E-mail: astridz55@earthlink.net
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Nothing specific. At least I don’t
think so.
Summary: The Admiral has retired and gets
caught under the mistletoe.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to CBS
and Bellisarius Productions. I am simply borrowing them for a little fun.
Notes: Constructive criticism is welcome. I
would like to offer special thanks to Michelle for beta reading this for me. I
really do appreciate all your help. Sorry for all the problems with the commas.
Maybe my comma key is broken, that could explain it. J
"Oh, dear Lord," mumbled the
Admiral. Unfortunately, it was just loud enough for Harriet, standing next to
him, to hear.
"Sir?" replied Harriet, turning to
look in the same direction. She saw Harm and Mac walk in arm in arm, both
looking at each other very happily. Mac was in a stunning navy and gold dress
that contrasted perfectly against Harm’s dress blues.
‘Some Christmas party,’ thought the Admiral.
‘This is going to be a long night if I have to watch those two all night.’ He
really didn’t even want to come to this party himself, so now seeing those two
together he knew he wouldn’t be having all that much fun. AJ had been working
here at the Embassy since his retirement from JAG six months ago.
"How about a dance, sir?" asked
Harriet. Noticing the surprised look on his face, she continued, "Bud is
off getting me something that I can drink." She laid her hand on her
extended belly. "Do you mind?"
"My pleasure, Lieutenant," he said
taking her arm and leading her to the dance floor.
On the dance floor, they saw Harm and Mac
dancing together rather gracefully, like they were made to be together. Harriet
noticed that every time the Admiral saw them his eyes flickered with an emotion
that she couldn’t place, it almost looked like jealously. Before long, Bud was
back with a drink and a kind word about her not getting too tired out. Harriet
promised that she would take it easy so she sat back for some fun people
watching. The Admiral sat with her while Bud and Mac danced the next dance.
Harriet, over the course of the night, noticed that his eyes seemed to follow
Mac around the room, no matter who she was dancing with. That got her thinking.
Finally, she knew what to do. It was a Christmas party, right? Well, who could
have a Christmas party without mistletoe? She noticed that Harm and Mac were on
their way back out to the dance floor, so she jumped at her chance.
"Sir, how about one more dance before
Bud and I leave?" She noticed that the Admiral had to tear his eyes away
from Mac to take her arm and lead her again out to the dance floor. She made
sure that she was real close to the mistletoe, then said, "Sir, they’re not
on a date. She doesn’t love him." Ignoring the Admiral’s confused yet
somewhat pleased look, she purposefully bumped into Harm.
"Excuse me, Harriet," commented
Harm.
"Commander, you haven’t danced with me
yet tonight. Are you afraid to dance with a pregnant lady? Afraid I’ll squish
your toes?" Harm smiled his flyboy smile and reached out one hand to
Harriet.
"Shall we switch, Admiral? But beware,
she does squish toes," said Harm. Mac glared at him while she stepped over
to the Admiral and he took her into his arms.
"I’ll take my chances with the
Colonel," responded AJ. Harriet knew then that she was doing the right
thing. The way the Admiral said it was a dead give away.
"I’m really not that bad a dancer,
Admiral." Mac said with a smile.
"AJ. Please. I’m a civilian now. I
wonder how long it will take for everyone to remember that."
"How long did it take you, sir?"
Mac asked with another of her beautiful smiles.
"Still working on that, Colonel."
"Why don’t you call me Sarah?"
"Okay, Sarah." That seemed to his
ears to have sounded very husky, but she didn’t seem to notice. They fell quiet
and just enjoyed the music and the dance. He adjusted his hold on her slender
body and pulled her a bit closer. She was thinking that she had found heaven in
his arms, and he was feeling like a teenage boy again. The feel of her body
against his, her perfume and the sight of that clingy dress were almost more
than he could stand. She didn’t even hear the music anymore, all she heard was
the pounding of her heart. She was sure that he could hear it also.
"Oh, look! They’re under the
mistletoe!" exclaimed Harriet.
The sudden realization of where he was
standing stopped AJ in his tracks. Sarah, not realizing what caused him to stop
so suddenly, bumped into him. He tightened his hold on her to help her restore
her balance, but the feel of her breasts against his chest was enough to make
him lose his balance - mentally. He could feel himself lose control. He was
trying his best to hide his embarrassment from her, but he knew that he could
never hide his growing arousal from her notice. "Damn" he muttered.
She looked up quickly and saw the flicker of
desire in AJ’s eyes. She quickly tried to step out of his embrace, but he held
her closer when Harm said, "You know the rules, Admiral. You have to kiss
her." AJ was going to give her a quick peck on the lips but her lips were
so soft and they clung to his so he just had to continue the kiss. He almost
forgot about the audience that they had when she tentatively began to respond.
He, somehow, managed to regain control and ended the kiss, reluctantly. He
didn’t think that he could look at her again without kissing her again so he
turned and saw a surprised Harm, a pleased Harriet, and a shocked Bud.
"Why are you looking so pleased,
Harriet?’ asked AJ.
"No reason, sir," she responded
with a bigger smile. "Bud, I’m getting tired. Let’s go home. Good night
all."
And then they suddenly disappeared out the
door. Harm now understood what Harriet had done and tried his best to disappear
also. He saw Jordan walking his way from across the room and when she arrived
she greeted a quiet AJ and Mac. She then asked Mac if she could steal Harm away
because she needed to talk to him. Not really wanting to talk to Jordan, Harm
apologized and said that he couldn’t really leave Mac as she was his date and
it wouldn’t be proper. AJ immediately volunteered to drive Mac home whenever
she was ready. Harm gave a sour look to AJ and took Jordan’s hand and led her
away from the mistletoe.
"Would you like to go home now,
Sarah?"
"Sure, it’s been a long night."
They walked out of the ballroom, collected her jacket and walked to the valet
parking. AJ helped Mac into her jacket as they waited for AJ’s car. They shared
a bit of small talk about the band while they waited for his car. AJ helped her
into the passenger side of the car. They both noticed the tension and the spark
when they touched but neither knew what to say about it. A short time later,
they arrived at Mac’s place. AJ parked and helped her out of the car.
"Would you like to come in for some
coffee?" asked Sarah.