Mac stuffed the sheaf of papers into her briefcase and, with a muffled yawn, turned out the lights in her office. She reached one hand up, trying to massage away the kinks in her neck, and winced inwardly. It had been a very long, very stressful day. She had spent the last few hours digging up everything she could on Colonel Hassan, and mulling over her conversation -- make that confrontation -- with Admiral Chegwidden. Not that her small act of rebellion had done any good. She probably wasn't any closer to getting back into his good graces than before. Damn, damn, damn. Mac sighed. Swearing about it wasn't going to help. Trouble was, she wasn't sure what would. Barging into his office earlier might have been a mistake. On the other hand, everything she had told him had needed to be said. In fact, she thought she had shown quite a lot of restraint, given the circumstances. No, she couldn't regret what she had done. Well, not entirely. Yawning again, Mac pulled on her raincoat and left her office, visions of a long, hot bath dancing before her. She had almost reached the exit, her fingers already digging in her purse for her keys when another body rounded the corner and fell in beside her. Mac glanced sideways...and stiffened. Admiral Chegwidden. A faint tremor of nervousness...and something else...went through her. "Major." He nodded briefly, his strides matching hers. "Sir." Mac shot him a wary look. The day obviously wasn't over yet. It still wasn't too late for her insubordination...er... initiative to come back and bite her on the behind. Somewhat wistfully she wondered if things between them were ever going to be the way they had been before she had left JAG. She hoped so. All this tension was beginning to get to her, in more ways than one. "Is there something I can do for you, Sir?" she asked, a little hesitantly. "No thanks." He reached out and pulled the door open for her. Mac glanced at him, frowning. Was it a coincidence that he was leaving JAG the same time as her? Or did he have an ulterior motive? A ripple went through her. For an instant, just an instant, she wondered if his motive might be a personal one. Now where did that come from? She was seeing Dalton, for heaven's sake. And Admiral Chegwidden was her boss, her superior officer and, at the moment, was extremely ticked off with her. Sure, he was tall...and good looking ...and his smile was absolutely *gorgeous*... With an effort, Mac reined in her wandering thoughts. "Red light, Major. You are *not* going to go there..." Instead, she ducked past him, hunching her shoulders a little against the rain. It was like walking into a wall of water -- rain blurred her vision and large puddles decorated the pavement. Damn. She couldn't make a quick escape. Not in these shoes. Nevertheless, she did quicken her steps. That was a mistake. Stepping down from the sidewalk, her foot slid sideways on the wet concrete. Instantly his hand was at her elbow, steadying her. Mac quickly regained her footing and turned to him, a little breathlessly. Breathlessly? Now she was definitely over- reacting. Mac gritted her teeth. She wasn't out of breath and those were *not* electrical sparks cascading down her spine. Absolutely not. He hadn't removed his hand from her arm though, she noticed. After what seemed like centuries but was probably only a second or two, they reached his Ford Expedition. Mac felt a wave of relief... or was it disappointment?...when he finally removed his hand. She nodded briskly. "Good night, Admiral," she said, not quite waiting for an answer, then set out toward her own vehicle. A footstep behind her. Mac turned, and frowned. It was the Admiral. He was following her. "Er...Sir..." "Yes?" "Um...you just passed your vehicle." "Uh huh." He kept pace with her. Mac slowed, then finally came to a halt. He did the same, ignoring the downpour. "Then, uh, Sir...what are you doing?" He flicked her a quick look. "Going home, Major, same as you." "But...er...your vehicle is..." Her voice trailed off. This was ridiculous. She hadn't stammered this much since high school. She tried again. "But you're parked back there." A brief pause. He didn't respond, and Mac frowned. "Admiral," she said, a faint suspicion dawning, "are you walking me to my car?" He didn't meet her eyes. "No." Nonchalantly, he resumed walking toward her Cherokee. Mac couldn't quite stop the tiny smile that began to pull at her lips but she tried. She hurried to catch up to him. "You really don't have to do this, Sir." "Go home for the evening? Sure I do. The cleaning staff tend to get annoyed when I sleep at headquarters. Something about 'having to clean around me'." "That's not what I meant. Admiral, if this is about what I said this afternoon..." He looked at her. "Yes?" "Well, it's not that I don't appreciate the gesture. In fact, I think it's very chivalrous, but it's really not necess--." He cut her off. "Major," he said. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm simply going for a quick walk around the parking lot before I go home." "In the rain?" "I like rain." There wasn't a great deal she could say to that. They kept walking. Mac glanced at him again. The tension between them hadn't abated, despite his apparent levity. In fact, the strain was building, growing stronger with every passing moment. She suppressed a sigh of relief as they finally reached her Cherokee. The parking lot had never quite seemed so large before today. He waited patiently while she unlocked her door and tossed her purse and briefcase inside. Only then did she finally glance back at him, a momentary pang going through her. The man was wet and getting wetter. She felt a little guilty. On the other hand, soaking wet, he looked absolutely stunning. Sort of like Ed Harris in 'The Rock'". Once again, Mac shook herself inwardly. What was getting into her? It wasn't that she had never noticed the Admiral's obvious physical attributes before -- instantly some part of her began to list them: tall, muscular, good-looking, nice eyes, *great* butt, charming, charismatic, sexy, looks *very* good in a wet uniform, probably looks even better out of it... Whoa. Belay that, Major! With an effort, Mac dragged her thoughts back to the present. "Well, Sir--" she began hesitantly. "I realize," he said abruptly, ignoring her conversational gambit, "that you're quite capable of looking after yourself." He spoke through clenched teeth, as if the words were being dragged slowly and painfully out of him. "You are a Marine, after all. But you also reminded me of a few things today, Major. And you were right about..." he hesitated, "...the case." That wasn't what he had been going to say. Mac frowned. The undercurrents in this conversation were thick enough to swim through. Still, maybe this was her chance to try to mend what she had broken when she had left JAG. Maybe she could patch things up between them... somehow. She reached a hand out, as if to touch him, then thought better of it. "Admiral, I...about my leaving..." He stiffened. "There's nothing to discuss, Major. His voice was clipped. "Good night." With a brief nod, he turned and walked back to his vehicle, not giving her a chance to reply. Damn him anyway. Mac's fist clenched, and for an instant she was tempted to go after him and have this out here and now. But common sense prevented her. She couldn't very well accost her superior officer in the parking lot -- or anywhere else for that matter -- no matter how tempting the thought might be. Besides, she had had more than enough confrontations lately. Discouraged, Mac climbed slowly into her Jeep. It was obviously going to take him even longer than she had thought to forgive her. Bleakly, she wondered what new punishment he would have in store for her after this case was over. More tired now than ever, she started the Cherokee and put it in gear. As she did, she glanced in the rear view mirror. He was still there, standing by his Expedition, watching her drive away. Why? What was going through his mind? For someone who was seriously ticked off, Admiral Chegwidden was definitely going out of his way to be there for her. "I don't understand the man," Mac thought ruefully as she left the parking lot. "And I'm not sure I ever will." So much for woman's intuition...
