Title: Chained to You
Classification: JAG, Action, Romance (AJ/other, Webb/Mac)
Rating: PG-13
Authors Note: The beginning is inspired by a Savage Garden song, entitled "Chained to You."
The story is told alternately from third person limited to Chegwidden, and third person limited to Webb.
AJ was scanning the room when he saw her. She was tall and slender, wearing a deep blue dress that outlined her figure. Her hair bounced when she moved and the light made the brown of it have a reddish cast. AJ’s eyes followed her across the room as she walked to the jukebox. She dropped in a quarter, wrinkled her brow in consternation, and pressed a button. Then she turned to face his direction. She was walking towards him. No, she was walking to him.
“Dance,” she said. AJ didn’t know if it was a command or a request, and he didn’t usually dance…but. But there was something about that woman. Something that couldn’t be put into words… A kind of magic.
He rose from the bar stool, and followed her onto the dance floor. It was a fast song. Something by Madonna if he guessed correctly. He wasn’t sure of the name. AJ tried to dance, but was constantly distracted by the woman’s moving form. Her hips gyrating back and forth, her arms beckoning him closer. Her hair swaying with her shoulders. Brushing his wrist. Sending shivers everywhere it touched.
“He didn’t tell me you were handsome,” she interrupted his thoughts.
“Who?” AJ questioned.
“You’ll see,” she smiled.
AJ’s mind raced. Who was this woman? She seemed to know him. An old friend’s daughter? God, he hoped not. Someone’s sister, cousin, wife, what? Whose? The music stopped. The woman leaned in towards him as if to reveal a secret, then kissed AJ on the cheek. AJ’s eyes widened, and he felt a blush creeping from his neck. Make a SEAL blush? This wasn’t natural. The woman laughed. It was the laugh of a nymph, and AJ was enchanted.
She turned to leave. AJ put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her, “How can I see you again?” he asked urgently.
“I’ll contact you, AJ.” She sauntered off. Funny, he didn’t remember telling her his name. Which reminded him.
“Wait!” he shouted, “I don’t even know your name.”
She halted and spun around. “It’s Caro,” she called.
“What?” Webb barked into his cell phone. He listened. “Fine.” Caro was in to the airport. A day early. Without telling him. That was like her. Oh well, with what they were about to get in to, she deserved a night of fun. “What, and you don’t?” he asked himself. No. Too much to get done. Besides, whom would he go out with? “Sarah,” the thought came unbidden to the forefront of his mind. He shook his head. “Yeah like that would happen. Stop talking to yourself Clay, and get back to work.” He sighed and went back to the arduous work of trying to plan for every eventuality. Webb didn’t know why he bothered. Something always went wrong that you couldn’t anticipate anyway, but it made him feel better just the same. Clayton put a classical music CD in the computer drive, but took it out when he realized it would only succeed in putting him to sleep. He rooted around in the top drawer. Something from his misspent youth at Harvard perhaps. Clay grinned and popped in Whitesnake:
Here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wastin’ no more time
AJ’s sheets were fully entertwined with his body. He’d been tossing and turning all night, hardly getting any sleep. And when he did sleep, he only dreamt of Caro. AJ pushed himself out of bed and shook off the sheets, tossing them onto the bed, where the bottom sheet was also coming off and the mattress lay exposed. He made his way to the shower, and turned the water on…cold.
AJ got out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. He wiped off his face and looked in the mirror. His eyes were blood shot and had dark circles underneath. AJ sighed. Oh well, he’d gone without sleep plenty of times. Might as well get into the office and get some work accomplished.
0830 Zulu, JAG Ops
“Enter,” Chegwidden called in response to the knock at his door. It was Caro. “How’d you find me?” he wondered aloud.
“I have my ways,” she grinned. Caro walked around the desk and mounted AJ. She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. AJ picked Caro up in one arm, and with the other, he wiped everything from his desk. Then he lay her on the desk.
“Admiral? Admiral Chegwidden?” Tiner’s voice interrupted. Tiner? Chegwidden reluctantly opened his eyes. Just a dream.
“What is it, Tiner?” he growled.
“Agent Webb is hear to see you, sir,” his yeoman answered.
“Send him in,” AJ yawned. “What do you want, Webb?” he spat when Clayton entered.
“Well a good morning to you too, Admiral,” Webb replied sardonically. Then he got down to business, pulling out several photographs from his brief case. He layed the first on Chegwidden’s desk. “Achmed El Kamir,” Webb identified. “Small-time terrorist, or so we thought…” He put down the second picture. “Rahza Mosley. A competing terrorist of El Kamir, if you will. Normally, these two are enemies…fighting over arms dealers, that sort of thing. We have information that they are now working together. They have…”
“What does this have to do with JAG, Webb?” Chegwidden interrupted.
“Patience, Admiral, I’m getting to that.” He placed the final picture on top of the others. “I think you know what this is, Admiral.”
He did. A stinger missle. One of the Navy’s. “How the hell did they get that?” Chegwidden demanded.
“Obviously, they have an insider. We’ve traced it as far as ---Marine Air Station, and we were hoping you could help up from there.”
“How do you know it’s at---?”
“Well, we have an insider, too.” Webb turned to the door. “You can come in now,” he said.
The door opened to reveal…Caro?
“This is Agent Carolina Webb,” Clayton Webb introduced.
Chegwidden choked. “Webb?”
“She’s my sister,” Clayton mumbled.
“Older sister,” the female Webb corrected.
“Four minutes, Caro…only four minutes!” Clayton growled. Caro patted him on the head and smiled through long eye lashes.
“Twins?” AJ gulped. Oh dear. AJ rubbed his eyes. “I think I need to sit down.”
“What?” asked Clayton Webb.
“Oh, nothing.” He turned to Caro. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Agent Webb,” he said, extending his hand. She grasped it gently, then gave a little squeeze. It was amazing how perfectly her hand fit into his. Then he realized Clayton was talking. “Excuse me?” he said.
“I said,” repeated Clayton, “that Caroline got into town this morning, and before that she was undercover with El Kamir’s terrorist group. She took the pictures.
So, Caro didn’t tell her brother about last night. Good, good. “So, Webb, what do you want JAG to do about this?”
“A little investigating. Maybe some under cover work. Your people can get closer than mine, being military. For some reason, people seem to get uncomfortable when I’m around.”
“I can’t imagaine why,” AJ smiled. He pressed the intercom button. “Tiner, get Rabb, MacKenzie, and Roberts in here ASAP.”
He tried not to look at Caro. He tried not to think about Caro, about the thoughts running rampant through his mind. About Caro’s naked body running rampant throught his mind. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted to kick Clayton Webb out of his office and lay Caro on his desk like in his dream. But Caroline Webb was Clayton Webb’s TWIN sister. That’d be like…being attracted to Clayton? God, he hoped not.
Finally, Rabb, MacKenzie, and Roberts arrived, rescuing AJ from his thoughts. "Commander Rabb, you will be interim JAG while I am gone. Lt. Roberts, you will take Col. MacKenzie’s cases until we return."
"Sir?" Rabb, MacKenzie and Roberts asked in bewildered confusion.
Chegiwdden scratched his head. He was too tired to explain. He waved his hand at Clay. “Webb…”
Webb explained for him.
Harms eyes set on Caro. “That’s Agent Carolina Webb, Commander…Mr. Webb’s twin.” AJ went back to massaging his temples.
“Twin?”Harm choked. His eyes darted back and fourth from Caro to Clay. Yeah, takes a bit of getting used to, eh, Harm?
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Agent Webb,I’m Colonel Sarah MacKenzie” MacKenzie pushed passed the gaping Harm.
“Likewise,” said Caro, shaking the Colonel’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you from Clay.”
“Clay?” Mac turned to the other Webb, who immedietly flushed.
“Er..well..I just told her about..um..everyone at JAG.” He covered.
"Sir," Mac rescued Clay, "you said, until 'we' return...You’re going?"
Chegwidden nodded. "I'm not going to send my people on something I wouldn't do myself. If I didn't believe the gravity of the situation, I wouldn't ask you to do this, but I am asking, Colonel, not ordering this one. It's up to you if you go, but I'm sure we could really use you on this one."
Webb nodded his agreement.
"What time do we leave, sir?" Mac was in.
“Two guys and two girls, how cozy,” Webb grinned.
AJ raised his hands, “Take it or leave it, Webb.”
“What?” Webb looked bewildered. “I was serious.”
Chegwidden rolled his eyes. “Let’s get busy, people.”
Clay woke up with the space bar imprinted in his forehead. He shook his head at himself in the mirror. Must be getting old to fall asleep like that. He checked his watch 0730. Time for a quick shower. And then he’d see Mac. He wished he could see Mac now. In the shower. He grinned and jumped into the shower.
0835
Clayton Webb strode briskly across the JAG bullpen. “I’m here for the Admiral,” he informed Tiner.
“But you don’t have an appointment Mr. Webb.”
“I don’t need and appointment, Tiner.” Webb looked down at his beeper. Caro was on her way. Late as always. She said she was just making up for being born first, by letting him get everywhere else first. He didn’t buy it. ‘I don’t know why she had to complicate things, though,” he thought to himself. Agent Peters had, of course, given him a full report of Carolina’s activities the night before. He shook his head. She always was the more spontaneous one.
When Webb looked back up, Tiner was paging the Admiral “Mr. Webb to see you, sir.”
After Chegwidden’s less than cordial greeting, Webb laid out the problem for him. The Admiral was so impatient.
TO BE CONTINUED
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