Title: The Set Up

Rating: PG

Do NOT archive anywhere

Spoilers: Exculpatory Evidence

I wrote this the morning after I watched the episode. I haven’t gotten this beta read or anything so don’t mind the mistakes.

Feedback to astridz55@earthlink.net

Disclaimer: These characters belong to CBS and Bellisarius Productions. I am simply borrowing them for a little fun.

I sat at the bar next to the Admiral and I have to admit while I did enjoy the fact that he was there, I was curious why he had been invited. Harm and Sturgis don't usually invite the Admiral out to drinks. Many times the Admiral is too, well not really difficult to approach, but he knows that he can't just 'hang out' with his staff.

I knew the moment that I saw her, that the blond was right up Harm's alley. And it seems that Congresswoman Latham knew Harm well enough to pick a date for him, I was just surprised that she did. Unfortunately, the way that Sturgis grabbed Harm aside, suddenly made me worry for their careers. And their sanity.

I knew then that they were trying to fix up the Admiral and I knew that he would not be happy with that at all. Especially if that was the kind of woman they were trying to fix him up with. In my personal opinion, there wasn't anything really wrong with her except that she practically ignored the Admiral and only noticed Harm. When I walked over to the conspirators, I happened to overhear Harm say that the woman was too young for the admiral. Just how old does Rabb think he is? Who really cares about a few years age difference any way? I mean, look at Sean Connery, one of the sexiest men and he is over 70. And I doubt that too many women will really complain about his age.

I told the boys that I wanted to have nothing to do with their stupidity, and I honestly didn't. Unfortunately, my good intentions went flying out the window when I got home and checked my messages. Meredith called me back about the summer Shakespeare program that I had asked her about for Chloe. We had actually met a year or so ago when I was at the library pouring over the sonnets trying to find a particular one. She saw me going through book after book when she finally approached me and asked if I needed help.

I explained to her that I had recently heard part of a sonnet and I wanted to find the rest. She asked what I remembered and I told her that I couldn't remember it exactly but it was about a poet wanting to write about the graces of a woman but in the years to come people would not believe him. Before I could even finish, she was flipping through the book on the table. Almost immediately she pointed to a page and said "Sonnet XVII." I was surprised that any one could remember that much Shakespeare but everyone has their own thing they love.

We introduced ourselves and when she mentioned that she did a summer program for kids, I knew that Chloe would love it. Or at least I hoped she would. Originally, Chloe was supposed to go to the camp last summer but with the non-wedding and then my TDY, plans definitely were up in the air. Meredith said that she had a space open for Chloe this summer though and was looking forward to being around the kids.

After settling in for the night I thought back to the message and the fiasco of the guys trying to set up the Admiral. I knew that Harm would do something next and I didn't want to be anywhere near it when everything blew up. I like to think that I knew the Admiral well enough to know that he would hate a set up. It would have to appear to be an accident, a coincidence. I reached for the phone, dialed, and then sighed, knowing that I would be in big trouble if this backfired.

I explained to Meredith that I needed to go over the final details about the camp with her so that I could send the info to Chloe. She said that she could meet me for lunch the next day if I was available. Usually, I would have met her at the restaurant but I asked her if she could meet me at JAG. Maybe the Admiral could bump into her and take things from there. I knew that was a long shot but that was all I felt comfortable trying.

Things didn't backfire as I had almost expected. It was worse. I had no idea that Harm and Sturgis had already been talked to, not that I could have changed anything. I have no idea what the Admiral said to Meredith but once he saw me I knew that I was in some trouble. I decided to just tell him about Chloe. Luckily, he believed me, it was the truth after all. I tried to keep the neutral expression on my face but once I got into my office, I smiled.

I knew that I would have to have Meredith come to meet me for lunch tomorrow. I planned on making sure that the Admiral saw her because I knew that he would apologize to her. He was the type of man that would, which is one of the reasons that I respected him so much. He was a nice man and he deserved to be happy. I know that he said that he was happy to eat alone but I also knew his love of Shakespeare. I thought that he would enjoy someone to share that with.

When they met again at the elevator and started talking, I thought that I had done a good job after all. When they stopped talking, I decided that I needed to get away in case there was an explosion. I walked thought the double glass doors before peeking back and seeing them still there. I had to smile on my way to my office. Harm stopped me, "What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously.

I looked from Harm to Sturgis and simply said, "Playing with fire."

The End

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