A Birthday to Remember

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: JAG and all its characters belong to Belisarius Productions, Paramount, CBS, Viacom, and probably endless others.

Summary: This piece is in answer to Naïma's challenge on the ajmacfic group. She wanted a story where AJ & Mac were together secretly, and Mac no longer works at JAG. Then someone (or all of them) at JAG find out about them in an embarrassing way.

Author's comments: Characters' speaking parts are in double quotes ("text"); characters' thoughts are in single quotes ('text').

Friday, 16 November 2001
1545 EST
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

Admiral AJ Chegwidden could hardly wait until time to leave for the day. He looked at his watch for the tenth time during his 1-hour meeting with his senior judge. 'Damn, 15 more minutes to go.' Of course, even then, he still had to wait at least another hour before he could leave for the day. He couldn't set a bad example for his team by leaving early...again. Rabb was already asking too many questions.

"It's just not the same without Colonel MacKenzie," Admiral Morris was saying. "She was the steadying factor in your lawyers, AJ. Since she left, they all try to break the rules. And I mean break, not bend. The Colonel kept your people in line; I sure wish you could get her back. Why'd you ever let her go in the first place?" he grumbled.

"Her choice; her career. You know that. I couldn't stand in the way of her getting her eagles, and I couldn't give them to her for at least another two years," AJ explained. Not that he needed to explain; Morris already knew.

Finally their meeting ended. AJ returned to his office and moved the mouse connected to his computer. "Come on, come on. Wake up!" he told his monitor. The screen flickered to life, and AJ typed his password. He checked his e-mail and found that Tiner had already forwarded all the notes that required attention from his staff. 'Good man. He's learning.'

"Excuse me, Admiral," Petty Officer Tiner said as he stood in the doorway. "Colonel MacKenzie is on Line 2, Sir."

"Damn! Something's gone wrong," AJ responded…then yelled as Tiner left with his office door still wide open, "Tiner! Close the damned door!"

"Sorry, Sir!" Tiner said as he reached in and pulled the door closed. 'Oh man, I wonder what the Colonel is involved in to make the Admiral so jumpy. Must be something really dangerous. I sure do miss the Colonel…' he thought.

When AJ heard it latch, he picked up the phone. "Hello, stranger!" he said warmly.

"Hello, yourself," she answered back.

AJ frowned. She was in a bad mood, that's for sure. "So, what's going on? Why are you calling when you should be in the air right now?" he asked.

"Flight was cancelled; they're having a blizzard in Illinois, and for some stupid reason, my flight is through Chicago. Why the hell would anyone book a flight from 29 Palms to Washington and go through Chicago during the winter?" she ranted.

"So where are you now?" he asked calmly.

"Back at the base; I'm pissed. I'm really pissed!"

"I couldn't tell," he chuckled. "Let me see what I can do on this end. Hold on a minute." AJ pushed the Hold button and then the intercom. "Tiner, get me Lieutenant Roberts…ASAP."

"Sir, the Lieutenant is right here." Tiner replied.

"Send him in," AJ replied, as he pushed Line 2, again. "Hang on a minute, Mac," he said as Bud opened the Admiral's door and came to attention stance in front of his desk.

"Lieutenant Roberts reporting as ordered, Sir."

"Lieutenant, I need you to get Colonel MacKenzie on a flight from 29 Palms back to the east coast today. Transport, commercial, or private, I don't care. Whatever gets her here. Interrupt me when you get something. Dismissed."

"Aye, aye, Sir," Bud replied, turned on his heel and left, pulling the door to behind him…but not latching it.

"Lieutenant! Close the door!!" AJ yelled.

"Hey! That's my eardrum you're yelling in, Sailor," Mac complained.

"Sorry," he answered as the door clicked shut.

Tiner looked up at Bud and said, "Wow, she must really be doing something top-secret. Every time she's called in the last two weeks, the Admiral has that door closed…tightly! I wonder if that means she isn't really gone? That she's just on a TDY and will be back? I mean, usually when someone transfers out they don't call in every other day."

"God, I hope so. I really miss the Colonel," replied Bud. "But I don't know," he hedged. "She moved out of her apartment and everything. I think it's pretty well permanent."

"The Commander sure misses her," Tiner commented. Bud nodded and headed back to his computer.

"We all do, Tiner," Gunny said walking up, having heard the last part of their conversation.

AJ tried to soothe Mac's temper. "Bud's working on getting you back out here today. If anyone can find a flight for you, it's Bud; you know that."

"You're right, of course. So, assuming I do get back at some hour tonight, what's the plan for the weekend?" she asked.

"Don't have one. I thought we'd 'wing' it," he said.

"So it doesn't really matter if I make it home or not," she retorted.

'God, she is really in a bad mood!' "Of course it matters. 'Winging' it doesn't mean I don't have ideas," he said. "I have lots of ideas," he added in a low growl. "And most of them do not require anything more than you in a room alone with…"

A knock on his door interrupted him. "Enter!" he yelled.

"Admiral, I found a transport that's leaving from San Diego in 2 hours. I can get a chopper to take her from 29 Palms to San Diego, but he has to leave in 10 minutes from the central pad."

"Mac, how far are you from the central helo pad?" AJ asked her.

"5 minutes."

"Go! You'll grab a transport from San Diego. If there are more connections, they'll be waiting for you as you arrive," he said quickly.

"I'm outta here! See you soon!"

"God, I hope so," he said quietly. Realizing Bud was still standing there, he hung up the phone and addressed the junior officer. "And from San Diego?"

"The transport goes to Fort Worth, Sir. From there, she hops another chopper over to Fort Hood. Then an Army transport to Fort Bragg. That's as far as I got, Sir. I wanted to be sure she made the first connection, so I stopped to come and tell you," Bud explained.

"Good work, Lieutenant. Bring her on in to DC from Bragg. Be sure to let each location know she's coming and the priority. They'd better not screw up getting her back here tonight. When you have it finalized, bring me a copy of her itinerary," the Admiral instructed.

"Aye, aye, Sir. Will that be all, Sir?" 'Man, he's really concerned. This must really be something critical, like Tiner thought.'

AJ nodded his head, "Dismissed." 'Damn, she won't get here now until…hell, it'll be morning!'

Bud left the Admiral's office and closed the door tightly behind him. As he walked out into the bullpen, he saw Clayton Webb standing in Harm's office. 'Uh oh,' he thought. 'I wonder if the reason he's here has something to do with the Colonel?'

"Bud, come here a minute, will you?" called Harm when he saw him heading for his desk.

Roberts turned and walked into Harm's office. "Yes, Sir?"

"Bud, I need you to run over to the Pentagon right away and get…"

"Sorry, Commander," Bud interrupted, "but I have to finish routing Colonel MacKenzie's return flights for tonight and get the itinerary to the Admiral. He wants it before he leaves, and I heard him say this morning that he wants to be out of here by 1700 tonight."

"Why are you arranging flights for Mac, Bud?" Harm asked.

"Evidently someone in her new office screwed up and scheduled her to come via Chicago. And of course, they're having near blizzard conditions right now, so her flight was cancelled. The Admiral insists that she has to be here tonight, so I'm routing her through Texas, bringing her from there on an Army transport."

"Oh, she'll love that," commented Webb.

"You're not kidding," Harm agreed. "What's she working on that the Admiral is involved in it, anyway? I heard Tiner say that she still calls in every other day."

"I don't know, Sir, but he's having me bring her all the way to DC tonight."

"DC? Damn, Mac! What are you involved in now? This assignment to Camp Lejeune was supposed to be a cushy job…no more dangerous missions, no more covert ops, no more risking her life every time she got a new case. I mean, yes, their Legal Assistance Office was in pretty sorry shape. That's why they requested Mac to take it over. But why…" Harm was interrupted by the Admiral's voice.

"Lieutenant Roberts! Do you have that itinerary yet?"

"Working on it, Sir! I'll have it for you right away, Admiral!" Bud called as he literally ran back to his desk.

"Make it snappy, Lieutenant!" AJ barked as he went back in his office.

"So, Mac is going to be in DC this weekend? I wonder why she didn't mention it? I talked to her just yesterday. She never said a word about coming home this weekend," Harm muttered. "I should have told her about the surprise party for the Admiral's birthday."

"Probably didn't want you to know she'd be here," joked Webb, ignoring the fact that he hadn't been invited to the surprise party. "Maybe she's got a hot date!"

"Mac? Not likely. She hasn't been seeing anyone since she dumped Brumby in May."

"You don't know that, Harm. She's been in Lejeune since August. You don't know what she does or whom she sees down there," Webb reminded him.

"I'd know it if she was seeing someone, Webb. She'd tell me. We're still best friends, even if she did move to North Carolina," Harm argued.

"Yea, that's why she didn't tell you she'd be in town this weekend."

Friday, 16 November 2001
2145 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

"All your connections are working out?" AJ spoke into the phone.

"You know Bud. His arrangements always work out. Can I steal him for my office?" Mac laughed.

"God, it's good to hear you laugh."

"I'm sorry I was such a grouch this afternoon. I was just so angry about those flight arrangements. No, not even that. I was angry that I wasn't going to be in bed with you tonight," she said softly.

"I'm a little annoyed with that, myself," he said with a smile. "But you'll be here in the morning. And we'll just stay in bed all day, if you'd like."

"We can't do that, AJ. It's your birthday tomorrow! We have to celebrate," Mac countered.

"I told you, I don't do birthdays anymore."

"Don't be silly. Of course you do. You have them, so you should celebrate them."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Mmm, I thought maybe we'd go to dinner, take in a movie, maybe go dancing afterward. And end up in your bed, of course," she said suggestively.

"Why don't we just start in the bed and skip the rest? We could order pizza," he drawled in a husky voice.

"You are bad," she whispered.

"Oh, Darlin', that's not bad. You want bad? I'll give you bad…"

"Damn. I have to go; the transport is ready to leave," Mac interrupted.

"I love you," AJ said as he hung up.

Saturday, 17 November 2001
0330 EST
Davison Airfield
Fort Belvoir, Virginia

AJ could hear the helicopter approaching. Suddenly the lights came on around the landing pad. Within a minute, the helo was setting down. AJ climbed out of his Cadillac Escalade. The helo door opened and a weary Marine climbed out and headed for him. It was unusual for an Admiral to pick anyone up, but especially at 0330. This time it was incredibly unusual, because an Admiral was picking up a Marine Colonel at an Army base!

Mac saw that AJ was in uniform, and she noticed that all eyes were upon them. As she approached him, she saluted. He returned the salute, as she yelled, "Admiral! Thank you for meeting me. Shall we go to your office for the debriefing, Sir?"

AJ kept a straight face. "This better be good, Colonel," he barked.

"Believe me, Sir; you won't regret this," she said loudly. They climbed into AJ's vehicle and he drove away.

The duty officer spoke to the helo pilot, "Is that about the strangest thing you've ever seen, or what? Hell, I figured he was here to pick up his wife or his kid or something!"

"Nah, I've seen stranger. But I have to admit, this one was pretty weird. The Colonel must really have some important news; some Admiral...probably him...pulled every string in the book to get her back here tonight. She flew out of a Marine base, two Navy bases, and two Army bases...three if you include this one. And every time, she had priority seating. The flight up here from Bragg was scheduled for 0900 this morning, and because of her, it was bumped up to 0130."

"Damn! It must be something big! That was Admiral Chegwidden who met her. He's the JAG!"

"Oh, man! And she's a bird Colonel. You're right, this is something big! And they're headed to his office at this hour of the morning? Wow...really big!"

AJ turned on to I-95 North and headed for home. "God, I've missed you," he finally said.

"I missed you, too, AJ."

He smiled and reached out to take Mac's hand in his. "I miss bench seats," he mumbled.

"Pull over," she said quietly.

"What? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong. Just pull over." AJ pulled the vehicle off to the side of the road. Mac opened her door and got out.

"Where are you going?" AJ asked. Then he realized what she was up to. She opened the back door and climbed in.

"Are you coming?" she asked. "Thought I'd give you your birthday present now," she said sexily.

Saturday, 17 November 2001
0745 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

AJ lay on his back with Mac on her side pressed against him. Her arm was across his chest and her head nuzzled into his neck. They had made love again when they reached the house, and now she was sound asleep. 'She smells the same as always, never changes. About drove me crazy for those five years she worked for me. I could smell her, and I couldn't have her.' "God, what torture that was."

"Hmm?" she murmured, stirring as he spoke.

"Nothing, Sarah; go back to sleep, Baby."

"You said something about torture? What torture, AJ?" she said as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Having you work for me was torture," he said softly stroking his hand along her arm, hoping she'd fall back to sleep.

"It was for me, too, Sailor. But even worse was watching you with..." She stopped. "I'm sorry, I wasn't going to bring that up."

"Watching me with Laura? And then Sydney?" he finished for her.

Mac nodded. "Uh huh."

"Think how I felt, watching you with Lowne and Brumby...and Rabb."

"AJ, I've told you, Harm and I never..."

"I know, but the appearance was there. At least it was to me. Then to find out about Farrow and Ragle. And God, Sarah, you almost married Brumby! I was out of my mind with jealousy...and then you asked me to give you away? I felt like you were twisting a knife in my gut," AJ choked out.

"Oh, AJ, I'm so sorry," she cried. "So sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" she begged as tears slipped down her cheeks.

AJ wiped them away with his thumb. "Already forgiven, Darlin'. I just have to work on the forgetting part." He leaned his head down and kissed her. "I do love you so," he whispered.

"I remember the first time you ever said that to me. You said it exactly that way...'I do love you so'. Not just 'I love you'. 'I do love you so.' It was so incredibly romantic." Mac turned to look at AJ, his face was twisted up in a funny expression. "You don't remember, do you?" she asked him.

"They say the memory is the first thing to go," he joked. "Remind me."

"It was Independence Day back in '90 on the USS Turner Joy..."

Thursday, 4 July 1990
2230 ADT
USS Turner Joy
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

First Lieutenant Sarah MacKenzie leaned against the rail and looked out at the expanse of sky over the open sea. Captain AJ Chegwidden stood next to her with his arm around her shoulders. They'd shared two weeks on this ship, off and on. He wasn't at all pleased when he'd learned that the Marines were sending a female along on this mission. But now, after having Sarah in his bed every night for the last week, he was very glad she was here. And he was doubly glad he had agreed to take this TDY for three months.

"Captain?" a voice called as the door opened from the bridge.

They both turned around as AJ answered, "Yes?"

The Ensign was startled to see the Captain standing there with his arm around a woman. 'Women don't belong on ships. I don't care if she is a Marine.'

"Well, what is it, Ensign?" AJ asked walking over to him. Sarah turned back around and looked back out to the ocean.

"Captain, actually the Marine Major has been looking for the Lieutenant," he nodded toward Sarah. "He was afraid she might have met with an accident or something, Sir. He hasn't seen her in several hours, and she usually turns in before now." AJ lifted his eyebrow in question. "That's what the Major said, Sir. I...I don't know that myself, Sir."

"Well, you found the Lieutenant, Ensign. You can tell the Major that she is perfectly safe and she'll retire for the night when she's good and ready."

"Aye, aye, Sir!"

AJ walked back to the railing and put his right hand on the railing to Sarah's right. Then he put his left hand on the railing to her left, effectively blocking her into the circle of his arms. She turned around and looked up into his eyes. "AJ, this can never work. Why are we even..." He stopped her talking by placing his mouth over hers. She brought her arms up and around his neck. He moved his hands from the railing and held her to him tightly. "Oh, AJ, this voyage has been amazing. You are amazing. Oh God, I don't know what to..." He stopped her flow of words, again, with another kiss.

"Oh, Sarah, I do love you so," AJ whispered in her ear.

"Take me, AJ. Take me to your cabin and show me how much you love me."

"I can't show you, Sarah. Love doesn't depend on sex. God knows, you are magnificent at that, but my love for you is deeper than that. It's not dependent on sex. It transcends it. I've loved one woman in my life, until I met you. My love for you will never end, Sarah. Marry me. Say you'll be my wife."

"AJ, I can't. I..."

Just then, the ship's horn blasted the emergency signal, and a voice came over the loud speaker. "Battle stations! All hands, battle stations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

"Damn!" swore AJ as he ran for the bridge. "Get below, Lieutenant! Now!"

Saturday, 17 November 2001
0830 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

"Remember now, Lover?" Mac asked as she drew circles on his chest with her finger.

"Ah, yes, I do remember. I guess what I remembered more than telling you I loved you the first time was your refusing my marriage proposal," said AJ.

"Refusing? AJ, I never refused..."

"You said, 'AJ, I can't.' That's not a refusal? What would you call it; accepting?" he queried.

"I was already married, AJ," she said softly. "How could I accept you when I already had a husband? When I tried to talk to you about it the next day, you sloughed it off; almost like you wanted to forget that you'd even asked me. So I never brought it up, again."

AJ sighed. "So much wasted time."

"You said that before, too," she reminded him.

"Hawai'i. Christmas Eve of '94," he replied sadly.

Saturday, 24 December 1994
1830 HST
Chegwidden Residence
Waialua, Oahu, Hawai'i

"AJ!" Captain Sarah MacKenzie cried as she got out of her rental car in front of Admiral AJ Chegwidden's house. AJ was coming down the driveway to meet her, and she ran into his arms. He picked her up and carried her inside. "I've missed you so much!" she breathed as he lowered his lips to hers.

"And I've missed you, Sarah. A year is too long between visits."

"How much time do we have before the party?"

"The party starts at 2000; we have about an hour before we have to leave."

"I still need to shower and change." Sarah looked AJ over with a critical eye. "And from the looks of it, Sailor man, you do, too."

"Good eye," he commented.

"Good planning," she corrected, and he laughed.

"Am I that obvious?" he asked.

"Only to me, my love. Only to me."

They took a shower together, enjoying each other's company immensely.

"I guess we'd better get dressed for the party now," Sarah said reluctantly, clad in AJ's bathrobe.

AJ had donned a pair of shorts. "We don't have to go, you know. We could just stay here and..."

"Okay!" she agreed quickly. "Let's stay here. I'd rather celebrate with you alone. I rather like our private celebrations, don't you?" she purred.

"Oh, Baby. You know I always do."

They made love again, and AJ awoke three hours later hearing the phone ringing. "Damned phones," he complained as he reached across Sarah to grab the receiver. "Chegwidden," he barked.

"Admiral, I'm glad I reached you. We were getting worried when you didn't show up at the party tonight, Sir. You had indicated to Lieutenant Clayburn that you'd be coming, and she's been fretting all evening because you're not here."

"Changed my mind at the last minute, Commander. A friend dropped in for a visit, and I decided to pass on the party. Tell Clayburn I'm sorry I missed her party, and that I'll be sure to be at the next one."

"Will do, Sir. Merry Christmas, Admiral."

"Merry Christmas, Commander." AJ hung up the receiver and pulled Sarah back into his arms.

"I love you, AJ," she said sleepily.

"And I love you, Darlin'. Go back to sleep now."

"Don't want to sleep. Want to make love," she purred as she moved on top of him.

"Sarah, you're exhausted. You can't possibly have the energy to do it, again," AJ reasoned. But Sarah wasn't to be reasoned with. She wanted him, and she wanted him now.

"Make love to me, AJ. Make love to me now. We've been apart for so long. I don't want to be apart any more. I want to be with you now...forever. Please, AJ, love me."

'Could she mean marriage? Could she possibly have changed her mind after all this time? Maybe I'll just get an engagement ring on her finger this trip!' AJ hoped. He flipped Sarah onto her back and straddled her.

"God, I've missed you," she cried.

"So much wasted time," he agreed.

"Never again. Promise me, AJ. We'll never go this long, again, without seeing each other. Six months was hard enough. But promise me, we'll never go a whole year without seeing each other."

'I guess that answers that. She's still not ready for marriage.' AJ answered her, "You have my word." 'But I'll ask her, again, before she leaves. I have to.'

Saturday, 17 November 2001
0930 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

"I kept my word," AJ reminded her as they sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

"Not exactly the way I meant, though," Mac countered.

"You could have turned down the assignment, you know."

"And never made Lieutenant Colonel."

"You'd have made it, Mac. Maybe not as soon. Maybe sooner."

"We'll never know," she said sadly.

"Why so sad?"

"We'll never know a lot of things, AJ. We'll especially never know what kind of parents we'd have made. I think that's probably the saddest thing of all, don't you?" Mac asked him.

"We could still have a family, Sarah. If you want one," AJ offered.

"It would never work, AJ."

"Why do you always say that about us? We do work. We've loved each other for 11 years, damn it! And our love is still as strong as ever...stronger!"

"Our careers are in the way, AJ," she reminded him.

"To hell with our careers!" he yelled, standing up. "Damn it, Sarah. I'm tired of this. I love you. I want you. Please, God...marry me!" he pleaded.

"AJ, I..."

"Don't you dare say you can't. You can! It's a matter of whether you will, Sarah. It's a matter of whether you want me. Obviously you don't. I should probably have accepted that by now. But hell, I'm just a damned old fool where you're concerned."

"AJ, I spent the better part of two years involved with Mic, engaged to Mic, practically owned by Mic! I need time alone. Please, you have to understand..."

"I do understand," he said in a defeated tone. "This is a mistake. When you left JAG in August, I should have left it at that. We hadn't been together in five years, and I should have kept it that way. My mistake. I'll call and get you a plane back to Lejeune today," he said sadly as he headed for the living room.

" 'This is a mistake'," she said quietly as tears fell down her cheeks.

"What?" He heard her say something, but he couldn't quite make it out. He came back in the kitchen and looked at her, seeing her tears. "What did you say, Sarah?" he asked more gently.

"You said 'This is a mistake.' You said that before, too," she sobbed.

Thursday, 19 March 1998
2130 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

AJ had the bottle of aspirin in his hand. As he handed it to Mac, he took hold of her hands. They looked deep into each other's eyes and moved their heads closer and closer together. Suddenly AJ stopped. "This is a mistake," he ground out.

"Yes, Sir," Mac said. And he released her hands and walked away.

Saturday, 17 November 2001
1000 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

"And it would have been a mistake; you know that," AJ said gently, kneeling before her and taking her hands in his. "I was your CO. We had held ourselves apart for two years by then, Sarah. But so much had happened in our lives in the months immediately prior to that. And even that day! Sarah, I was so worried about you. Why do you think I almost ruined both of us that night?"

Mac looked up and gazed into AJ's eyes. "Because you loved me," she answered in awe.

"Because I love you. There's no past tense to my love, Sarah. There never will be." AJ stood and headed back to the living room and the telephone.

Mac followed him and took the phone from his hands before he dialed. She set it back on the table, took him by the hands, and led him to the sofa. They sat and she snuggled against him, letting her fingers play in his chest hair.

"How do you feel about long engagements?" she asked.

"Don't like 'em," he answered quickly. Her eyes immediately filled with tears. He couldn't stand seeing her cry. "How long is 'long'?" he asked gently.

"Seven months?" she suggested. AJ groaned until she said, "I was thinking of June 21."

"The day we met," he realized.

Mac nodded. "Yes, it'll be 12 years next June 21." She smiled up at him, then turned and kissed his neck.

"Sarah, are you accepting me? Are you saying yes after all this time?" AJ asked with his heart in his throat. 'If she turns me down, again, I'll...'

"Yes, AJ," she interrupted his thoughts. "I will marry you. On June 21 of next year. If you'll wait for me."

"Darlin', I'll wait for you forever, isn't that obvious by now?" he said as he captured her lips in a hot, searing kiss.

Saturday, 17 November 2001
1530 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

"I think you're getting your birthday wish, AJ," Mac said.

"What's that?"

"Staying in bed all day." They laughed as she rolled over on top of him.

"Yes, it looks that way, doesn't it?" he said. "You hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

"Pizza?"

"Pizza would be great. But not right now. Right now I want you," she purred. AJ rolled her off of him and slid off the bed. "Where are you going?" she asked incredulously. "I tell you I want you and you get up and walk away?"

AJ chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere," he said as he opened his top dresser drawer and pulled out a small red box with gold gilding along the edges. He turned and sat on the edge of the bed.

Mac's jaw dropped when she saw the box. "Cartier. That's from Cartier!" she exclaimed.

AJ nodded. "Only the best for you, Sarah." He opened the box and removed a 2-carat round diamond set in a platinum ring. As he slipped the ring on her finger, he whispered, "I've loved you since the day I met you, Sarah. You're all I've wanted for over 11 years. Thank you for giving yourself to me."

Mac couldn't speak. She could hardly breathe. 'AJ is so romantic. How could I have been so stupid all these years?' She leaned forward and put her arms around his neck. "I've loved you that long, too, AJ. Forgive me for being such an imbecile. Forgive me for hurting you."

"I already did that, Sweetheart; I told you before. And you're not an imbecile." AJ gathered her in his arms and laid her back on the bed.

Saturday, 17 November 2001
1800 EST
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, Virginia

Harm pulled up in the Admiral's driveway. "I told you he'd be home, Bud," Harm said. "There's his vehicle."

"Sir, don't you think we should have called first? I mean, what if he's busy? Or has a visitor or something?" Bud stammered.

"Well, it won't be the first time I've interrupted him with a lady, Bud."

"Harriett, cover little AJ's ears; he shouldn't be hearing this," Bud said turning in the seat to talk to his wife.

"Bud, he's too little to understand, anyway," Harriett said. "And if we called, the Admiral would find some excuse not to let us come. He knows it's his birthday, and he knows I know it's his birthday. And you know how he is about having attention drawn to himself. This way, we'll just surprise him, and he'll have a good time without worrying about it beforehand."

"When are the others going to arrive?" asked Harm.

"Any time now. I told everyone to be here between 1800 and 1815. And the pizza should arrive at 1830.

"Sure wish I could have reached Mac. She'd have wanted to be here," said Harm as another three cars pulled up and parked in front of the Admiral's house.

"Looks like we're all here," Harriett said as they all congregated on the driveway. "Everyone ready? We'll just go up and ring the doorbell. When he answers the door, everyone yell 'Surprise! Happy Birthday, Sir!'. Simple."

"Harriett, you go in front. He needs to see you first," Alan Mattoni said, and the rest agreed.

"Why?" asked Harriett.

"Because he won't get mad at you, Harriett. If he knows this was your idea, he'll be okay with it. Anyone else, and we'll all be really sorry we tried this!" explained Gunny.

"Oh, for goodness sake. You're all being ridicu... Ssh! I think I heard him inside. Everyone ready?" Harriett asked. They all nodded. Harriett walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell. She could hear it ring inside. Then she heard footsteps coming to the door.

The door opened and everyone yelled, "Surprise! Happy birthday, Sir!" just as Harriett directed.

AJ stood at the door dressed only in his jeans. His chest and head were wet from his shower. When he heard the car pull into his driveway, he'd only taken the time to dry off his legs so he could pull his jeans on to answer the door. He was expecting it to be their pizza delivery, and they were early for a change. "What on earth? What are you all doing here?" he barked.

'Uh oh. Maybe Harriett's lost her charms on him. We're dead. We're all dead,' thought Mattoni.

"We thought we'd surprise you for your birthday, Admiral. Nothing fancy, just a pizza party," explained Harriett happily. "Pizza will be here in 15 minutes. We brought the drinks and dessert."

AJ stood in the doorway, not quite knowing what to do. 'If I let them in, they'll find out about Mac. If I don't...'

"Adm'l! Birf-day, Adm'l!" little AJ squealed as he reached from his mother's arms, wanting the Admiral to take him. Big AJ reached out his arms and his namesake nearly launched himself into them out of his mother's grasp. "Adm'l! Love Adm'l. Birf-day."

AJ looked down at him and smiled. "Yes, son, today is my birthday. Thank you for reminding me of that," he laughed. "Come on in," he said, backing into the living room and letting everyone in, forgetting to close the front door. "Let me just go and put a shirt on," AJ said as he set little AJ on the floor. 'Not to mention underwear, socks, shoes... God, I sure hope Sarah hears them and doesn't come walking out right now.'

"Admiral, before you do that, would you show me where you'd like all this?" Harriett asked sweetly. AJ led her into the kitchen.

"Sir, is that the Admiral's shower still running?" Bud asked Harm.

"Sounds like it, Bud. We must have interrupted him. I'll go shut if off," Harm said as he headed for the Admiral's bedroom

Mac had decided to take a quick shower when AJ left to accept their pizza delivery, so she hadn't heard any of the commotion in the other room. Harm walked in to the bathroom and straight to the shower. He could see through the glass enough to know there was someone in there...and that someone was female.

"Pizza here, Lover?" Mac asked. "I'll be right out."

"Oh my God!" Harm breathed as he recognized Mac's voice.

Harm headed back to the living room just as the Admiral came back out of the kitchen. "Admiral, maybe we should come back another time. Yes, I definitely think we should go now..."

"Commander! What's the matter with you?" Harriett asked. "This is a birthday party. And the surprise was..."

"AJ, Lover, you'd better not have started on that pizza without me! I'm starving!" Mac yelled. She walked out of the bedroom with her towel thrown over her head as she towel-dried her hair. "You really do give me a workout in that bed; and you know..." Mac looked up when she heard the gasps.

"Oh my God!" they all exclaimed, including Mac.

Mac stood there, clad only in her very skimpy lace bra and panties, looking at all her old friends and colleagues from JAG. "Oops," she heard AJ say as she blushed profusely.

No one even noticed when two pizza delivery boys arrived at the front door, and finding it open, didn't bother to ring the bell. They stood watching the scene unfold.

"Auntie Mac! Auntie Mac! No clo's," piped up little AJ as he pointed at Mac.

"That's very observant of you, Son," said AJ as he walked over to Mac, turned her around, and swatted her butt. "Go get some clothes on, Darlin'."

"What was I just saying about a 'surprise'?" asked Harriett.

"I think we'd better go," Harm suggested, again.

"No, Commander. Please. I think you all should stay. Just give us a couple of minutes," replied AJ. "Stay. And someone pay for those pizzas so the boys can leave," he added when he noticed them standing in the doorway.

AJ opened the bedroom door and closed it behind him, but the others could still hear Mac's raised voice. "AJ! I am so sorry! I can't believe I just walked out there like that...I didn't hear anyone...I didn't know anyone was here! Why didn't you say something when you came in the bath... Oh God! That wasn't you, was it? Harm! It was Harm's voice!!"

AJ took her in his arms and rocked her as she cried. "That would explain why he was trying to get everyone to leave before you walked out," AJ said gently. "Come on, let's get dressed and go back out there."

"AJ, I can't go out there now. I..."

"You can and you will, Sarah," he whispered, running his fingers through her wet hair. "You know all of those people out there. And they know you. They love you. Not the way I do," he commented huskily, "but they love you. They're you're friends."

"But, AJ..."

"And you're going to have to see them, again, sooner or later. You're going to be my wife, and they're still my people. You're going to see a lot of them, and they, you." AJ laughed, "But I would rather they saw you with clothes on from now on, Baby."

Mac returned his laugh and her face brightened. "Sarah Chegwidden," she said, trying out his name for the first time in years. "Admiral and Colonel Chegwidden. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie-Chegwidden."

"You don't have to take my name, Sarah," AJ said as he released her and they both finished getting dressed.

"I love your name, AJ. And of course I want it to be mine. I do think I'll hyphenate for work, though," she said running a comb through her hair. She found her engagement ring on AJ's dresser where she'd laid it before she took her shower. Slipping it back on her finger, she said, "All set. Shall we face the lions?"

AJ opened the door and they walked into the living room together holding hands. AJ lifted their joined hands in the air and turned them so Mac's was facing their guests, displaying the huge diamond ring. "I have my own surprise, people. Sarah and I are getting married."

"Mac!" "Ma'am!" "Congratulations!" "Sir!" "That's wonderful!" "Admiral!" all the voices chimed in at once...that is, after their initial gasp of shock.

"Have you set a date?" Harriett asked.

AJ waited for Mac to answer. When she didn't, he finally said, "June 21."

"Any significance to the date, Sir?" queried Bud.

"Yes, Lieutenant. It's the anniversary of the day Sarah and I met," AJ replied as he lifted her hand to his lips.

"I thought that was in January, Sir," inserted Harm. "January 3, 1997, in fact."

"No, Harm," Mac finally spoke up. "It was June. June 21, 1990."

"1990!? You two have known each other for 11 years?" he asked incredulously.

"That's right, Harm. We met while he was TDY as Captain of a destroyer in the Atlantic," Mac said as she smiled up at AJ. "And we've been lovers that long, too," she added. "Though we did have a rather lengthy dry spell for a while," she said as she pinched AJ's arm.

"Couldn't be helped, not once you accepted the JAG assignment, Darlin'," he drawled.

"But you almost married Mic Brumby!" Bud piped up.

"Yes, and I never thanked you properly for saving me from that, Harm," Mac said. "I'm sorry it took your crash to do it, though. I can't believe how stupid I was over the last couple of years. I hurt AJ so much," she said clasping his hand to her heart and bending her head down to kiss it. "I hope you can forgive me," she said softly, not looking at him.

AJ lifted her chin with his other hand and she met his gaze. "I told you already, it's forgiven. Don't think about it anymore, Baby." And he kissed her on the forehead.

"Well, I'm starving! Has the pizza arrived yet?"

"Oh, yes, Ma'am," Bud offered. "Both of the delivery guys arrived just after you walked out here in your... under... wear," he stammered and then flushed.

"Oh, God! You mean even the pizza guys saw me? Let me just die now..." Mac said as she covered her face with her hands.

"Ma'am, why don't we go in the kitchen and get the drinks ready? Bud, put the paper plates around the table. They're all in the bag right there," Harriett instructed as she took Mac by the arm.

As they reached the kitchen, Harriett smiled at her friend and asked, "So after you left JAG in August, is that when you and the Admiral got back together?" Harriett so enjoyed a good love story.

"Not until September, actually. I was so confused and hurting. I really didn't think AJ would ever want me back, not after Mic. I mean, leaving JAG for Dalton was bad enough. But I came back. He knew I came back because of him. But Mic? God, what an idiot I was!"

"Ma'am, you're not an idiot. You were just..." Harriett tried.

"I was an idiot, Harriett. AJ asked me to marry him the first time in 1990."

"And you said no?" Harriett couldn't believe it. "Ma'am, no woman in her right mind would ever turn down AJ Chegwidden...for anything!" she said emphatically.

"Harriett!" exclaimed Bud, standing in the doorway with AJ and Harm directly behind him.

"Why, thank you, Harriett," AJ laughed. 'Best birthday I've had in years!'

The End.