"Now and Forever" Author: Hugo "Animal" Chikamori E-mail: hchikamori@yahoo.com Rating: G Classification: Mac/Harm R Meg/Other R Spoilers: None - except maybe the fact that this story sounds a little like "My Best Friend's Wedding." Summary: It is Mac's Wedding Day, but someone stepping out of Harm's past going to spoil her special day? Animal finds out that Harm and Mac are planning a heck of a surprise for him. Things are going to go to pieces around Falls Church and what the heck happens at the wedding? DISCLAIMER: All characters are copyrighted to Donald P. Bellisario, CBS and Paramount Productions except for those of my own creation and those that were in the movie "Top Gun. which are the property of Paramount Productions. It is not my intention to use any of these characters to create an influx of monetary gain but only enjoyment for myself and the rest of my fellow JAG fans. Thank you for your attention. "Dell'amore splenda la face" Let Love's wedding torches shine resplendant GF. Handel - Sosarme. Mac's Apartment 1845 ZULU EST June 5th, 2000 "Will you marry me?" the voice echoed in her mind as Mac ran over the stunning proposal that she had received from a certain individual whom she was infatuated with. She had spent three long years with him keeping him out of trouble and making sure that he was alright. She sighed remember that idealic evening six months ago when out of the blue that night when he had taken her out to that rose garden, and got down on his knees holding out a ring. He had asked her to "make" him "the happiest man on the face of the planet..." Her eyes had brimmed with the utter shock and the overwhelming sense of happiness that engulfed her. She had tried to joke it away by saying something about "becoming a soggy marine" but she had instantly said "yes..." to his proposal. It had been long enough in coming. The phone rang putting an end to that little blissful daydream. Back to the harsh realities. It was ten days before her wedding and it seemed like none of what needed to get done was done. Her caseload was staggering and her fiance didn't bother trying to help out. "Major Mackenzie, here..." she snapped out as she picked up the phone. "Hi...sweetie..." Harmon Rabb Junior's mellow voice essayed from the phone. Mac grinned as she recognized her fiance's voice. "Hi, yourself, you lazy bum..." she teased," Aren't you going to come out here and help your wife-to-be out with the paperwork that we have to get done before we leave Admiral Chegwidden completely helpless for the next two weeks?" Harm's laugh was infectious as he said,"Oh, alright...I'll be over. Do you want me to stop off at Beltway Burgers and pick you up a cheese- burger?" he asked. "You're sweet, but I'm trying to get into my wedding gown without rip- ping the darn thing." Mac replied."You can't imagine how many fittings it took to get the hems done right." "Gee, can I see?" Harm sounded like a five year old, curiosity tinging his voice. Mac put a stop to that."Whoa, not on your life. Didn't your mommy tell you that it's bad luck to even see your fiancee's wedding dress before the wedding?" Harm sounded disappointed but he acquiesced. They said a few more affectionate responses over the phone line before Mac replied,"OK, buster, you'd better get over here...pronto. If we keep burning up the phone line like this, you won't get over here until tomorrow morning and we've got to be in court at 0945 hrs tomorrow. Now it's 1910, so you'd best be getting on the road. Dearest..." she said cutting him off. Harm agreed and they both hung up. Delta Flight 409 Arriving at Washington National 0845 ZULU EST June 6, 2000 A young blonde-haired female Navy officer debarked from her scheduled flight into Washington National Airport. Gathering her luggage, she headed for the nearest cab. Getting in she said, "Falls Church, Virginia?" The cab driver nodded and pulled out. She was looking forward to seeing her friends again. Especially one tall, dark and handsome one. JAG HEADQUARTERS Falls Church, Virginia 0900 ZULU EST Harm looked at his casefolder one more time as he straightened up his working blue uniform. Grabbing his briefcase, he looked up as his fiancee entered the office. " Hi, Mac...ready?" Harm asked as he turned his grin on his fiancee. Mac fixed him with a wry smile. " Looking very handsome there...Harm. So, I see you're completely prepared. Considering that we didn't get much done last night..." she turned that little quirky smile on him that made his knees weak. She leaned against the door, as she shut the door with her foot. "You know, I could use a kiss, Lieutenant Commander to start the day." She said with that look again. Harm grinned,"Do you know that we could get into trouble for that... Major." "Well, I'm willing to spend a night in the brig with you...for that." Mac snickered as she leaned into Harm's embrace as Harm covered her lips with his own. " Uh, sir? Are we ready to go yet?" Lieutenant Bud Roberts' voice was plaintive on the other side of the door. "We're going to be running late otherwise. Sir, are you there, sir?" Mac and Harm sighed as they separated from each other's embrace. " Yes Bud, We're here..." Harm said as he opened the door. " Sir?" Bud said as he saw Major Mackenzie standing next to Harm. "Ma'am, didn't the Admiral mention..." " Yes, we know, Bud..." they both said simultaneously. "You never saw this..." Mac warned, her eyes glinting with mock-menace. Bud grinned," Yes, ma'am, never saw it, ma'am." " Good..." Much later Same General LOCATION Same Town, Same State Mac grinned as her fiance and herself exited the courthouse and returned to JAG Headquarters. "I can't believe you pulled that out of thin air like that." "Well, comes from good research the night before." Harm replied as they pulled up in front of the building. "Now thank goodness. Imes and Mattoni are doing the rest of the cases for us for the next three weeks. We can actually have a pleasant vacation." he grinned. "A pleasant honeymoon." Mac corrected as she gave Harm a surrep- ticious squeeze of his hand. Harm's answering smile made her knees weak. He grinned as he replied... "I'll definitely enjoy these next three weeks." he gave her another one of his patented lascivious looks. "Stop that, Harm, or otherwise, I won't be able to wait until then." Mac retorted as they entered in the doorway. Harriet's voice asked questioningly,"Stop what?" as the Marine Major and the USN Lieutenant Commander came in the doorway. "Oh, nothing..." Harm looked rather sheepish as the major blushed from head to toe. "Oh, if it's regarding the upcoming wedding, we know..." Harriet said with a knowing smile, "Ma'am. Commander Imes has indicated that she will be covering the rest of your files while you and Lieutenant Commander Rabb are away." She gave Mac another knowing grin. "Hope you two enjoy yourselves." Mac blushed again. When they were safely ensconced in their own office, Mac said,"Those two are driving me completely insane..." she muttered referring to Bud and Harriet,"They act like two innocent children. I know they're up to something." Harm grinned as he settled an arm around her waist lovingly and said, "Oh, Harriet and Bud, they're up to something but let them think otherwise. They're just having their own little bit of fun." At just about the same time, a taxi pulled up to the JAG building as the female navy lieutenant stepped out of the vehicle. Paying the driver, she glanced up at the building. It brought back old familiar memories. The taxi moved off as she made a step toward the building. Would Harm remember her. She knew that she loved him. She had finally admitted it to herself. Hopefully it wasn't too late. She headed up the steps to the door. Opening it, she walked in. A gasp told her that she was unexpected. "Hi, Lieutenant..." she grinned to a stunned Lieutenant jg Harriet Sims. "uh...uh...uh...hi...Ma'am." stuttered Harriet as she recognized Lt. Meg Austin. "Say, is Harm around?" Meg asked. "Yes," Harriet instantly could see a problem developing. A little louder she said " YES, HE IS...OH BUD!!!! IS THE COMMANDER FREE?" "I don't know...Check..." Lieutenant Bud Roberts looked up seeing Meg and Harriet standing close by each other. "YOU GO CHECK, Will you?" Harriet gave her husband one of those "DO AS I SAY" looks. The ones where the husband has to respond,"Yes dear..." "Yes, dear..." Bud replied. His wife could definitely move him and not in the romantic sense either. "OH, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER RABB? SIR..." Bud walked up to Harm's door. "THERE IS SOMEONE TO SEE YOU..." He said in a loud voice, purely for show purposes and also as a warning. "I'M BUSY...BUD!!!" came the responding irate yell from the inside of the office. "IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, SIR!!!" Bud yelled back. Inside the office. Mac's warning sense went off and she pulled away from Harm's embrace and stepped back three steps just as Bud opened the door. " It had better be important..." Harm growled, face flushed. Just as Lieutenant Meg Austin stepped into the room. Harm's jaw dropped. " Hi, Harm, oh...hi..." Meg looked over at the Marine Major who was standing there just as flushed as Meg's old partner. Something was up and she wasn't a dummy. Her eyes glanced down to the major's left hand. Fourth finger, had a ring with a cluster of diamonds on it. 'she was engaged.' went the thought in Meg's mind, 'but to who?' quickly after the initial thought, came the resultant question. " Major Sarah Mackenzie..." the major replied quickly regaining her wits and reaching out with her right hand to shake Meg's hand. Meg, still recovering her own wits, instinctively reached out to grasp the major's. " Lieutenant Meg Austin, USN," She said, not even realizing that she was saying her own name. Everything seemed to be moving in a blur. Harm had a stunned look on his face as everything seemed to be moving faster than his masculine mind could comprehend. Harm did not, could not say what the sight of his old partner, his old flame was doing to him. He knew that he loved Sarah, the woman standing beside him more than life itself. But the look of Meg Austin, the stunning figure, the attractive fullness of her lips, did things that would be termed as unfaithful. Mac's first thought that went through her mind was "What the hell is this woman doing here?" but she could not be rude to the woman. She was curious as to why her husband-to-be's former partner should suddenly show up out of the blue. The next ugly thought that went through her mind was "Was Harm having second thoughts?" The third one was,"I'm going to kill him..." The fourth was,"Wait-a-second, I'll see what this woman wants from him and then I'll kill him." Harm was getting more and more nervous. Mac's look made it clear as daylight that she was not impressed. Moreover, she was a Marine and ticking off a Marine, female or not, was not one of life's smartest moves. And right now, his wife-to-be looked like she could pull off one of those deadly moves that she had used with great success on others, on him. This was not good. Meg knew that her arrival had caused great upheaval in Harm, but she was wondering about that look that the Marine major had shot Harm. It spoke volumes. But she couldn't read it other than the fact that Major Sarah Mackenzie was kind of displeased that she was here and was looking to Harm for answers. But why would she be displeased? Major Mackenzie had no clue really as to why Meg should be here, so, why the look? Then her mind suddenly put two and two together. The look, the engagement ring, the fact that Harm and the Marine Major were in Harm's room together, the fact that the Major was displeased to see a "former" partner. It all came together. The Marine Major was engaged to Harmon Rabb Jr. The wave of that news came as an emotional blow to Meg Austin but she would be damned if she was going to let the major see her emotional turmoil. Maybe she might still be able to win Harm back. Mac could mentally see the cogs in the Navy lieutenant's mind turning as the lieutenant mulled over the visual clues that were provided. Mac thought wickedly to herself,'no-one said squids were the smartest of the bunch.' She watched as the young Navy lieutenant straightened up her stance 'ah, a backbone. She's going to fight for what she thinks is rightfully hers' the thought went through Mac's mind like an evil taunt. 'but she doesn't know that she's messing with a Marine. We were built tough.' Mac narrowed her eyes calculatedly at the Navy Lieutenant. 'So, you think you're going to win back my Harmon, are you?' Poor Harm was just about ready to crawl under the table, seeing the developing confrontation between the two females in the room. He was probably three steps behind them in the battle, but he could see that it was building up to be a rumble. He tried to speak, but his voice came out a high pitched squeak. Coughing he tried again, he said,"Well, how about if we go out for lunch?" He got his timbre right this time. "I'm getting hungry." Mac looked at him with a glare that froze him right down to his bones and chilled his heart,"Well, Lieutenant Commander, I'd say 'yes' but I have a great deal of work to get accomplished here. I'm sure that the Lieutenant will be more than willing to take you up on the offer though." her voice had a cutting sarcasm to it. "If you'll excuse me..." She shot Meg a final challenging look, and another one at Harm which spoke the unspoken words 'If you even so much as do anything with her, I'm going to cut your nuts off. Then I'm going to kill you.' and left the room. "Charming..." Meg said self-satisfied that she had Harm all alone to herself now. " I can see why the two of you get along so well..." she said sarcastically. "Meg, what brings you around here...now?" Harm asked, his nervousness betraying his reaction to her presence which was not favorable. "Hey, did anything change?" Meg asked with an ironic twinkle in her eyes. She couldn't bring it to herself to admit that her heart was breaking. Harm said,"Well, why don't we talk about it over lunch." The look that Harriet gave him as Meg and he walked towards the door told him that he was a fool. JAG Headquarters Falls Church, Virginia About 20 minutes after Rabb left "Ma'am, can I come in..." Lieutenant jg Harriet Sims Roberts knocked at Major Mackenzie's door. "Yes," came a tired voice from inside the room. It sounded husky as if she had been crying. Harriet entered the room. From the look of it, Mac looked completely miserable. "Ma'am, are you all right?" "I can't trust him anymore..." was Mac's response. She sounded completely devastated. "And to think that this was supposed to be the happiest time of my life. What a joke..." she said bitterly as she crumpled the tissue that she was holding and threw it at the corner wastepaper basket. "What do you think happened, Ma'am..." Harriet asked. "Well, it's simple. Rabb got cold feet, called up Meg and asked her to come out." Mac said angrily. " Well, this wedding is off." she said finally. "Now, before you go off half-cocked like this..." Harriet said, now a little ticked that Mac would go and be infantile about the entire thing. I have it on very good evidence that Harm never made any call to Meg. He hasn't even known where Lieutenant Austin was stationed." Harriet tossed a sheaf of papers indicating the long-distance phonecalls made by Harmon Rabb Jr. on her desk. "Now, if anything, Meg was just paying a social call but she's playing for keeps. So, be a Marine and fight for what is yours." Harriet ignored the look that Mac gave her, even leaving off the Ma'am on the end of the statement. "Are you going to do something about it, or do we have to get drastic?" "You know that you're threatening an officer and a Marine..." Mac said threateningly. "Don't really care..." Harriet blustered back," If you let Meg walk off with Harm, YOUR HARM, you're more stupid than I thought, Major." She turned, walked out and slammed the door as she went. 'She thinks I'm stupid?' Mac thought indignantly. But she was right. 'No-one is going to be able to take me for a fool, unless I allow them. I'm not about to let that little witch take my husband-to-be.' Mac got a determined look on her face, grabbed her uniform jacket and headed out of her office,"Did they say where they went?" She growled at Harriet. "My guess is Ho's...they're both health-nuts. Even though she is a meat-eater." was Harriet's response, still rather clipped and nettled. "Thanks..." said Mac briefly as she headed out the door. "Way to go...Ma'am." Harriet said mostly to herself as the door swung on it's hinges. Sure enough, they were at Ho's Organic Noodle House wolfing down a big heaping bowl of dim sum. Mac stalked in. Finding Harm and Meg at an alcove in the back, she smiled her most predatorial smile and walked over. Self-satisfiedly eyeing Meg, she walked over to Harm, locking his fingers down on the table, tilting his head up and planting a passionate kiss on his lips, Mac sat down, purposely rubbing up against Harm. Meg was now steaming more than the bowl of dim sum that she was eating. Mac grinned at Harm. "In a better mood, I see." Harm grinned back at her. "Hungry?" "Yeah, famished. Does he do chow-mein? with thick chunks of meat?" Mac purred at him. Peering at Meg who by this time was fuming and looking like a little blonde volcano, she said,"So, have you been discussing things?" "Oh, all sorts of things." Harm grinned,"She did mention that she was stationed on Okinawa?" "Oh..." Mac said 'why didn't the little twerp stay there?' was her unasked question. She thought wickedly...'why not drop a bomb in here.' "Oh, Harm..." she said sweetly, looking over at Meg,"Did you tell her that our wedding is in NINE days...' She got satisfaction when she saw Meg nearly choke on a dim-sum dumpling. That was just great timing on her part, Mac thought to herself. " Wrong way...sorry, you were saying..." Meg said, trying not to let Mac's jealous jabbings irk her. Coughing slightly to get some of the soup that had dribbled down her windpipe out, she managed to say,"Oh, really?" she thought,'ah, nine days to win Harm back. Seems impossible, but anything is possible, even ruining a wedding.' she thought evilly as she contemplated a wedding between herself and Harm. It would be so much more satisfying than Harm wedding a jarhead. Mr. Ho himself came out. "Ah...Mac, Harm...how are you?" "Hi, Mr. Ho..." Mac grinned,"Just great..." "For friend, Shiang Wan. Call me Shiang." Mr. Ho grinned as he looked over at another familiar face."Ah, Meg, Oh, nevah seen you for long time, no?" " Ni hao, Shiang." Meg grinned back at him. " Ah, she know language." Mr. Ho grinned widely. Then Mac opened up in a flurry of Cantonese. Harm looked up at her, mouth gaping open. Mr. Ho was stunned. "Ah, Marine speak very good Cantonese. Mac, Um Qoy." -thank you- " Ah, Mac, you never told me you could speak Cantonese..." Harm said incredulously as Meg gave Mac a glare, that told her that she was not too impressed at being one-upped. " You never asked, my dear squid..." she said as she gave Harm a kiss. That got Meg boiling. 'Ruining this wedding is going to be a tougher job than I thought...'Meg said to herself. Mac thought to herself, 'I'm glad that coaching session from Commander Lee helped. Did you see that look on her face. It was priceless.' Just then an old Japanese tourist couple came up to the counter. Mr. Ho had to help them, however a few rounds of conversation filtered back to the table which told them that the couple was having a very difficult time in trying to communicate with the venerable Mr. Ho. Meg seeing a match-point in this battle of wits, said "excuse me for one minute" getting up from the table and walking over to the Japanese couple. "Is there a problem?" Meg asked Mr. Ho. "Ah, Meg, You know Japanese?" "Yes, I was stationed on Okinawa." Meg replied."Do these people need someone to translate for them?" "Yes..." Mr. Ho said,"I cannot understand them. My Japanese not so good." "Sumimasen..." Meg interrupted the old gentleman. "Watashi wa Meg desu." "Hai." The old Japanese gentleman looked over at her. "Tanabe, Masao, desu...Tabetai desu ne." "Ah so..." Meg replied," Nani o tabetai desu-ka?" "Ee. Ma, boku wa wakaranai, desu ne, Eigo wa sugoku mutsukashi, Yomenai desu..." - I cannot read this, English is very difficult. - "Ah, chow mein ga arimasu, desu, Dim Sum mo sugoku oishi desu." Meg replied. -there is chow mein. Dim Sum is also especially delicious.- Mac fumed silently as she watched this discussion going on between Meg and the old Japanese gentleman and his wife. 'Ok, she one-upped me there.' She looked at Mac,"Remind me to ask Animal to give me a few Japanese lessons." she growled at Harm. "Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know about." asked Harm apprehensively. "Oh, nothing...important that is..." Mac said snidely. "It sounds like you are kind of jealous about something..." Harm said "If I didn't know you better, Major, I'd say that you were trying to one-up Meg." "Me, one-up Meg, a squid?" Mac snorted derisively. "Don't make me laugh..." she growled, "A Marine can take a squid anyday of the week and twice on Sundays." "Oh, Major..." Harm teased,"I think you're jealous." he gave her a kiss that thrilled Mac to the tip of her toes. "Am not..." she replied snidely. "Are too..." "Am not..." "Are too..." "Am NOT!!!" she said loudly and blushed furiously red as the people at the five closest tables turned around to look in their general direction. "Sorry, lover's quarrel..." Harm said, his face slightly flushed and pink as he grinned at the people staring. One by one, they turned back to their meals. "Why you...mmmph..." Mac started to say before a pair of dim-sum flavored lips met hers. "Hey...mmmph..." was all that she managed to say before Harm's lips interrupted her speech. It was a hungry kiss. She could hardly remain angry with him. By this time, Meg was finished with the Japanese couple who had finally ordered and were actually able to sit down and eat. Meg returned to her seat to find Mac and Harm in a lip-lock. "Eh-hem..." She cleared her throat meaningfully as the two of them broke apart. "Now, what were we discussing?" she asked. " I think we were talking about the wedding..." Harm said oblivious to the fact that Mac was eyeing Meg with the predatory look of a lioness look- ing for her next kill. "Oh, yes..." Meg said with false cheeriness..." The wedding...the wedding...So, where is it going to be held?" "The Naval Academy Chapel." "Ah, such a nice place..." Meg said, the sarcasm evident in her voice. "Yes, that's why we chose it..." Mac said, putting the emphasis on the 'WE'. "Too bad that there's nothing that indicates anything about the Marines in the chapel." This was calculated to irk Mac but it didn't. "Oh, we have other monuments besides." Mac replied snidely. "The US Marines have a decorated history, you know..." she couldn't resist a jab at Meg. "I think I gotta make a run for the head..." Harm said, getting rather uncomfortable with the both of them at each other like that. Getting up he headed for the washroom. After he was gone, Mac dropped all pretenses and gave Meg an icy glare,"You know he's mine..." "Well, things can change..." Meg's response was equally chilly. "I'll fight you for him..." Mac responded cooly. "It can get really ugly." "I can get pretty ugly too." Meg responded equally unflappable. "I'm not the ditz that you might think I am. I used to be in Weapons and I can handle myself pretty well..." "We'll see..." was Mac's response, menacing in tone. "Harm is mine." "We'll definitely see about that, won't we..." Meg replied matching tone with tone. It was about that time, that Harm returned, an unaware grin on his face,"So, how have my two favorite ladies been getting along..." "Oh, just marvellously." replied Mac sarcastically. "Peachy keen..." replied Meg equally sarcastically. "That's great..." Harm said oblivious to the tension. It was so palpable between Meg and Mac, that they could both cut it with a knife, if they wanted to waste the time cutting it and not each other. Later on JAG Headquarters 1455 ZULU EST June 6, 2000 Meg was saying to Harm,"You know, Harm, I kept thinking of you in Okinawa, every day." "Why did you transfer out..." Harm asked her wanting some answers. It would put finality in the relationship, if he knew just why. The relation- ship was over, it was just a matter of untied ends. "Because..." Meg whispered as she reached out for his strong hands. "Because, I loved you...I didn't want to wreck both our careers for a relationship that the Navy would frown upon. I thought that if...I separated from this working relationship that we might be able to see where we could take this..." Harm remembered that day. How angry he had been at Meg Austin. How he had told her to "Get out..." and then seeing her stunned and hurt look which had infuriated him even more until he said something that he had always wanted to hold back, that he had regretted every day of his life ever since. "If you don't leave then, I will..." and he had turned his back on Meg Austin and whatever relationship that they could have built together. But he had asked Mac, his Sarah, to marry him and he was not about to go back on that for anyone, not even Meg. He moved away from Meg who was standing close to him. "I'm sorry. Meg, I know how much it cost you to tell me this. I know that you were hoping for a chance to have a relationship with me..." He paused knowing that this could end their friendship as well. "But, I cannot hurt Sarah. She means the world to me." Meg's look was one of devastation, tears were starting to fill up in her eyes, but he went on." I know that this is going to hurt, but nothing that you or anyone will say is going to make me stop this wedding. I will not hurt Sarah. She is my wife- to-be." He took Meg's hands, gripping them and said,"Meg, I know that you probably hate my guts right now..." Meg shook her head. Her voice was husky trying not to betray her tears..."I don't hate you, Harm, I just wanted to know why? And now I know that your love for the Marine major can't be changed." she said trying to put up a brave front."I just...wanted to...hear it from your lips, not through hers." the tears spilled over. "I guess I...just wanted...it to be...where we could be... together...I guess maybe...I wished too hard..." "I'm sorry, Meg..." Harm whispered. "I'm sorry too, Harm..." She said."I'll leave now..." "Meg, Can you stay..." Harm asked."I'm gonna need someone to get me through this thing and keep me focussed. I'm scared stiff..." Meg laughed even though she felt like crying. "I guess I could do that...but you owe me...you know that..." "You've got your sword with you, right?" Harm said...rather nervously. Meg gave him one of her trademark glares,"Afraid I'm going to use it on you? Lieutenant Commander?" she said with a snide look. "No, if you can, can you be a part of the honor guard?" Meg grinned, her cheerful mood coming back. "That's a request from the almighty Harmon Rabb?" she jabbed. "Yes, not so almighty now..." Harm replied, looking at her. "Well, dating and marrying a Marine will do that you..." she replied snidely. Much later that evening Mac's apartment 2000 ZULU EST June 6, 2000. Harm said to Mac as he embraced her,"I told her...Sarah..." "Told her what..." Mac replied, she was still in a bit of a snit after the events of the day. "I told her that you and I were a couple and that no matter what, she would not be able to break the two of us up..." Harm replied as he wrapped his arms around Mac. "What? You mean, you actually knew that the two of us were fighting like cats and dogs..." Mac said incredulously. "Well, any dummy could have seen the tension at Ho's today. It was almost visible." Harm said. Mac was shocked, Harm had been playing possum. "WHY YOU!!!" Mac growled as she picked up a pillow and hucked it at him, "You knew all along that the two of us didn't like each other very much and you played dumb? You played along with it?" Mac was infuriated, she picked up another pillow and threw it at Harm. "I should...I should...I should..." "Kiss me..." Harm said, as he trapped both of Mac's arms under his arm pits as she tried to hit him with two pillows in the ribs. "I did say that-" He was interrupted when Mac managed to get an arm free, grabbing a pillow and shoving it in his face. "Mac, she's not going to try to take me away from you anymore." Harm said as he got the pillow out of his face. Mac stopped and looked at him. "You mean, she doesn't have any more tricks up her sleeves?" she pouted. "That's just like all of you squids...Just when I was just starting to have fun getting even. You chicken out..." Harm laughed uproariously as he grabbed his wife-to-be and gave her a passionate kiss. "DOWN BOY!!!" Mac replied as his fingers did the walking up her still fully clothed body. "Oh, no you don't...you're celibate for the next 8 days." Harm gave her his best lost-puppy look but it didn't work. A week later Washington National Airport. 1435 ZULU EST June 12, 2000. Commander Hugo Chikamori grinned at his friends," Hey, Mac, god you look beautiful...you made it worthwhile coming out even on my birthday of all days." He shot a withering look at Harm. "I hope you got me a birthday present..." Then looking at the demure blonde female Navy Lieutenant in the back ground he grinned,"Hey, Harm, don't tell me that you're polygamous now." he grinned. Mac glared at him. Harm grinned but shook his head. "This is my former partner, Lieutenant Meg Austin." Harm introduced the Navy Lieutenant. "She's now currently with the NIS." She smiled at the young asian Navy commander who was dressed in service blues. "Hi..." She said. Animal was hooked, from the moment he saw her, her Texas twang, and her beautiful blue eyes, her full lips and that figure did criminal things to the fall of her uniform over her body. "Hi..." he managed to choke out, "I'm Commander Hugo Chikamori, my callsign's Animal..." "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you...commander. You're a naval aviator?" Meg asked as she appraised the young commander. He was considerably shorter than her, but he was self-assured, almost cocky. That made him seem almost twice the size he actually was. She noticed the Command-at-sea pin nestled just above his nametag and knew instantly that this young man was a commander of a fighter squadron. "Yes, I fly with the VF-41 Black Aces, the top Tomcat squadron in the US Navy." He grinned. Meg thought, 'he has the same cocky grin that Harm has. Why are these naval aviators so irresistable.' Harm grinned,"He's the honor guard commander, since he's got the highest rank of the eight members." Mac slyly nudged her husband-to-be..."Did you bring Meg along because Animal was showing up?" "I will never tell..." Harm said innocently. "HARM!!! ZAPPER, YOU LUNK-HEAD!!! IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!" another lieutenant commander came down the jetway. "You're finally marrying this beautiful Marine..." "Yeah...Hey Keeter." Mac grinned at him,"You know that it finally took me eye-balling Brumby to get Harm to make up his mind?" "Yeah so, where's Brumby?" "Oh, he's back in Australia. Met up with some beautiful Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant." Harm said snidely. "Hey, Animal, And HELLOOO!!!" Lieutenant Commander Jack Keeter eyed Meg who got even more embarrassed as the sandy-blonde haired naval aviator eye-balled Meg and ran his eyes up and down. "Hey, you..." Animal growled ominously,"Put your eye-balls back in your skull Keeter..." "Hey, I'm lookin', I'm lookin'..." Keeter responded back. "Hey, I'm lookin' SIR!!!" snarled Animal. Meg giggled as she watched this interchange between the two old friends who hadn't seen each other for months. Their banter was just too cute. "Whatever..." was Keeter's snide response as Harm just about collapsed laughing. Needless to say, this wedding was going to be interesting. "So, you flying F/A-18s." Animal said snidely as he emphasized the A. "Yeah, I'm flying F-18s." Keeter said, deliberately leaving out the A. "Ground-poundin' huh?" Animal said derisively. "Best thing, we take care of the AA..." Keeter chuckled. Animal, the consummate naval fighter pilot would never fly anything other than the Tomcat. Keeter loved his Hornet, it was small, lethal and maneuverable. "Still flying the aluminum overcast..." he jabbed. " Yeah, better than that pathetic little insect you fly..." Animal jabbed back. Keeter snickered. "So, how you like dropping ordnance now..." he said relating to the fact that the F-14s were now able to drop bombs. "If you're asking me, My fun-meter is pegged." Animal muttered as he let it be known that he wasn't impressed by the perversion of the true air- to-air combat role of his beloved aircraft. Meg, Harm and Mac watched the interchange with amused interest. Mac noticed with relief that Meg was starting to have a little more of an interest towards Animal 'better than her chasing my Harm anyday...'Mac thought snidely to herself. Animal dropped Meg off at her hotel. She was staying for the wedding and had to fly back to NAS Fallon, the day after the wedding. "Say, I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner tonight..." Animal asked Meg, holding her extended hand. "I'd like that..." Meg said softly. What was it about these aviators. They had this aura of self-confidence around them that seemed to be almost uncanny. This one especially had a sense of self-assurance about him. He was standing there still looking kind of bemused. "Commander?" She looked into his eyes. He was shorter than her but he didn't care. As a matter of fact, his height was unimportant to her either. "Call me Animal...everyone else does..." he said softly. Meg felt mesmerized by his deep, dark chocolate brown eyes. Meg felt herself pulled gently towards him. "I..." she said faintly,"I...really..." She didn't resist the impending kiss. Their lips met in a kiss that was electrifying to the both of them. "Pick you up at seven?" he asked. Meg was still revelling in the kiss when she heard herself whisper an assent. He gave her a smart salute, winked and headed off to the car whistling a cheery tune. Once he got there he looked back up at her and waved grinning a Maverick-style grin as he got on his aviator sunglasses. She waggled her fingers back at him. "what a guy..." she laughed to herself as she turned to watch his rental car move out of the hotel parking space near the lobby. Going to the wedding with him would be interesting. Holiday Inn Hotel, ANNAPOLIS, Maryland Room 878 June 15, 2000 0900 ZULU EST Animal sighed as the alarm woke him up. "Jeeze..." He picked up his pillow and threw it at the clock. The clock clattered off the end of the night-table and fell, still ringing into the garbage can where it murmled away mournfully, until Animal got up out of bed, and shoved the pillow as well into the garbage can to block out the reverberating noise. 'ah, the day of the wedding.' was his first coherent thought as he staggered to the bathroom to take a shower. His fully ironed dress-whites were hanging on the hanger right by the closet door. Feeling the sharp, cool points of water hitting his exhausted body, he lathered himself up and washed himself off. By the time he had gotten out of the shower he felt considerably more alert. At least alert enough to know that the phone was ringing. He picked it up and said,"Commander Chikamori, here..." "Hi, Animal..." her mellifluous voice was cheery in the morning. "Hi, Meg..." Animal said cheerily. " You ready?" "Yeah, I think so..." Animal had listened to her relate the relation- ship that she had had with Harmon Rabb. And he was a good listener. Keeping quiet while she had related the tale that broke her heart, comfort -ing her fears that she wouldn't be ablle to stop crying at the wedding. She continued,"I'm glad that you'll be there with me at the wedding." She said confidingly."I don't think I could get through it without a shoulder to lean on." "No problem, Meg..." he said with a warm tone in his voice. "I'll be there..." "See you in the lobby..." she said,"Thanks..." "Sure thing...I'll be down in about 20 minutes." 'Gotta rouse Rabb,' Animal thought as he dressed quickly in his dress whites, pinning his three-striped shoulderboards on his shoulders. Pulling on his dress ceremonial naval officer's sword, the encircling finger guard with a gold handle, wrapped with a white sash on the handle. Wrapping the sash around the finger guard, he clipped it tightly to the side of his dress whites. Then tucking his commander/captain's officer's cap with a row of "scrambled eggs" on the brim, he locked his door as he headed out into the hallway. Stopping by Harmon Rabb's room, he knocked on the door. "RISE AND SHINE...SLUG!!!" There was a faint,"SHUT UP AND GO AWAY..." as Harm finally woke up. "You're still asleep you slug..." Animal said,"Hurry up, you don't wanna be late for your own wedding now do you?" he said as a bleary Harmon Rabb Jr. opened the door and growled out, "what do you want?" He fixed Animal with a bleary one-eyed stare as he kept one eye shut from sleep, "Go AWAY!!!" Rabb muttered loudly. "WAKE UP!!!" Animal thundered, causing several doors to open and two people to stick their heads out yelling..."SHUT UP!!!" "Sorry..." Rabb said grumbling. " Oh, I thought it was still a dream." "What dream..." "I'm really marrying Mac, aren't I?" Rabb said blearily. "You ok?" Animal asked peering at Rabb with a mock-concerned look,"You aren't going delusional on me, are you?" "No...just scared..." "Hey, it's not really that bad...What do you have to do? Go say 'I do' a couple of times, kiss the bride and then go home and make out like minks." Animal grinned,"People do it all the time." he said snidely. "Very eloquent...Animal, Very eloquent..." Harm growled."Now get the hell out of here while I take a shower and get dressed." "Yeah, I'm going to go eat breakfast with Meg. C'ya..." Animal shot back a retort as he saw Harm's face. "Meg...did I hear you just say Meg?" Harm asked, a slow grin spread across his face. It looked almost conniving. Animal did not like that look,"Yeah, what about it..." "Ooh boy, you are gonna love what the bride has planned for you two." Harm chuckled to himself as Animal got this "what is going on?" look on his face. Animal's face dropped as he saw Harm's face light up. "Oh, no...you're not going..." Harm's face took on an evil grin. "Oh, yes..." "Oh, no...I'm a dot." Animal fled. "But it's your birthday present...even if it is a few days late..." Harm protested with a chuckle. Animal didn't hear any of that. He was already out the door. U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY CHAPEL ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND 1245 ZULU Mac gushed,"Uncle Matt, I can't believe it's actually happening..." she said as she embraced her uncle who was in his US Marine Dress Blues with his white ivory-handled Mameluke sword clipped to his waist. His colonel's eagles shone bright. Colonel Matthew O'Hara, USMC, had a tear in his eye, at looking at his niece in her wedding gown, which looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a veil and had white gloves on that extended up to her elbow. The antebellum shape of the wedding gown, had intricate lace pattern on it. It flared out into wonderfully draping folds which brushed the floor. Her train was about twelve feet long. "You are beautiful, Sarah." he said in a gruff voice, trying to disguise the crack in his voice. "I love you, Uncle Matt..." she whispered huskily as he gave her a hug. "I hope that lieutenant commander of yours treats you well..." Uncle Matt replied. "I know he will, Uncle Matt..." was his little Sarah's response. Harm, Keeter and Animal were standing by the front of the chapel. Harm was nervously fidgeting. "Quit moving..." Keeter growled at Harm,"You're makin' me nervous, and you're the one that's getting married, not me..." "Will the both of ya shut up..." Animal muttered,"You're both givin' me a headache." "I didn't say anything..." Harm growled indignantly. Meg and Mac's Maid of Honor, Carolyn Imes grinned as they whispered something between the two of them and Meg waggled her fingers at Animal and giggled something to Carolyn Imes. Animal flushed red with embarrasment as he couldn't recognize what was being said. Finally the processional started. The solemn strains of J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 140, "Wachet Auf" Choral # 4, filled the Naval Academy chapel as Harm looked back to see his Sarah walking down the aisle, a heavenly vision in white. The look that he could see on her face was a look of pure bliss. Colonel Matthew O'Hara was resplendant in his Marine Corps dress blues as he walked his niece down the aisle. Animal could make out the Medal of Honor medal around Colonel O'Hara's neck. It was the same as the Medal of Honor that hung off his own. Harm couldn't stop looking at Sarah. He hoped to himself that he could make her happy for the rest of his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Meg, tears running down her face, sad, yet happy for both Sarah and himself, for the love that the two of them had found. The processional finished when Sarah was beside him. Matthew O'Hara handed Sarah's hand over to Harm, and whispered,"Take good care of her for me, will you..." "I will..." Harm said, with feeling,"I will...for the rest of my life." Harm looked into Sarah's eyes and knew that he had chosen the right woman. The love that he could see shining from her eyes caused his heart to jump in the air and do double-flips. His eyes brimmed. Colonel Matt O'Hara released Sarah's hand into Harm's custody and stepped down from the raised dais. The chaplain raised his hand and said,"Look now upon us, God, as we gather here today to witness the union between two friends, two lovers, and two fellow officers as these two unite in body, mind and soul for all time." " We are here to witness the culmination of love, and of duty. Of bonds formed by friendship, the ultimate expression of loyalty and fealty to one another." "Bless these two young people and we ask of you, Almighty God, to give these two the courage to face each and every day for the rest of their lives, together, the strength to face any challenges together, and to keep their love for each other foremost in their minds. This we ask of you, Amen." The rest of the crowd in the chapel said amen. " And now these two will join in the bonds of holy matrimony, this young naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr., and this young Marine Corps officer, Major Sarah MacKenzie..." the chaplain smiled at the couple. " Please join with us as we witness the vows that these two give to one another." Harm started first,"My love, Sarah, I've always wanted to tell you that you are more to me than life itself. I have always loved you in my own way from the time that I first met you. I'm looking forward to living the rest of my life with you, raising a family, and looking towards the future. All of this holds meaning for me because I am with you. I love you, Sarah MacKenzie, now and forever..." Sarah's eyes had filled up with tears."I love you, Harm, from the moment that you asked me 'permission to come aboard.', you have always been a part of me, of my heart. I didn't trust you at first, because I thought you were glib and charming and that it got your way with others, but when I saw your simple faith in me and in my only family that I cared for, I began to know you for who you really are. Your faith in trying to find your father, even though the truth was hard to bear, the faith that you had in me. The faith that there is humanity in all of us, that you believe in. That is what made you special to me. I love you, Harmon Rabb, I will always love you, now and forever." she said holding his hands tightly. There were audible choked sounds as much of the audience tried to keep back their emotions. The chaplain smiled at them and said,"Do you, Harmon Rabb Jr. take this woman, Sarah MacKenzie, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, honor and protect, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?" "I most certainly do..." Harm replied with a firm voice. "Do you, Sarah MacKenzie, take this man, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, to honor and...uh..." the chaplain stammered over the part that Sarah had written in. She was having none of that 'to obey' bit at all..." and to keep guard over, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?" "I do, definitely, with all my heart." Sarah whispered, looking up at Harm. Harm grinned as he looked at his beautiful Sarah as the chaplain expanded his gaze to take in the rest of the audience. Running his gaze over the crowd, he said,"Does anyone here object to this marriage taking place." Harm looked anxiously to make sure that Meg was silent. Meg mouthed back at him. 'I'm not saying anything...you just bit the bullet...' and grinned back at him, winking at Animal to Keeter's right. Animal blushed again. Harm was grinning. His and Mac's plan would work out just perfectly. Animal was getting nervous. What were Harm and Mac up to? The chaplain continued,"If anyone does, speak up or forever hold your peace." Not a word was uttered in the entire chapel. Harm returned his gaze to Sarah who was grinning at him,"So, ready?" Harm whispered. "Ready and waiting..." Sarah said connivingly as she whispered back to him, indicating that she was in on the plan. "Repeat after me," The chaplain said, oblivious to all the whispering on the dais that was going on. "With this ring, I thee wed." Keeter produced the rings. Harm picked up his wife's ring and as Sarah undid her left hand glove and raised her fingers outsplayed to him, he held the ring in mid-air, as he recited the words,"With this ring I thee wed," The chaplain recited,"Now, place the ring on her finger." Animal quietly croaked out in an excellent imitation of a parrot just loud enough for the couple and Keeter to hear,"Awk. Place the ring on her finger...Awk..." and got elbowed in the gut by Keeter who was trying his best not to crack up. Sarah did the same thing with her ring for Harm. She heard that comment by Animal and had a hard time restraining herself from giggling herself to death. Harm had a tough time trying to keep from smiling himself. Animal hissed at Keeter,"Well, he did say repeat after me...and they couldn't repeat that..." just quietly enough for Keeter to hear this time. Sarah looked at her ring quietly, it was beautiful 14 carat gold. Engraved around the circumference of the ring was miniature engravings of F-14s, likewise with Harm's ring. It gave the ring a little bit of a unique style to it. Harm gazed at his wife. She was beautiful. The dark soft curls of her hair draping down around her forehead and dropping over her eyes gave her an angelic look as he gazed into her eyes through the veil. She gave him a smile that caused his heart to beat faster. "Then, with the power invested in me by the State of Maryland, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife." the chaplain exclaimed as he raised the hands of the now-married couple "May I now present Lieutenant Commander and Mrs. Harmon Rabb Jr." as they both grinned. "It is customary to kiss the bride, Lieutenant Commander." Harm devoted himself whole-heartedly to this task. "Ready for the kiss of your life, marine?" he asked Sarah. She replied,"Do you think you can handle it, squid?" she grinned at him. "Oh, I think it's Mr and Mrs. Squid now..." he grinned. Sarah raised her lips to him. "I think I might like it the other way around..." she retorted,"Mr and Mrs. Jarhead." Animal muttered,"KISS-ALREADY..." he hissed. Harmon Rabb locked lips with Sarah MacKenzie Rabb, as the crowd cheered. It was a passionate kiss that went for what seemed to be an immeasurable amount of time. Animal muttered,"This is a church, remember..." Keeter was snickering at the running commentary coming from his right hand side. Elbowing the commentator again, produced a very pained *oof*. As the ceremony finished, the newly married couple began their exit from the dais. Animal and Keeter went ahead, as Meg produced her sword from the chair behind the door. Eight navy officers and friends of Harm's stood just outside the steps of the Chapel. Animal roared as the couple approached. "Sabre Guard...Ten-HUT!!!" At the guttural order Meg, Keeter, Animal, Scooter, Bud, Metalman, Maverick and Skateratz snapped to attention lining the staircase just outside the door of the chapel. As it was, Colonel Matt O'Hara had unsheathed his sword to stand with the honor guard. Animal continued the orders,"Unsheath Sabres..." The honor guard pulled out their sabres, the blades out at the position of attention, the dull edge against the shoulder of their uniforms. Except for Meg who was standing with the edge of her blade against the shoulder of her maid of honor dress. Meg grinned at Animal who was ready to bark out the next command."Form Arch, PRESENT..." The Guard raised their sabres to the sky. "Sabres..." Animal finished the command and the group formed arches. The couple walked through the arch of raised sabres. Animal's sabre met with Mac's Uncle Matt's Mameluke sabre as the two of them grinned at each other. "Well met, Commander," Colonel Matthew O'Hara grinned. "Well met, Colonel..." Animal grinned back As the newly married couple reached the end. Animal and Col. O'Hara dropped their sabres blocking the exit of the couple. "Ya gotta kiss to get through." Colonel O'Hara said grinning at Harm. Harm grinned back as he seized his wife and gave her a passionate kiss. Animal and Colonel O'Hara gave Harm and Mac a slap on the behinds saying... "Welcome to the Marine Corps, Harm..." Colonel O'Hara replied. "Welcome to the Navy, Mac..." Animal chuckled with an evil grin as he gave Mac a goose on the rear. Mac playfully slapped his hand away and gave him a look that said,'Laugh it up, Animal, you'll get yours later on this afternoon.' Reception 1600 ZULU EST Annapolis, Maryland William F. Halsey Hall. Animal grinned as he sat beside Lieutenant Meg Austin. Meg was happy. So he was happy. They were sitting next to the happy couple on the left as Harm's step-father Frank and mother Trish, sat next to the married couple on the right. Animal felt Meg's right hand reach for his left. Their hands intertwined as he watched the couple thanking everyone for the wonderful time that they had. Harm grinned,"And I'd like to start the party by saying succinctly 'LET'S PARTY!!!'." Animal grinned and spoke out..." That's succinct..." he chuckled,"It's short..." he looked around at the crowd as the officers chuckled, "It's pointless...I can't understand it..." he continued heckling Harm's speech. "I like it..." as he raised his index finger. The crowd roared. Harm grinned back at him. "You know that we're going to toast you..." "Oh no, not good idea..." Animal muttered as Meg nudged him. Keeter was making eyeballs at Carolyn Imes. Animal smiled back at Meg, who gave him a sunny smile in return. Karaoke was the order of the day as the pilots got up and started songs. Animal and Keeter almost caused a riot when they got up to do their version of the Army Song. "Over hill, over dale As we hit the dusty trail, And the Caissons go rolling along." At that Animal looked over at Keeter and asked,"What the hell are Caissons..." "I don't know...flow with it..." was the response as they continued their song to chuckles from the audience. "We don't know where we go We are marching to and fro... And the Caissons keep rolling along." Animal and Keeter added confused looks at each other shrugging their shoulders to peals of laughter coming from the females in the audience as they pretended to march crossing each other's paths on stage. "Then it's OOH...Oooh...EEEK... In the field artillery, Hit the deck or you might ge-et...bombed... For where e'er you go, You will always know That the Navy is always out front. In the storm, in the night, Shiv'r'n in rain and outta sight. We see the Caissons go unleashed along. Hide your face, whimper in fear Prepare to mount your cannoneer" (the audience snickered as the two tried to give a graphic example in pure jest...it was disgusting but in fun.) "And those Caissons go undirected along... Then it's hi! hi! hee! In the field artillery, Wimp out, because the rear is clear... For where e'er you go, You will always know That the Navy's brav'ry is strong." That line was accompanied by loud cheers from the Naval personnel in the audience. Animal and Keeter gave each other high-fives as they joined together arm and arm to finish off the last verse. "Was it high, was it low, Where the hell did that one go? We need glasses, because we are blind... Was it left, was it right, Our poor mascot died of fright... Our cannon went rolling along..." "INTO THE DITCH..." Animal added...to roars of laughter. "Then it's hi! hi! hee! In the field artillery, We wimp out because we don't feel strong... But Where'er the Army goes... They will always know... That the Navy is always in FRONT!!!!! " Animal and Keeter finished to cheers from all the Navy crowd. Meg was having the time of her life as she looked over at Animal and Keeter who were flushed with laughter as the Navy guys all cheered. Mac giggled in laughter as Harm clapped. Meg grinned, her eyes dancing at Animal,"Where the heck did you learn to improvise like that?" she asked him, caressing his arm, as she laughed. "Oh, something I picked up..." Animal responded glibly as he met Harm's eyes who had picked up that caress. Harm was definitely up to some- thing as he whispered something unaudible to Mac. Animal was starting to worry as Mac grinned back at Harm and looked over at Meg and Animal. But he had no more time to worry as Harm stood up in his rich tenor and started to sing... "Stand Navy out to sea, Fight our Battle Cry;" The Navy officers stood up and started to sing along with Harm. Animal and Meg stood up together, hands linked, visible to Harm and Mac who grinned at each other, and sang. Meg singing soprano, and Animal singing baritone. "We'll never change our course, So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y. Roll out the TNT, Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to Victory And sink their bones to Davy Jones, Hooray!" The navy personnel in the audience stood up all joining in on the song and they all roared out in a huge chorus. "Anchors Away, my boys, Anchors Aweigh. Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay. Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam, Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home. Blue of the Mighty Deep; Gold of God's Sun Let these colors be till all of time be done, done, done, On seven seas we learn Navy's stern call: Faith, Courage, Service true, with Honor, Over Honor, Over All." With the end of that song, they raised their glasses to the married couple, who gave each other another kiss. Harm grinned as a burst of happiness went through him as he looked at Sarah who sat next to him. She grinned as she fingered her brooch on her wedding gown that was enscribed with the US Marine Corps seal. "OK all you squids and anchor clankers" she grinned as she took the mike and started in a surprisingly firm alto. "From the Halls Of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli; " At the second line, her uncle Colonel Matt O'Hara joined in with a rather shaky but loud bass. "We fight our country's battles In the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine" At the second verse, Animal stood up to bolster Colonel O'Hara's bass with his own firm baritone. And just to throw everyone off, he went down a major 3rd to form harmony. "Our flag's unfurled to every breeze >From dawn to setting sun; We have fought in every clime and place Where we could take a gun; In the snow of far off northern lands And in sunny tropic scenes; You will find us always on the job- The United States Marine Here's health to you and to our Corps Which we are proud to serve; In many a strife we've fought for life And never lost our nerve; If the Army and the Navy Ever look on Heaven's scenes; They will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines" Mac looked cheerily at her uncle and at her friend as they finished up the Marine Corps hymn, Animal looking incongruous with his Navy dress whites and her Uncle with his Marine Corps Dress blues, linked arm in arm, a mike in each hand as they serenaded the audience. This was starting to become a real military reception, loose but full of friendship and cameraderie. Colonel O'Hara patted Animal on the back and grinned,"Commander, for a squid, you are all right." "Thank you...sir...coming from a jarhead, that's a compliment..." Animal grinned back. Their ranks were too close to be one-upping each other anyways. Animal, if he was a Marine would be a Lieutenant-Colonel. Harm grinned. The reception was really starting to get into full swing with everyone trying their hand at singing. Harm finally said,"OK, this one is for my wife..." he said as he got up grabbing a mike from his friend. " The karaoke machine broke into the rendition of Jeff Healey's "Angel Eyes..." "Oh, girl, you're lookin' fine tonight... And ev'ry guy has got you in his sights... What you doin', with a clown like me... It's surely one of life's little mysteries... Oh, well, I-I stars, above, How did I ever win your love... What did I do? What did I say... to turn your angel eyes my way..." Mac blushed from head to foot, as Harm walked over to his wife, took her hand and continued to sing... "Well, I'm the guy who never learned to dance... Never even got one... Second glance... Across the crowded room, Was close enough... I could look, But I could never touch..." Mac gave him a sympathetic look and caressed his face as he sang to her, his voice strong and vibrant. She was loving the fact that her husband serenaded her. "Oh, I-I...Star's above... How did I ever win your love... What did I do...? What did I say? To turn your angel eyes My way... Don't anyone wake me... If it's just a dream... Oh...she's the best thing... That...ever happened to me... All you fellows... You can look all you like... But this girl you see... Is leavin' here... With me tonight...yeah..." In this verse, Harm hammed it up as he gave a triumphant grin to wild wolf whistles from all the Naval officers in attendance, except for the exclusion of a more dignified Rear Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden who just grinned at the way that his dignified senior attorney was cutting loose. He must have been genuinely happy with Mac. Mac gave Harm a passionate kiss. Animal teased Meg,"So, anyone keeping track of how many kisses and loving glances they give each other?" Meg just laughed as she enjoyed watching the two lovebirds in action. "And there's just one more thing.. I need to know... If this is love why does it... Scare me so... It must be something Only you can see Cause, girl I feel it... When you look at me... Oh, I-I...Star's above... How did I ever win your love... What did I do...? What did I say? To turn your angel eyes My way...hey hey hey eh eh... ah ah..." The music faded out as the chorus repeated and he laid the mike to rest on the karaoke machine as he went back to the table and gave Mac the most passionate kiss that everyone had ever seen. Mac caressed his face as she put her lips on his. That brought cheers and wolf-whistles from every inebriated navy officer in the crowd of which there were many. After a break, Animal went up to dedicate a solo to his friends. He grinned and said,"Meg's going to come up and help me with this one. I've brought along the words and the music to it." Meg's mouth sort of fell open as she looked over the music and saw that it was classical music. "I-I don't know how to do this..." she complain- ed as she looked at it. "Don't worry, I start out first, just follow my lead..." Animal grinned as she looked at him with raised eyebrow as if to say that he "was dead-meat..." The Navy's string orchestra in the corner struck up a Handel Aria. It was called "Per Le Porte" out of the opera Sosarme. As the instrumental part progressed, Animal took a deep breath, shook his head to tell the karaoke machine attendant that he did not want a mike. He sang "Per le porte del tormento. Passan l'anime a gioir." Meg had a difficult time following the rising and falling vocal part, but managed to make it really passable. Animal marvelled as she followed his part and separated to join with the soprano. The falling counterpoint was clear and defined as Meg's clear soprano joined with his baritone as they each did their parts. At the very end there was a falling unison part that they both ended up on the same note. Animal was very impressed as Meg had never had very much vocal training but still managed to make the soprano part sound really good. Harm was marvelling at his ex-partner's adaptability to different challenges. Mac also looked very impressed. Animal quoted,"That translated was 'Through the gates of suffering, souls must pass to finally gain pleasure.'. And that is our dedication to Harm and Sarah, from Meg and I." he grinned holding Meg's hand as Meg looked wonderingly at him. Mac looked over at Harm and said,"That describes us, doesn't it?" She said to Harm as she squeezed his hand lovingly. As Animal and Meg came to sit down beside them, Mac squeezed Animal's hand lovingly and said,"Animal, thanks a lot...it was beautiful..." and she said to Meg,"Thanks..." "Oh, no problem..." Meg said. "I didn't expect it..." she was looking kind of flustered. No guy that she had ever had anything for had attempted anything like this. It would probably take a while to settle her ruffled equilibrium back down. Mac looked at Harm and grinned. It was time. Harm and Mac stood up, as they headed for the raised stage. "As much as we'd love to stay and chat and make merry," Mac grinned, casting aside her wedding veil as she said,"Now, it's time to throw out the bouquet. If you want to remain single, I suggest you get your tails out of the line of fire..." she warned as she turned around. The tables and chairs had been cleared and all the single women who were available were gathered in a group as the bouquet was thrown. The bouquet fell in a parabolic arc as it fell towards the center of the group. Meg only had time to gasp, as it fell seeming to be guided by forces unseen into her hands. She was congratulated with many cries of "Great...catch, Meg...So, when's your wedding?" Harm grinned an evil grin at Animal as he got ready with his little item that he first had to remove from his blushing bride. Mac sat down on a chair as the guys started wolf-whistling and cheering. as she waited with a look of demure patience, as Harm ducked his head underneath her gown. The shrieks of laughter grew louder as Mac swatted his head underneath her gown as he went places where he wasn't supposed to go. "Get the darn thing and stop prowling...You'll have enough time for that later..." she said laughing. He grinned as he pulled out a volume of the JAGMan investigation manual and tossed it aside, then there was the US Navy Officer's Guide, then a pair of Marine Corps boots. The cheers and laughter grew louder as he finally emerged red faced with the item in question. It was the garter. He slid it down her thigh and leg with his teeth. That was in accompaniment to cheers from all the inebriated Navy officers. Finally he held it up cheerfully as the applause from the crowd was deafening. Finally he grinned an evil grin,"Unfortunately I cannot choose my victim." Harm grinned as he shot another look at Animal as he snickered...at the young naval aviator. Who complained," I'm being victimized..." to a chorus of boos. Meg snickered as she watched his discomfiture. The poor naval aviator was blushing furiously as she watched him. Mac was having a laughing fit on stage as she watched Animal desperately try to look for a hiding spot. "So, I'm going to throw it and let it land where it may..." Harm finished and then threw it, directly at Animal's head. Animal blushed again even more furiously as Harm's aim was true, the garter hitting his head to fall into his hands. The rest of the Naval aviators boo'd while the other Naval officers cheered. The lucky or unlucky soul that would have the garter would have to slip it onto the female with the bouquet. Animal blushed even more. Mac was having a hard time trying to breathe, from laughing so hard. Meg started blushing as the implication of that catch ran across her mind. Carolyn Imes grinned as she said,"Isn't this what you wanted all along?" she teased Meg. "Thanks..." Meg said shortly as a furious pink blush fell across her cheeks. Mac grinned evilly as she grabbed Meg and guided her to the chair and told her to sit. Meanwhile, Animal was arguing furiously with Keeter who was asking Maverick and Metalman to drag Animal on stage. Finally along with Animal's RIO Scooter, the four of them managed to drag Animal on stage who was trying to make this look good. A definite image of reluctance and fear. It got laughs from the audience as one of the more inebriated officers who luckily managed to get away with heckling his superior officer, yelled out,"CHICKEN!!!" Meg whispered as he finally got shoved in front of her,"It's not that bad, is it..." Animal whispered back,"No, but I had to make it look good." Meg giggled as she said,"Now, don't try anything Harm did on Mac." Animal responded as he blushed again,"Well, they're married, we're not." Mac and Harm were staring with identical grins on their face. Animal was thinking overtime as to how to get the two of them back. Animal lifted Meg's foot, slid the garter around her foot and slipped it up, taking it really slow, and caressing her leg as he moved the garter up over her knee and up above, up her thigh. The cheering was getting louder as the raucous screaming went on. Finally his hand underneath Meg's skirt was stopped by Meg's hand. She had a grin on her face that said that she was enjoying this as much as he was, even though she had a furious blush going. "Red light...Commander..." she grinned. The rest of the inebriated bunch of naval officers were all screaming,"AWWWWWW!!!!" in disappointment. "SHOW US HER LEGS!!!!" they all hooted. Meg blushed pink from head to foot. "I don't think so, boys..." Meg said as the naval officers all looked disappointed. She looked down at her naval aviator friend, who was trying his best to remove his hand from her thigh under her dress as discreetly as possible. "Feeling alright, dear?" she teased him. " Yeah..." Animal agreed as he retrieved his hand from under Meg's dress and stood up linking hands with her. He was thinking that he was never going to live this down. Harm grinned as he looked over at Animal,"I told you I was going to get you back for this morning..." Animal muttered,"Thanks a lot..." he said, his voice implying a double meaning as he looked over at Meg who was smiling at him. "You're welcome, Animal..." Mac grinned evilly at him. She had enjoyed that. The two naval officers relinquished the stage, hand in hand, as Harm and Mac said,"Well, as much as we'd love to stick around, we have to leave and catch our plane for our honeymoon." Harm put his arm lovingly around Mac as Mac leaned into him, invoking sighs and ahhs...from the female half of the crowd while evoking chants of "KISS, KISS, KISS...KISS..." from the male half. They finally let the crowd have their way and embraced with their lips meeting in a passionate kiss for a full minute and a half. Animal whispered to Meg, who was blushing still,"Are you sure they don't have to come up for air?" "It's a technique that SEALs use, called buddy breathing..." Meg said. "What?" "I'll show you sometime..." she said with a knowing grin. Animal closed his mouth and flushed red with embarrassment. For a navy aviator, he was sure prone to turning red at the most inopportune times, Meg thought. 'Gee, he gets embarrassed easily.' She grinned at the thought of that. 'Maybe he is human.' They had cut the cake and had posed for pictures and Mac and Harm looked as if they wanted to be on their way. Lieutenant Bud Roberts headed for the stage. "Well, ma'am, sir...now the crowd thinks that you have about 2 1/2 hours before you should be at the airport to catch your connector flight to Los Angeles to your honeymoon destination in Hawaii." "Thanks Bud..." Mac and Harm said in unison, as they departed the stage to change into their regular clothing in order to catch their flight. 20 minutes later when they had reappeared in their street clothes and their carry-all luggage had been lugged out to the cab waiting outside patiently, Mac and Harm grinned,"Well, thank you all for coming to our wedding. And we'll see you all in about two weeks." Harm added as he grinned his best fly-boy grin at his wife. "Oh, no, he's starting that aviator charm already..." Mac mock-swooned, as the rest of the naval-aviators laughed their heads off. "GO ALREADY!!!!" the crowd yelled as the couple headed out the door. "YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS YOUR PLANE!!!" Meg sighed as she grasped Animal's hand as they watched their friends leave for their honeymoon. 'Two weeks of bliss...' she thought. 'I guess there's still hope for me yet.' she said looking at her date for the wedding thoughtfully. Outside the Reception hall later on that same night Looking over the harbour, she saw him staring at the dark waters swirling on the bay. "So, penny for your thoughts..." Animal looked up startled as he saw Meg standing there. He hadn't known how much Meg would grow on him. He had thought that it was a temporary crush, but she was not just a beautiful woman. She had captured his heart and now held it for ransom. Weddings were times for reflection, a gauge of the time rushing past for all of them. A happy time, yet a twinge of sadness came over him. He turned to hold Meg's hand. "So, you're heading back to Washington?" Animal asked as he looked into Meg's eyes. Meg looked back at him. She nodded as she said to him,"Well, that's where my new posting is, but since NIS goes all over the place, there's no telling where I could be stationed next." "I see..." Animal said. He felt a little disappointed that she wasn't about to say that she was going to find an NIS posting on his base, but that was too much to expect. But Meg could read the look on Animal's face, the flicker of disappointment flashing across his eyes as she looked at him. She caressed his face as she said softly,"Well, Washington is pretty close to Oceana. I can always see you on the weekend." she said looking at his startled face. She looked at her watch, "c'mon, the night is still young," she grabbed his hand and they walked to the rental vehicle that Animal had. The guests for Harm and Mac's wedding were slowly trickling out. "Let's go back to the hotel and grab ourselves a little bit of a nightcap and talk a bit before we have to catch up on our beauty sleep." she grinned at him. Animal looked at her. Her vivaciousness was infectious. She was personable and friendly and it showed in her personality. Way...Later on Animal sighed as he looked out from the railing of his apartment suite as Meg sighed beside him. She wrapped her arm around him as she glanced up at the moon. They had had a great conversation and he had suggested coming out to look at the moon. 'How a week could change someone's life.' she thought to herself. A week ago, I was mooning for Harm, and now I've bagged myself a commander of a Navy fighter squadron and a young one at that too.' her thoughts tumbled through her mind as she rested her head on Animal's shoulder as they looked out at the stars. She sighed again happily. Animal was finally realizing the implication of Harm's "birthday present" to him. He made a reminder to himself to thank Harm. Likewise, he still could not believe how one week changed his life. 'Here I was thinking that it was going to be just another friend's wedding.' Around the same time. Harm and Mac had just settled into their suite at the Leialana Hotel in Waikiki, when Harm called out to his wife to come out and see the rising moon. "Can you believe it?" Mac said, "God it's beautiful, Harm." she murmured embracing her husband. She rolled that word around her tongue relishing the fact that she had now become Sarah MacKenzie Rabb. It was wonderful. Harm was still enjoying himself as he wrapped his arms around his wife as they watched from the poolside room. They could slip into the water at anytime. Harm grinned,"I wonder how the rest of the guys are doing back at Falls Church." "Yeah..." Mac grinned. "Did you see the look on Animal's face when I hucked your garter at him." Harm chuckled to Mac, as they both giggled. "He had no choice but to catch it." "And did you see the look on his face as he was slipping it onto Meg's leg..." Mac giggled, reliving that moment in her mind. "Ah, that was price- less." Harm chuckled as he remembered Meg's horror-struck look as the bouquet fell into her hands. Then he remembered the amused and relieved look Meg had when Animal had actually caught the garter. "Do you think that Animal likes Meg?" Mac asked Harm. "Yeah..." Harm chuckled. "He made a scene about going up there but I think he has a wonderful crush on Meg." "I think Meg has a crush on him too..." Mac replied looking at her husband. They both gave each other a high-five. "Do you think our matchmaking worked?" Mac grinned at Harm. Harm nodded quietly thinking of the hurt that Meg had gone through when he had told her that their relationship was over, that he was marrying Mac. He was glad that he had been able to bring some happiness back into Meg's life at the same time as he was experiencing such happiness in his own. "Well, we'll never know..." The moon looked down upon them glowing as it rose higher in the night sky as husband and wife both embraced, giving each other a passionate kiss as they moved towards a bed, consummation and a new future together. They would be together, now and forever as one. Back in the hotel in Annapolis, Maryland 0030 ZULU Animal and Meg moved into each other's arms as they kissed each other passionately. Harm and Mac had done a wonderful thing in bringing the both of them together. It was a start of a wonderful relationship that hinted at endless possibilities. Animal whispered to Meg, "We have to thank Harm and Mac, don't we..." "Yes, we do..." murmured Meg as she tasted his lips again. Meg thought to herself. 'My dear, sweet, naval aviator,' She hoped that he felt the same way towards her. Hopefully their relationship would grow to be explored as deeply and as passionately as Harm and Mac had grown their relationship. Hopefully, Animal would be hers, now and forever. She sighed as Animal drew her into his embrace. The moon shone above, flooding the balcony with light. It was the same moon that shone above Hawaii with a glow, falling on the forms sleeping on their honeymoon bed, exhausted and blissfully asleep with a glow that could only come from a the love for one another that sparked their coupling. Harm and Mac slept, embracing one another, blissfully unaware that the relationship that they had nurtured for their friends had blossomed. THE END. Thanks goes to Tamara Shwartz for giving me ideas that are running rampant through my mind. Her story "Traditions" spawned the creative idea for this story. Since I am a Harm/Mac shipper, to the death, I always love giving romantic situations to Harm and Mac. But of course, being the sucker for a happy ending, I could not leave Meg in the cold either. :) I also love putting my characters into lovely little situations involving J.A.G. but it's my story so sue me. (on second thought don't sue me, I don't have any money...) Hopefully you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. The Song "Angel Eyes" comes from the Jeff Healey Band. The aria "Per Le Porte" comes from the Georg Frideric Handel opera "Sosarme" Apologies to the U.S. Army for ransacking their official song. It was my own version, touting the benefits of being in the Navy. (I'm a civilian) The Marine Corps Hymn, and Anchor's Aweigh are placed in full and are accurate from official sources, (US Marine Corps site and the US Navy site) Thanks again to my friends Kathleen Klatte and Sandra Martinez for always providing encouragement. Thanks again to Tamara Shwartz. Traditions is a great story. Thanks for your inspiration.