Christmas SurprisesAuthor: Rorie Classification: S Author's notes: At the end... VIETNAM
VETERAN'S MEMORIAL WALL Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. walked slowly down the sidewalk towards the dark slash in the ground. There was snow on the ground, the air was crisp, and there seemed to be a hush over the normally active city. He made his way along the Wall until he found the panel where he knew he'd find his father's name. He traced his index finger across the name, "Dad, it's me...." he whispered. "It's been another year... a lot has happened, some good, some not so good." Harm paused and took a deep breath. "I left JAG for a while to go back to flying... my eyes were fixed. It was a good experience, I was able to pursue my dreams... but I almost lost something even more important: my friendship with Mac. I hurt her pretty badly when I left. But we're getting it back... it's taking longer than I'd like, but I have to earn her trust again. Dad, it's hard..." Harm paused again, there were some things he couldn't say out loud, not even to his father. He loved Mac, but he couldn't tell her... how could she feel the same way after what he did to her. Oh, he knew that she had been in love with him when he left. The tears and the look in her eyes when they said goodbye in his office told him what was in her heart. However, he couldn't acknowledge it then... he had to follow his dreams, and he almost lost the one woman he truly loved. "Merry Christmas, Dad." Harm finally said as he touched the name again and turned to go. "Excuse me." a soft voice said, as Harm collided with her. "No, it's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going." Harm answered, putting his hand on the woman's shoulder to steady her. The woman looked up and gasped, "Harm?" she asked quietly. "Yes? Do I know you?" Harm said, as he watched the emotions play across the woman's face. She was about the same age as his mother with deep brown eyes that reminded him of Mac's, and auburn hair with streaks of gray. "Yes... I mean no." she answered. "You look like your father." she stated, matter-of-factly. "You knew my father?" Harm asked in confusion. "When? How?" The woman took his arm and led him to a bench. "Sit down and I'll explain. My name is Jenny Lake and I was a member of Bob Hope's USO tour during the Viet Nam War. In 1969, we played a show on board the USS Ticonderoga... that's where I met your father...." USS
TICONDEROGA Lt. Harmon Rabb, Sr. walked along the deck talking into his tape recorder. He was "writing" a Christmas letter to Trish and little Harm. He missed them all of the time, but the longing was intensified at this time of year. He flipped off the recorder and headed to the railing. He liked to stare out over the water, it was calming, it helped him forget for a few moments that there was a war raging all around him. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't know anyone was here." a voice said. "It's okay, I'll leave." Harm said, turning and looking at the woman who had spoken. She was beautiful...long auburn hair, and deep brown eyes, which reflected a deep sadness. "No, stay... I'll go." "No, there's room up here for both of us." Harm said, extending his hand, "My name's Harmon Rabb." "Jenny Lake." she answered, taking the proffered hand. "You're with Bob Hope's show, aren't you?" "Yes, Lieutenant, I am." she answered. "Harm." he corrected. "Okay, Harm, yeah, I'm with the show. I'm a singer." she sighed. "Are you all right? You seem sad." Harm said, not sure if he should be bringing it up. "It's nothing, really." Jenny answered, not wanting to put her problems on anyone else. "No, it's not nothing, Miss Lake, if you'd forgive me for saying so. I'm a pretty good listener..." "It's Jenny, and I don't want to bother you with my problems. I can handle it." Harm shook his head, "Wow, you sounded just like Trish then." "Trish?" "My wife. When we first met, she didn't want to bother me either. She's so stubborn, and she likes everyone around her to think she's strong, so she doesn't always want to share her problems, even when it would help." Harm said. Jenny bit her lip, "Yep, that's me all right." she said, with a sarcastic chuckle, as she leaned against the railing, staring out over the water. For some reason, she trusted this stranger. That was unusual. It normally took a while for someone to gain her trust. She was always afraid of getting hurt. She took a deep breath, and tears began coursing down her cheeks. "My fiancé was killed last week. He was a Marine." she said. "But since I'm in the show, I'm supposed to be cheerful for the boys. I haven't been allowed to grieve yet." Harm's heart broke for the woman who stood next to him. He put his hand on her shoulder and felt her immediately tense up. "Jenny, you don't have to be cheerful for me. It's all right for you to grieve." he said, softly. The dam broke, Jenny's shoulders started shaking, and heart-rending sobs began. Harm pulled the woman against his chest and put his arms around her. He held onto her until her sobs subsided. Finally, she pulled away. "Feel any better?" he asked. "Actually, yes. Thank you, Harm." Jenny answered with a watery smile. "Tell me about him." Harm ordered gently. "David was a captain. He was in charge of a platoon. He was scheduled to PCS in two weeks. They had just completed maneuvers outside ----- when they were ambushed by the VC. David could have gotten away safely, but he chose to stay with his wounded. He ordered his sergeant to take the rest of the men out of the hot zone. David stayed with his men until the helos could get them out. When they arrived, only 2 of the wounded were still alive, and David was dead. One of the wounded men died, but the other survived. I saw him when we visited the hospital ship. He told me what had happened and gave me a letter from David. "Harm, he was coming home to me. We were going to get married, I was going to leave the show. We wanted children. He always said he wanted a daughter that looked like me. I wanted a son with his father's good looks. Now, we'll never have either." Jenny lowered her head. "My life is over." she whispered, Harm had to strain to hear her. "Don't say that, Jenny. I know it seems like that right now. But things will get better. Eventually the hurt will get less." "How would you know about it?" she asked bitterly. "I've lost people in this war, too." he answered quietly. Jenny gasped. "I'm sorry, Harm." "It's okay." he said. He looked around and realized how late it was. "Can I walk you back to your quarters?" "I'd like that. Thanks." THE PRESENT "Your dad helped me through a hard time in my life. I was seriously considering ending my life. Oh, I wouldn't have done it right there on the ship... but I didn't think that I could go on. David was the most important person in my life up until then. I truly believed that my life was over without him." Jenny stood up and stretched before sitting back down. "After he walked me back to my cabin, he didn't leave right away...." THE PAST "Here we are." Jenny said, opening a door. "Are you going to be all right, Jenny?" Harm asked. "Yes... I think I will... now." she answered softly. "Thank you." "You're welcome." Harm said, as he turned to leave. "Harm?" she called after him. He turned back. Jenny stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thanks." "It was my pleasure." Harm answered with a smile that lit up the corridor. "Harm? Do you want to come in for a minute and talk?" she asked hesitantly, not ready to end the evening and the comfort that this sailor was giving her. She felt better with him, better than she had since she had heard the news about David. Harm smiled again, he saw the trepidation in her eyes. He knew she wasn't coming on to him, she just didn't want to be alone. "What about your roommate?" he asked. "I got lucky, I'm the odd woman out... I don't have one." she answered as she held the door open for him to enter the small room. She followed and sat on the bunk, while Harm took the chair. An awkward silence descended on the pair. It was one thing to be alone on the deck, talking, but this was entirely different. They were in her stateroom with the door shut and not even the possibility of being disturbed by a roommate. Finally, in order to break the silence, Jenny stood and flipped on her radio. It was tuned to the Armed Forces Radio, Viet Nam, station. A slow, romantic song drifted out of the small box. Jenny smiled, it had been a favorite of her and David's. Harm noticed the smile, "Would you like to dance, Miss Lake?" he asked with a slight bow. Jenny chuckled and nodded. Harm put one hand on her waist and took her hand with the other one. Jenny put her free hand on his shoulder. Her junior high dance teacher would have been proud, they kept a very chaste distance between their bodies. The pair danced to the song until the end, then kept on into the next song. They were lost in their own worlds. She was in David's arms, and he was in Trish's. Unconsciously, they moved closer to each other, both of his hands now resting on her waist, her arms entwined around his neck. Suddenly, they stopped moving. Harm's lips neared hers almost in slow motion. Jenny closed her eyes and gave herself up to the sensation of warm lips on hers. With her eyes closed, she could imagine it was David kissing her, not a married man that she had only met a few hours earlier.... THE PRESENT Jenny paused in her tale. She could see that she was upsetting Harm. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you this." "No, I asked." Harm answered, stiffly. "I know how it must feel to know that your father wasn't perfect, Harm. I'm sorry." Harm didn't answer her. He was lost in thought, how could his father do that to his mother? She had loved him with all of her heart, and he kissed another woman. The six-year-old boy inside of him was indignant at the hurt that his father did to his beloved mother. He didn't notice that Jenny had stood up when a young woman approached, "Mom?" Harm's head snapped up. "What is it, Sally?" Jenny asked. "Are you ready to go? We still have to get the present for Grandma before her plane gets in." "I know, Baby." Jenny answered. Then she remembered that Harm was still there. "Harm, this is my daughter, Sarah Lake. Sally, this is Harmon Rabb, Jr." Harm just stared at the woman, she looked so familiar. "You mean...?" Sally finally asked. "Yes, Baby, I do." Jenny answered with a sigh. Harm snapped out of his reverie. "Would you two like to explain to me what's going on?" he demanded in his best courtroom voice. Sally jumped in, never one for beating around the bush, "I'm your sister, Harm." "No." he exclaimed, "That's not possible." The six-year-old boy inside was really angry now. Jenny put her hand on the man's arm in a gesture of comfort. He shook it off angrily. "Harm, I'm sorry..." "How could he do that to my mom?" he demanded angrily. Jenny sighed, "We were both lonely... he missed you and your mom, I missed David. I think we used each other as substitutes.... Harm, he loved your mom. I woke up the next morning, he was gone, a note lay on the desk. He said that it was a mistake, it never should have happened. I agreed." She paused again, "But something good came out of it, I got my Sarah." "My grandmother's name is Sarah." Harm said quietly. "I know... he told me. That's part of the reason I named her that." "Mom," Sally interrupted, "I'm going down there." Jenny just nodded as her daughter went down the sidewalk towards the Wall. "He disappeared that Christmas Eve." Harm said. "Did you know that?" Jenny nodded. "Tom Boone told me." "You knew the CAG, too?" Harm asked. "Yes, he knew what had happened between your father and I. He sent a letter to me, care of the show, when your father was shot down. He thought I deserved to know..." "He never told me... all this time, and I never knew." "Harm, you were a child... you had just lost your father, your hero. He wasn't going to do anything to shatter your illusions of your father. That would have been cruel." Jenny said. "Does he know about Sarah?" he asked. "No, I only met him once, on board the Ticonderoga. After that, he wrote me the letter, and I answered. That was the only contact we ever had." Harm nodded and headed back towards his father's panel on the Wall. He didn't look back at Jenny, but he knew that she was upset. Arriving at the panel, he stood next to the woman who was his sister. "Sally?" "Yes?" "I'm not mad at you... it's not your fault." Harm stated. Sally smiled, a smile that matched her brother's Flyboy grin. "Thank you, Harm." "So, what should I know about my new sister?" he asked. "Well, Big brother," she answered, "I'm a captain... in the Marines." she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm surrounded by Marines." he exclaimed. "Huh?" Sally asked. Before he could answer, a new voice said, "I thought I'd find you here, Harm. You're too predictable." Sally saw the newcomer in the uniform of a Marine Lieutenant Colonel and instinctively snapped to attention. Harm noticed this and chuckled, "At ease, Captain." he said. Mac noticed the other woman for the first time. Tall, auburn-haired, beautiful. A pang of jealousy shot through her. "Harm?" "Oh, sorry, Mac." he said with a sheepish grin. "Mac, this is Marine captain Sarah Lake. Sally, Marine Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. She works with me at JAG." "JAG? You're a lawyer? I thought you were a pilot?" Sally asked in confusion. "I am... and a lawyer." he explained. "Oh." Sally answered feeling stupid as she noticed the JAG insignia on his jacket for the first time. Mac interrupted, "I'm pleased to meet you, Captain." she then turned to Harm, "We're going to be late for Harriet's party. You can't miss your godson's first Christmas Eve, Harm." she said. "Oh, right, I had forgotten." Harm said. He glanced at his watch, "You're right, we've got to go." He turned to his sister. "Sally, now that you know where I work, don't be a stranger. We've got a lot of time to make up for." Sally smiled, "All right, Harm." she said as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be in touch." Then she whispered, "Forgive him, Harm." Mac frowned, that jealousy was shooting again. Harm came up and took her hand, "Ready to go, Marine?" he asked. Mac nodded. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. "So, who's Sally?" "My little sister." he answered matter-of-factly. The end. Notes: Blame this on HRM, she put the idea in my head. At least, I didn't follow up on AJ's evil suggestion. I could never do that... I'm too much of a shipper to do that... Rorie |
|
Page design: © May, 2008. Rorie
Brianne Web Designs J |