appraiser said.

"I'm Tosh." Animal said. "This is Meg." He indicated Meg, "She's the owner of the car..." he turned to the manager, "I trust that we can work out a fair deal for the trade in?"

"Uh…yes, sir." The dealership manager gulped. He sure wasn't going to try to rip off a serviceman now after he had shown up in uniform.

Harm stepped out of the car… "Oh…and this is my girlfriend's legal partner at the Judge Advocate General. He's just coming to insure that everything is on the up and up." Animal indicated with a sweep of his hand towards Harm. The gold oak-leaves on Harm's khakis and his 6'4" frame amped up the stress level for the dealership manager.

Harm stage-whispered to Meg. "So, Meg, what car are you getting?"

"Camaro, Z28…" Meg stage-whispered back.

"Hmmm, nice, fourth generation body, V8?"

"That's what Tosh tells me." Meg grinned back at Harm as she looked over at the row of 1995 Camaros.

"You both gonna share the car as far as driving it?"

"If he can pry my hands off the steering wheel to my car." Meg shot back.

About an hour of negotiation later, Meg got her car and a full trade-in value for her old car. Shaking hands with the sales manager and the vehicle appraiser, while Animal started transferring her things to the new Camaro Z28 which she had gotten in cherry red 460hp V8. "Until I get to the DMV and get my replacement license, Tosh gets to drive it."

Harm grinned as he got into his Corvette. "Well, you got till five to get to the office in Vienna, I'll follow you guys." Animal grinned widely.

"Don't you crash my NEW car!" Meg threatened him.

"I won't… I'm just enjoying the new car smell…" Animal took a deep breath while he and Meg settled themselves in the car. Animal in the driver's seat, Meg in the passenger side. Animal turned the ignition and the growl of the V8 under the hood initiated an even wider smile from Animal.

It took Animal under twenty minutes, even with traffic, to get to the DMV at Vienna and it was another twenty minutes before Meg managed to get a replacement driver's license, along with an interim paper license, so that she could drive her new car. As soon as she exited the line-up she held her hand out. Animal stared for a minute, as she cleared her throat. "My keys…please?" Animal sighed and handed them over as others in the lineup laughed. Meg grinned widely as she walked past Harm, keys in hand; as Harm looked over at Animal.

"Had to give up the keys, huh?"

"Shut up, Rabb." Harm snickered in response.

"You sure you don't wanna ride with me to the real estate office?" Harm asked Animal.

"Shut up, sir!" Meg smirked at Harm as she crooked a finger at Animal. "Get in the car, sweetie." She ordered. Animal grinned and complied, getting in the passenger seat.

"See you at the realtor's office." Harm called out as he snickered, getting into his car. Animal was so whipped.

Prior to leaving Bethesda, Harm had mentioned while they were in the NEX that he knew a realtor, Becky Esquivel, who worked with Coldwell Banker DC Residential in Falls Church, so Meg and Animal opted to give Becky a call.

Meg was cautious with the new car, but she knew that it would take a while to get used to having the power of the V8 under the hood, so it did take a longer time than Animal would have done to get to the real estate office.

Meeting with Becky was relatively uneventful, other than she would be in contact with Animal and Meg to let them know what was available and that she needed twenty four hours to set up appointments. So Friday morning was pretty much theirs to do with what they wanted. Taking their name and number and proffering a card of her own, Becky informed them that she would be in touch with them the following day to show them some listings that they could look at. All things considered, Becky Esquival was licensed to sell real estate in three states; DC, VA and MD, so they could have a selection of listings to look at. Animal was interested in Bethesda area because that would make going to Bethesda Naval Medical Center easy to go to, while Meg could use the car. Whereas if Animal had to purchase another car, he'd rapidly find costs mounting up, or he could use Meg's car while she was at work and then pick her up in the evening. There were options.

There was one on Democracy Blvd, however that would have Animal having to commute. Meg decided that she wanted to drive up to Bethesda with the new car and do some looking around to see if there were any condos for sale that would be close enough for Animal to walk from their condo to his therapy, every other day. Harm on the other hand was planning on heading home to his DC condo.

"If we see anything, we'll call ya and let you know…" Animal grinned at Harm who waved, acknowledging Animal's hail.

_**In Meg's New Car, 1730 hrs**_

Animal and Meg looked at the passing buildings as they drove up MD-355 all the way up past Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

"Hey, isn't that the one that was on that list of places that Becky was saying that she was looking at?" Animal asked.

"I think it was." Meg replied as they went under the bridge that was I-495 and kept heading north towards Tuckerman Lane. When they got there, Meg hung a right and then proceeded up the street, at the first intersection at Strathmore Hall, she turned another right then a left at Montrose Avenue to go north and then parked across the street from the apartment that was listed. "It's a nice place." Meg admitted, "But…there's a difference between driving the car and walking the whole way."

"It'll give me an excuse to get some PT, which I hate having to do. Then I can sell my treadmill." Animal grinned. "All I have to do is get myself a decent set of jogging shoes."

"So…we go stop in at a shoe store and get you your Nikes." Meg smirked. "Won't spend more than twenty bucks on clothes but you'll go all in and buy $79.99 running shoes."

"Can't help it. I'm cheap." Meg rolled her eyes.


	31. Chapter 31

_**In Meg's New Car, 1730 hrs**_

Animal grinned back at Meg as she rolled her eyes at him and gave him one of her looks as she figured out that he was joking. Animal didn't like running at the best of times and he certainly wasn't inclined to run even at the best of times, the solitary motivation being that he had to meet the Navy's fitness regulations.

"So where would you prefer to stop for shoes?" Meg inquired, intuitively knowing that buying shoes was probably a diversion to keep from having to go home to a home that she didn't feel comfortable in any longer with the sole exception that Animal was with her.

Animal contemplated for a long moment and then stated; looking in her direction, "Any shoe place that sells athletic shoes that's on the way back is convenient."

Meg, gratified that Animal was staying with her at her apartment, grinned at him, "Sounds like a plan. I think we should get food too on the way back; no sense in starving." She drove quickly; the Camaro handling like a fighter jet under her expert handling all the way along I-495.

The sun was still over the horizon denoting the fact that it was still summer and the warmth was still evident in the temperature of the breeze coming through the open window. Animal gazed out at the passing scenery as the car pointed its way back towards home. He pondered just how comfortable Meg would be sleeping in her home until such time as the apartment deal closed; when they actually made an offer on one. He was sincerely hoping that the transaction would be a quick completion so that he could get Meg out of the apartment that she was currently in.

Meg continued driving, her thoughts in turmoil. The abduction had played hell with her emotional equilibrium and she was uncomfortable even being in there, but she wasn't sure on how to broach the subject of not being comfortable in her apartment any more. It was late and Animal knew that most of the running shoe stores were closed so Animal had brought up the idea of just grabbing a bite to eat anywhere. "Sweetheart," Meg said… "I don't know how to say it…but…after that…" she paused for a long moment as the miles clicked over on the odometer. "…you know…"

Animal understood…regardless of how inarticulately she had broached the subject, nodding silently letting her finish her own sentence.

"…I just don't feel comfortable living in that place period. Even if we have to get a motel or something…I just don't want to be in there any more." After getting that out, it felt better.

"Can you be in there long enough for us to pack up a few things tonight…we can get Harm to help us pack up the rest some other time…" Animal asked with a look of concern on his face. Meg briefly glanced at him just quickly enough to let him know how grateful she was that he understood her apprehensions about even being in that building.

Meg grinned, "I do know of a place in Reston that is open till 9PM…and I'm sure we can get there in enough time. It's in Reston Town Center…and it's close to the apartment too so that we can quickly pack up a few things."

Animal nodded understandingly as he continued to gaze at the darkening sky as they drove down towards Reston.

_**Meg's Apartment, 11406 Gate Hill Condos Unit 316, Reston, VA 1930hrs**_

Animal left the new Nike Air Max Triax shoes in the trunk of the car out of sight while they packed a few things into a suitcase for Meg as well as her legal briefcase; as well as grabbing his stuff in his bag. If they were going to move to a hotel or a motel until they could quick-complete a sale, they would have to live lightly going back and forth from the apartment to transfer things over into a storage unit to be able to put the apartment on the market quickly. He had called a hotel to see if there was monthly rates; nothing was available at any of the higher end hotels, but he did manage to find one at a low key Budget motel for sixteen hundred a month and that was good enough to start. They would think about the move once they were settled and had an active contract of purchase and sale written up.

Animal looked over at Meg who looked unsettled as she dug up her spare personal sidearm, a Beretta Cougar, a slightly smaller issue firearm than the Beretta M9 standard issue sidearm in the USN and put it into a carrying case along with her ammunition. It was a slight shudder but he noticed her unease enough to walk over and wrap his arms around her; she leaned into his embrace to seek comfort and silently continued to pack up things, just enough that they could get out and leave for someplace where she would feel more secure. But it still felt to her like the apartment that she had lived in ever since she had transferred to JAG was no longer a sheltered home. She was jumping at shadows: tense and keyed up, not knowing just exactly what it was that was unnerving her, but being unable to control that feeling. Meg sighed to herself realizing she really did need to talk to someone professional about this post-traumatic stress disorder before it consumed her.

"You OK, Meg?"

Meg looked over to see Animal watching her. "I think so…" she affirmed, but it seemed to Animal that the assertion rang false.

He sighed deeply and asked, "Have you got everything that you think that you might need for the next while?"

Meg looked down at the sea bag that she was packing and went through a mental checklist to make certain that she hadn't left anything out. She nodded her head and zipped up the sea bag. Animal stepped in to heft it over his shoulder, grinning at her as she said, "I think so…" again.

"Oof…" Animal grunted, half-pretending that his knees were buckling as he straightened up. "Did you pack the fridge in here too?" he asked.

"Of course not…but I think we should take some of the perishables." Meg smirked, her mood lightening a bit; Animal's comment eliciting a slight laugh out of her.

Animal looked at her eagerly, "Got any donuts?" Meg rolled her eyes.

_**Forty Minutes Later, Extended Stay America Hotel – Merrifield, Fairfax, VA**_, _**2130 hrs**_

Animal dropped the bags and their food off in the suite; staggered over to the bed and collapsed in it. "Ooooh…my aching back." He mumbled into the pillow barely audible to the other occupant's of-the-room ears.

"Well, I told you that I could carry my bag up…" insisted Meg pointedly as she glared at Animal, "But you insisted on hoisting your sea bag, my sea bag and the bags of food up three flights of stairs. Stubborn goat." That insult made him snicker around a big grin.

"Yeah…remind me never to do that again." He mumbled, massaging his sore shoulders.

Meg gave him an irritated sniff and said pointedly "I thought the doctor told you to take it easy on your _injured _shoulder." She arched an eyebrow at him but nearly laughed out loud when Animal gave her a look that inconceivably was a mixture of ashamed yet unrepentant smugness. "You are going to drive your doctors insane, you know that. If you keep hindering your recovery…"

"Yep…" Animal reached for the Burger King bag to fish out three Whopper Juniors with Cheese while Meg took out a Bacon and Cheese Whopper Sandwich. Meg rolled her eyes not bothering to complete the sentence. Animal was hungry and nothing would deter him from eating his sandwich.

She grinned at Animal, "Harm would be appalled." She commented casually indicating their fast-food repast as she took a bite of her burger and closed her eyes chewing, savoring the flame grilled burger.

"Well…it's a good thing that he isn't here, isn't it?" Animal grinned back at her as he bit into his first Whopper Junior.

"A very good thing…"

_**Extended Stay America Hotel – Merrifield, Fairfax, VA**_, _**2230 hrs**_

Meg looked over at Animal who had finished up his third Whopper Junior and completely demolished his fries. "You must have been hungry." She commented as Animal crumpled up his wrapper of his burger and tossed it into the now empty Burger King bag and then picked up his chocolate shake and started draining it with a slurp.

"Famished…" he replied. "I think my stomach thought my throat was cut." Animal grinned at her as Meg gave him an indulging look despite, to Western standards, the rude noises coming from the straw and drink cup. Wincing for a moment…he shook his head quite violently.

"What?" Meg asked alarmed.

"Brain freeze…" he groaned, "Always happens when I drink shakes too fast." Meg shook her head wondering just how insane Animal was, but insane or not, Animal was always amusing when he was off-duty.

"You are so weird…" Meg said to him. "But…I love you for it." She had her laptop flipped open and was working with it on the bed beside Animal.

"Cases?" Animal inquired curiously eyeing the laptop.

"Yup"…she said, turning to him, "I can't really speak about them, y'know, client confidentiality and all that."

Animal nodded. He understood the situation with how a lawyer should not reveal information about their clients to a third party without the consent of the client or a clear legal reason and considering that Animal was an aviator and not a co-counsel, he had no need for learning about what cases Meg was working on. And shit would have hit the fan if he was a counsel sleeping with another counsel. He decided that since Meg was busy, that he would pull out his Michael Crichton novel, he had bought a few weeks ago and buried his nose in it for a while. In the newly published novel Crichton challenged the public perception of air safety and the consequences of exaggerated media reports to sell the story. It was an interesting read and Animal was not a particularly fast reader but he was at about page two hundred and thirty six. It had a solid plot and engaging characters. When he next looked up, Meg had put away the laptop and was looking over at him with a curious expression. Animal immediately dog-eared the page, closed the book and turned to Meg as she contemplated him, her blue eyes wide and her eyelids half closed.

"Hmmm?" Animal inquired.

"mmm…hmmm…" was her response. That was all that was needed.

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA 0730hrs, Friday**_

"Well, that was a nasty wrap-up to the Constantine case." The admiral growled. "We were expected to prosecute on this, but it got neatly wrapped up with two 9mm shots to the back of the head. On top of that, the Russians have the body so we don't know what happened."

"How did that happen, sir." Harm asked.

"Hell if I know, Rabb…" was the annoyed response. "The spooks are zipped up tighter than a nun with a vow of silence. The likelihood of getting something out of them in regards to information is less than zilch." He looked down at his desk then back up at Harm and glowered, "I don't think any of the idiots over at the Certified Idiots of America will even say that the sky is blue if told to say otherwise. I'd shove the file folder back in the vault and ignore it. Mr. Rabb." Chegwidden commented. "I think that's what the CIA wants…for it to go away as quietly as possible."

"Is that wise, considering how much they screwed the pooch on this one, sir?"

"Just make it go away…Rabb…it doesn't need to be dealt with any further." The admiral said with a meaningful look that meant that Harm should just let the matter go and that prodding the situation any further trying to find out something that wasn't meant for their scope of jurisdiction would just end up being hazardous to their health. "Don't try and dig up things…just let it lie, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Harm replied, but the whole conclusion to the case was fishy and Harm just could not let it go that there was something else behind the whole situation. The death of Constantine was just too easy of a loophole to close and it just didn't add up. There had to be something else going on, but what?

_**USS Seahawk, CVN-65, Pier 14, Norfolk, VA, 0730hrs**_

Commander Nicholas Holbarth, United States Naval Surface Warfare officer on board the USS Seahawk aircraft carrier gazed impassively at Lieutenant JG Diane Schonke. "Are you telling me that Lieutenant Lamm made yet another inappropriate comment?"

"Yes, sir." The officer stood ram-rod straight as she stared straight ahead at the bulkhead.

"Are you sure that it wasn't just some…say…indiscretion on his part and not a deliberate inappropriate remark?"

"No, sir." It felt to Diane that CDR Holbarth wasn't taking her seriously. This had been the twentieth complaint over the past two years that Lamm had been assigned to the Seahawk that she had had to report him to a superior officer. There were some officers that just didn't get the message that she just wasn't interested in them. Most quit, but not Lamm. He was persistent as the day was long…and sometimes he'd get her at mid-watch, just to talk to her, even though she'd informed him that she was on duty at the time. After her duty she'd commiserate with Lieutenant Sarah Williams her bunk-mate in quarters. LT Williams was also aware of the situation and she had also backed up Lieutenant JG Schonke to the XO to no avail. It seemed that to have the XO do anything regarding the discipline of Lieutenant Lamm was doomed to failure. But yet it was another complaint logged amidst the pile of other complaints and eventually she would take it up above Commander Holbarth's head if she had to.

"I'll speak to him." CDR Holbarth said perfunctorily, more to pass her off, than to take her complaint seriously.

"Yes, sir." Inwardly she sighed knowing that this was yet another fruitless effort.

"Dismissed."

As Lieutenant JG Schonke turned to leave, the Commander received a message on his beeper. Making sure the lieutenant junior grade had left his office, he turned to look at the beeper. It was just a phone number but it set his nerves on edge. He hated these calls, it meant that he had to find some excuse to get off the ship and off base to ensure that he wasn't spotted.

Turning to the duty officer, he said, "Make sure Lieutenant Lamm is on the mid-watch tonight. I'll have a talk with him."

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Commander James Kimbell replied. He wasn't going to ask what that was all about. A duty officer didn't ask the XO anything.

"Tell him I'll be there at two bells past the mid-watch. He and I are going to have a discussion. That ought to keep him on his toes." CDR Holbarth explained, giving LCDR Kimbell a stern look. "I need to talk to the CO to request liberty for eight hours."

"Aye, sir. I'll 21MC the CO, sir."

"Roger that." CDR Holbarth stated, "If I can see him within ten minutes, it would be good."

"Aye-aye, sir."

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA 0945hrs, Friday**_

Harm looked into the case folder, the closure of this case was just too cut and dried for his liking and he wasn't about to let this one go. The case appeared to be much deeper than how it was wrapped up. Constantine was targeted for elimination because he was a spy recruited by the Russians; and he had to be eliminated due to the fact that too many people would be looking. Harm thought _it's an election year_ and the slate needed to be clean for Bill Clinton, as the incumbent, to regain election. So anything that smacked of impropriety needed to be cleansed. Espionage from a well-decorated military officer looked bad on the surface for the Clinton Presidency. The more he looked at it, the more he figured that it seemed extremely suspicious.

If Constantine were quietly disposed of, then he would not be a factor in the coming election and to make the Russians appear like the bad guys was the icing on the cake. Harm groaned audibly to himself. If he produced this to Chegwidden, he'd be castigated for continuing to dig in places where he had been admonished not to do so.

But if he didn't get to the root of the matter, how many other lives were at risk; how many would end up dead at the hands of those who didn't want this matter to get out. It was an understatement to say that Harm was nervous. The situation went far above what he'd originally deduced and who knew how many were involved. Meg having been captured by the Russians had convinced him that she needed to be out of the line of fire. And his mentor didn't need to be going headfirst into this situation, no matter how capable Animal thought he was. It was above even his mentor's capabilities.

He got up out of his chair, opened the safe and shoved the folder in it and vowed to forget about it until such time as he was able to get any sort of headway and proceeded to sit back down in his chair and open up another folder.

_**Big K Mart, Tidewater Drive, Norfolk, VA 1030hrs**_

A clean-shaven, non-descript, ash-blonde haired man in a white shirt and jeans stood beside a phone booth just outside the Big K Mart on Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, trying to look as though he was waiting for someone other than just appearing to loiter by the booth. Most persons seeking to shop at the Big K Mart ignored him and went about their business. No security guard approached as they had better things to do than to ask what assumed was a man who was clean-cut what his business was. And thus no one was around when the phone rang.

"You damned near got me caught." The man hissed into the telephone. "What is it?"

"A thousand pardons." The voice on the other end indicated; his tone showing anything but apology. "Bishop has been eliminated."

"You're shitting me."

"No…I am not…what it is that you said…to you." The voice replied. "You are to copy your operational codes to the CIWS onboard your ship. You will be paid $60,000 for the information."

"Make it $150,000 in small bills." The man replied as he looked around to see if anyone noticed anything. No-one had and he hadn't been spotted by anyone.

"You have 48 hours in which to do so…and you can meet us at the drop-off location at Point Alpha, you can look that up."

"No double-crosses." The man snarled softly into the receiver.

"Oh, we will not, you will come unarmed…"

"OK…" the man replied, knowing deep down that he would not come unarmed but he would leave his sidearm in the car. Deep down though, he felt that he was a neophyte swimmer stepping into deep waters. Whether he could swim remained to be seen.


	32. Chapter 32

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, 1030hrs**_

Harm looked over at the file as if it was a coiled venomous snake prepared to strike him down. The contents of that file made him wonder if he was doing the right thing in continuing to pursue the matter even though the admiral had advised him to slam the door shut on Constantine's death.

He wondered if his decision to pursue the matter, counter to advisement, would cause him to regret his decision. In fact his mind was telling him exactly that, but his relentless pursuit of justice in the face of overwhelming odds had oft-times turned the blind eyes of the scales of jurisprudence.

A subtle knock on the door caused him to look up. When he did, he noticed the door opening. Quickly shoving the file under the desk blotter, he looked over to see Webb, standing somewhat gingerly with the aid of crutches and a thick cast from his waist down on his left leg to his foot.

"I know you can't resist investigating the case..." Webb said with a frown, skipping the pleasantries and proffering an open palm; his left hand, Harm noticed. Harm just looked at him, "The file...under the blotter...if you please." Webb's tone indicated that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Harm gave Webb a once over. Despite his invalid status, Webb could reach for his side arm; his Sig-Sauer P228. So Harm slowly, without a word, withdrew it and tossed it to Webb's right hand side so that he wouldn't be able to draw. Webb snorted at the inconvenience gripping his left crutch and transferring his weight currently balanced on his right to his left so that he could pick up the file without problem.

"Don't ever come into my office and try to threaten me." Harm growled as he stood up to his full six-four height and glared across the table at the CIA agent.

"You don't have any copies?" Webb brushed the implied threat away as if it were just an annoying inconvenience. Harm glared at him silently. He wasn't going to break his silence. Let Webb worry about whether he had copies of the contents of the file or not. He wouldn't say yay or nay.

"Well..." Webb continued, his tone placid, "I guess if you don't, then I guess I'll be on my way.".

"I'll be sure to send Lieutenant JG Austin and Commander Nakamura your regards." Harm's voice was poisonously pleasant and he was pleased to see Webb pale as his composure was rattled.

"Fine..." Webb replied as he exited the office hastily.

_**Coldwell Banker DC Residential, Washington DC, 1030hrs**_

In the meantime, Meg and Animal were at the real estate office eying Rebecca Esquival as she went over the listings that she had found through the Multiple Listing Service of the Maryland Board of Real Estate. Animal had indicated that he preferred to be close to Bethesda for rehabilitation and Meg agreed with him.

Meg wanted to make certain that her boyfriend was well taken care of by the USN medical system and proximity to Bethesda Naval Medical Centre would be convenient. Animal needed to keep his cardio up and running to and from the Naval Medical Centre would help him to achieve that in any case. At least that was a plus-side to buying that new condo in Bethesda.

Animal looked over at Meg as the realtor handed over yet another listing in the area that Meg had mentioned. Meg eyed the listing price which was $365,900. "How long has this place been on the market?" Meg asked as she passed the listing information to her boyfriend.

"It was listed in June," she said.

"June of this year?" Meg asked; knowing that the vagueness could indicate June of last year and she wanted to narrow that down so that Tosh and she could discuss what they could consider offering on the property.

Becky paused for a moment and looked carefully at her copy of the listing then said slowly, "Well...it appears that the property was listed last year in June and it has received offers but the bids were not accepted. We don't know exactly why, but it seems as though the buyer pulled out at the last minute."

Animal looked at Meg and it appeared that Meg had mentally crossed the property off the list of viewing properties; not only was the listing price high, the owner sounded like he was reluctant to cooperate and bring the price down to something a little more tolerable. And Meg didn't have the patience to deal with that right now on top of all the stress that she was currently going through. She just wanted to get her stuff out of the place that didn't feel like a home anymore and move into a place with Animal where she felt secure and comfortable. And it seemed as though Animal felt the same in terms of getting a home together with her.

"So…is there any property that we can look at where the owner is willing to negotiate?" Meg asked, somewhat pointedly.

"There is a place at 4880 Battery Lane that's selling for $379,900 and the owner is looking for a quick sale." Becky indicated. "It's a condo that was built in 1983; the HOA is $793.00 a month. Would you like to look at it?"

"Sure…that seems to be right across Rockville Pike" Animal commented.

"And there is a trail if you're into running so that you can run back and forth from the medical clinic…" Becky commented. "But I do find that the place is a little small for a professional couple like you and your girlfriend: a naval aviator and a JAG. Is $375,000 your ceiling because I found a place that is around 1571 square feet?"

Meg and Animal looked at each other. They knew that Washington DC was nuts in terms of prices of homes, but they realized that their future together depended on being able to find the right home. A condo that was too small didn't allow them to have their own space and would end up grating on them both. Even though Animal was going to be mostly out in the Pacific Fleet, but a decent space would allow them to enjoy the home and they would be able to decorate it together.

"How high were we looking?" Animal asked, wondering just how high the property was.

"It's going to be around $550." Becky answered as Animal stared at her, mouth open. Meg was pretty much stunned too. That was a considerably higher range than what they were expecting.

"That's going to take around $3500.00 a month. Considering that I'd be taking out a VA loan and paying it down monthly, right?" Animal asked as Becky pulled out an amortization calculator and started doing the figures.

"Actually it'll be around $2,895.00 a month because it will be pulled from the Navy Bank." Becky explained.

"Are you sure that we can do that?" Meg asked him. Animal gave her a grin as he put his hand in hers and squeezed gently; reassuringly.

"Anything…for you. Princess." Animal said. "Well…can we see the place?"

"Sure, give me about an hour and I'll see if we can set up the appointment." Becky answered.

"OK…I'll call Harm." Animal commented. "Maybe he can come and be an impartial witness." He grinned.

Both Meg and Animal left the office to go over to grab a quick bite to eat. As they walked, Animal pulled out his phone and dialled JAG Headquarters. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb, please?" Animal asked.

"Aye, aye, sir." The yeoman said.

"Rabb!" was the rather disgruntled voice emanating from the receiver.

"Hey cake-eater!" Animal grinned as he spoke into the telephone, "Can I convince you to play hooky from work for a couple hours? I'll clear it with the SEAL."

"Sure, Animal…I could use a break for a while."

"I'll tell him I need you to look over a few papers, so that you can be on official duties." Animal knew how to stretch a rule until it was unrecognizable.

"Sure…pass me over to Chegwidden."

"OK, Animal."

The line switched over to a ring, which was picked up in two rings, "Chegwidden" was the JAG's brusque tone on the other end of the line.

"Sir, it's Commander Nakamura."

"What can I do for you, Commander?"

"I need to steal Lieutenant Commander Rabb for a few hours. I need him to look over a few forms while I purchase a condo. Can you release him in about an hour?"

The tone that the JAG used was slightly amused. "Dragging Commander Rabb to see houses?" he asked.

"Well, sir, I have Meg but I need someone who isn't going to be living in the house to give an impartial view as to how suitable it is."

"Are you two together now?" The JAG's tone was curious.

"Yes, sir."

"Would you mind putting her on the line?"

"No, sir. I don't mind at all" Animal replied and handed his phone to Meg who looked at him questioningly. "It's the admiral."

"Hello, sir." Meg spoke into the phone.

"Lieutenant JG Austin, are you sure…of what you're doing?" AJ sounded worried.

"Sir, I just don't feel comfortable in my place any longer. I believe the Russians have access to my old place and I don't feel that it's wise to stay there and tempt fate." Meg replied succinctly. "The commander offered a solution and I found that it was a workable one."

"Very well, I'll let Commander Rabb help you for the rest of the afternoon and hopefully you can wrap this up and make certain that you and Commander Nakamura are in a place that is suitable." AJ commented, reassured that Meg was alright.

"Thank you, sir."

"Not a problem, Lieutenant JG. Austin" and hung up. Animal looked at her curiously when she handed the phone back to him, evidently the conversation had terminated.

"He's going to send Harm over when we get a confirmed time to go see the place. Then I'll let him know where the place is that we're going to see." Meg informed him as Animal nodded understanding the situation.

"OK…" Animal replied, "We'll go grab a bite to eat and then head back to the realtor's office to find out what time she's set up." Meg agreed and they tried to find a place close by Pennsylvania Avenue where they could find some food. Pennsylvania Avenue, SE was within walking distance of a Five Guys Burgers (Author's Note: Evidently there's Five Guys Burgers where the author lives as well…in Vancouver, BC). There they picked up several bacon cheese-burgers and sat down to eat. When they were done, they headed back towards the real estate office.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, 1200hrs **_

Harm picked up the phone, "Rabb?"

"Hey, Harm…" Meg's voice was on the phone, "Hey…we got a time that we're going to see the apartment at 4760 Chevy Chase Drive. We're seeing the apartment at 1400hrs. You can make it from Falls Church by then, right? It's almost sixteen hundred square feet and going at five-fifty."

"Yeah, I can make it. You're buying the place, right?" Harm asked Meg. "Five hundred and fifty thousand? Wow, that sounds like luxury."

"Yeah…it's over ten years old, but it's been refinished according to the photos; the floor is laminated wood-block flooring in ash, so it's not dark flooring…" Meg sounded excited on the other end of the phone. "You really have to come see it."

"Wood block rather than parquet; that must have been an expensive flooring job." Harm commented as he grabbed his cover and his briefcase as AJ came into his office; the two men nodding silently at each other as the admiral deduced that it was Lieutenant JG Austin calling to give him the time that Animal and Meg wanted Harm to meet. He pointed at his wristwatch and then held his fingers up in a V to indicate that two o'clock in the afternoon or fourteen hundred hours was the time to the admiral as AJ nodded to indicate that he understood and lifted a thumbs-up to indicate to Harm that he was excused from further duty that day. When he and Meg were done on the phone and Harm had hung up the phone, AJ told him,

"You're excused for the rest of the day. Secure and I'll see you Monday morning. Commander Rabb." AJ nodded to him and gestured towards the door.

"Thank you, sir." Harm knew intuitively that AJ was giving him time to decompress from the stress that Meg's abduction had taken on all of them. He silently thanked AJ in gratitude as he collected his briefcase and headed towards the door, acknowledging the admiral on the way out.

Not knowing whether or not Lieutenant JG Austin was alive or dead was hard on AJ as well. He thought of the young, attractive blonde attorney as a surrogate daughter; his thoughts turned to his own daughter Francesca and he knew that if it had been Francesca in the hands of _Ten'chelovek_, he would have turned heaven and earth over to get her back. Thus he understood all too well just how Commander Nakamura felt with regards to Lieutenant JG Austin's kidnapping; the sheer desperation and terror that he'd lost someone he cared about. But AJ could not, as the admiral, show his fear. He had to exude the façade of a strong leader even through the uncertainty; he cursed those moments where he had to be the leader and not succumb to alarm, having to be a bulwark to those under him. But he kept those thoughts to himself and acknowledged Lieutenant Commander Rabb's departure with a brusque "See you on Monday, Commander."

_**Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki, SVR-RF Headquarters, Yasenevo District, Moscow, Russia, 2145 hrs Moscow Time**_

"Welcome, Comrade Constantin…" the SVR Director, Fedya Markov, smiled. To the former Commander Constantin, US Navy, it was a smile devoid of any warmth. Markov was a typical Russian, sandy blonde hair, head that looked as though it had been beaten one too many times. In fact, Markov was a giant of a man at six foot five and two hundred and eighty pounds. One could liken him to a bear; a big mean-looking Soviet bear that could and would split a man in half. His jutting jaw demonstrated a truculent personality and a tendency to use force if driven to it. His steel blue eyes stared at Constantin, his mind writing Constantine off as an opportunistic traitor to his country. Of course it was fortunate for Mother Russia that they found men willing on the opposition side who found it easy to betray their country's confidences. Markov had never married and was not the marrying sort. His life was devoted to keeping the _Rodina_ safe and every fiber of his being was given to that task which left no room for romantic dalliances. "It is fortunate that we were able to extract you from the amerikantsy. If you went to trial of course, your life would have been forfeit." He paused for a long moment, then turned to the guard beside him. "_Dayte yemu svoyu nagradu_ Give him his reward".

The man turned to a briefcase which had large stacks of rubles. The guard counted out the rubles in the briefcase, then when he was finished, he turned to Markov and stated, "_tridtsat' dva milliona rubley_" Constantine did not need translation to know that there was thirty-two million rubles in the briefcase; the equivalent of five hundred thousand US dollars; enough to make a life for himself somewhere in the Russian Federation provided that he could get himself a transit visa for travel within the country. "_Ya naschital kazhdyy rubl_."

"_Otlichno_" Markov nodded his approval. "Here is your reward…" Markov said as he gestured to the briefcase, "I hope that you will have a good life here." He said briefly. Constantine nodded silently, his visage appreciative of the money that was there for him to make a new start. The guard passed him the briefcase with an envelope containing the combination of the briefcase so that Constantine could open it and see for himself the money and that he could access his briefcase. With a final nod, Constantine bid farewell to Markov and his men and exited the room. As the door shut behind Constantine, Markov quickly gestured to a man, unseen by Constantine, that was just inside an inner door; "Sleduy za nim. Likvidirovat' yego. Yesli on budet predavat' svoyu stranu, on stanet yeshche raz. Poluchit' chemodanchik. Follow him. Eliminate him. If he will betray his own country, he will turn yet again. Retrieve the briefcase."

The man nodded silently and slipped out, his mission to trail Constantine and kill him.

_**4760 Chevy Chase Drive, Chevy Chase, MD**_,_** 1345hrs**_

Harm pulled up in front of the apartment that bore the number 4760 on a wooden engraved sign with fancy script denoting the address. He couldn't figure out the font but that wasn't important. He did see Meg step out of the driver's side of the black Iroc-Z Camaro parked two cars ahead. He also saw Animal step out of the passenger side. He grinned at the thought of Animal chafing under Meg's aggressive driving. His eyesight allowed him to see that Animal was slightly paler than usual.

Getting out of his Corvette, Harm put on his cover and walked towards them. "How are things?"

"We're just waiting for the realtor." Animal replied. "And we'll see if this place is the right place for us. Frankly considering it's over half a million, it'd better damned well be." He finished caustically giving the building a dour once over.

Meg nudged him with her shoulder, "Well…just so long as it's close to Bethesda Naval Medical Center so that you can get your therapy."

Animal nodded silently as he gazed over at the buildings. He had the option of running to Bethesda Naval Medical Center or taking the DC Metro at Bethesda Station and getting off at the next stop at Medical Center Station. He figured that at a 7.08 min pace, he'd reach the Naval Medical Center within fifteen minutes. Animal did not find running to be his favorite activity but he had to keep in shape to fly fighters, so to improve his cardio, he ran.

It was about ten minutes later that the realtor pulled up in front of the condo complex. She apologized profusely stating that she was running late drawing up a contract of purchase of sale for another client which she was going to present later on that evening. Animal hoped that she would be able to deal with two sales going on at the same time should the opportunity present itself.

The walk-through of the condo itself was uneventful, with Meg liking the kitchen space and Animal liking the shower. Harm rolled his eyes as Animal and Meg looked the shower up and down inspecting it and then grinning at each other like overheated teenagers.

"Has the inspection been done on the condo?" Harm asked Becky Esquival quietly, "I just want to make sure that my friends have everything in order to close on the condo."

Becky replied, looking at her copy of the MLS listing, "We can make that a subject in the contract. If I recall correctly, and it does say here in the notation in the listing that the current owner has done an inspection prior to putting the home on the market and he has the name of the home inspector who did the inspection and with a subject, we can easily get the report."

"Just how prior was the inspection?" Harm asked Becky giving her a look to ask just how long ago prior to listing was the inspection done.

"I can find out for you and we'll make sure and put that _subject to_ clause in the contract and if it isn't current enough I'll ask them to do another."

"550 is a bit steep for this, isn't it?" Harm asked.

"Well, Commander, it's a large unit and it's bright as well; the unit overlooks the back rather than Chevy Chase Drive so it's quiet."

"That's good. I'm sure that they won't like to be kept awake at night by traffic. Chevy Chase Drive is a pretty quiet traffic street, however, I've noticed that there's a lot of tenement buildings in the area." Harm noted as he looked around at the buildings in the area.

"Yes, I do have other places, but this is one of the few that are affordable with decent square footage, I also do have one in a newer building…on Battery Lane. It's in a newer building and I called the realtor as well on this one so if you'd like we can go on to that one. Just a note, it's very close to Bethesda Naval Medical Center." Becky prompted so that they were aware of its proximity to where Animal needed to go every day.

"Sure…" Animal and Meg piped up looking at each other with star-struck looks in their eyes, still digesting the fact that they were buying a home together. Harm rolled his eyes yet again.

_**Серебряные родники (Silver Springs) Forest, Yasenevo District, Moscow, Russian Federation, 2235 hrs**_

Constantine uttered a shriek unheard by anyone else as a knife was slipped between his third and fourth ribs on his right side turned towards the aorta. The last thought on his mind as he fell to the ground and blackness overtook him was that he should have not walked though the Silver Springs Forest but taken the Metro at Yasenevo Station.

Yakov Vasilyev bent down and closed Constantine's eyes for their final rest and picked up the briefcase wiping it off with a part of Constantine's pants that wasn't sodden with blood. "Pust' zemlya budet vasha krovat' May the earth be your bed…" he whispered and stood up, reversing his tracks, he left the body for the wolves and bears to devour.


End file.

JAG, Humor, Romance