Chapter Twelve - "GO GET YOUR REHAB DONE!"

Chapter 11 – "GO GET YOUR REHAB DONE!"

Interview Room; USS Theodore Roosevelt; CVN-71; 12 September 1994; 1745hrs

Harm looked over at SSGT Helms as the Marine Staff Sergeant sat in the chair looking over at him. "So you were present at Hill 175?

"Yes, sir."

"And you witnessed the events that Commander Nakamura was in?"

"Yes, sir." The man stated.

"Can you tell me what you saw?"

"Well, sir. When the North Koreans started attacking; he told the downed crew and us to get back to the helo, sir. Gunnery Sergeant Enders protested saying that the Commander could possibly get killed. The Commander told the Gunny that he would hold off the men until we could make it back to the helo and told Gunny Enders to leave him the bag of grenades, sir. He made it a direct order, sir."

"And then what happened?"

"Sir, the Commander fought like a man possessed by a demon. Every North Korean that came after him; he managed to kill, sir. I don't say this about very many Navy guys other than the SEALs that I've had the chance to serve side by side with in SpecOps when I was operating; but the Commander fought like a Devil Dog, sir. He inflicted major casualties on the other side and he did it with minimal weaponry."

Meg's eyes had opened as wide as pie-plates listening to the Staff Sergeant's accounts of what had happened that morning. Her man had gone through hell. Was it any wonder why he was having those horrifying flash-backs?

"He saved our lives, sir…" the Staff Sergeant said, "There was a North Korean that was about to bulls-eye our helo with a RPG. He took him out with the last round that he had in his M-4. When I checked the M-4 that magazine was empty; he didn't have anymore. He killed the man with one shot; one handed too. His left arm was hanging useless by that time. He'd forced it into use all that time; but by the time he got near the helo, he could barely use it anymore." He paused for a long moment. "Henderson and I dragged him back to the helo; he was wrung out, bleeding and he had a bullet crease to the side of his head."

Harm looked at Meg and then back at the Staff Sergeant; "And then what did he do?"

"When I informed him of that; he barked that if he had brains exposed, he wouldn't be here now…and asked why was the other M-60 not firing? Even wounded and heavily bleeding he got to his feet and started firing on the North Koreans with the M60 waist mounted gun; with his one good hand; pulling his left hand to the other handgrip to steady it. And he took out at least thirty North Koreans with the M60 as Captain Wild Crow lifted us off." He paused for a moment. "When I told him he had one round left in his M9 he told me, "Gimme," and when I handed him the M9, he leaned it out the helo; aimed it with his right hand at the North Koreans that we'd left behind and fired the last round; then he puts the M9 in the bag while saying, "Now…it's empty…" That's a devil-dog comment…there, sir. One more thing too, sir, he brought back the unused grenades instead of leaving them. Said he didn't want to leave the North Koreans a souvenir. If I may say something? Sir? Ma'am? He deserves the Medal…and more, sir. He saved all of our lives…"

"Thank you, Staff Sergeant. That will be all…" The Staff Sergeant stood up, locked to attention and about-faced marching out the door.

Harm looked at his partner; "Looks like every single one of the witnesses pretty much told us the same thing in their own words. Animal did what he had to do in order to save the men and the helo…" Meg was speechless. She hadn't realized just how much Animal had gone through. She had only known that you had to go through a lot to even be considered for the Medal of Honor. The words Above and Beyond…rang through her mind: the words that preceded every Medal of Honor citation that she had ever read. Above and beyond the call of duty… and these were the actions that were the very epitome of those words. He'd risked his very life for the men in that helo; so that each and every one of them could return home to their parents; safe and sound. A lot of those men who had been awarded the Medal had had the words posthumous after them; they had given their lives for the other men in their unit. To know that her man had fought like a demon to be able to save his men and still walk out of there alive; there were very few alive who could stand before the President and receive the Medal; mainly because too many of those citations ended with the recipient being killed in action, just made her unable to speak for a long moment. She gave thanks to whatever deity was up there that allowed her man to walk out alive and thus for her to be able to meet him and to fall in love with him.

"Meg…are you alright?" Harm was looking at her as she drew a shuddering breath.

"I didn't know…" she whispered…her eyes shiny; tears unshed… "I didn't know just what he went through…and…to hear these men, the men that were there with him, talk about him in such glowing terms…that he saved their lives; that he fought for them."

Harm stood by her, "I know…Meg…it's hard to believe that someone could come through that and still be alive after all that."

"What he's going through right now…the doubts, the fear…the flashbacks…of what could have happened but didn't…" She said looking at the wall… "He has to go through all that because of the love that he felt for his fellow men; that he wanted to keep them safe; to bring them through the gates of hell and back to safe ground so that they could go home to their families." Harm nodded silently. That was what each and every Medal of Honor recipient went through…hell…for the love of their fellow man.

Hangar Deck, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71); 12 September 1994; 1945hrs

Animal stood looking up at his F-14 Tomcat; Fast Eagle 104; the bird that had brought him through that early morning hell; where he saw his wingman go down. He reached up to the nose of the Tomcat with his right hand and gave it a good pat. "Thank you…for bringing me home…" he said softly. Its big bulk was a comforting presence; he knew it wasn't sentient; it was a hunk of air-grade aluminum honed into a bird of war; but he felt an affinity to it. Remembering how many times he had flown this thing. Maybe two or three times in the entire cruise; he'd gotten to fly his named F-14, but on the one mission that had counted; she was his mount and she brought him, like a faithful steed, home to the farm.

"If it wasn't for you…girl…it could have been me…that went down…" he looked up at the cockpit of the F-14. "But you brought me home safely." He rested his forehead against the nosecone closing his eyes as his forehead touched the cool metal…breathing in deeply, the emotions churning in him. Good ol' faithful One Zero Four; his own named bird.

"You have a safe rest of the cruise…girl…" He looked up at her. "I need to get my broken wing looked at…and hopefully I can come back to you whole…" Footsteps distracted him from his conversation with his F-14. Looking up he saw Harm and Meg standing off to the side. He brought his hand to his lips and then patted the nosecone of the F-14 as Harm and Meg looked on.

Harm whispered, "Every naval aviator always has the other woman…" he said looking over at Animal's F-14; wondering if his own Aces Tomcat was still even in one piece; his Howler's Tomcat was in pieces that were shoved overboard off the deck of the Seahawk.

Meg knew what he was talking about; the aircraft was the other woman…and she wasn't jealous in the slightest. This other woman had the task of keeping Animal safe and bringing him home to her. Meg walked over to Animal and looked up at the F-14. She whispered up at the airplane, "Thank you…for bringing him home to me…" She patted the Tomcat on the nose as well…and somehow she got the feeling that she heard a faint You're welcome. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her.

Hangar Deck; USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71); 13 September 1994; 1045hrs

Every flight crew from every bird in the air wing who wasn't on flight operations was down in the hangar deck looking up at the balcony that surrounded the deck; where Animal, Harm, Meg; the Battle Group Commander and the CAG were standing. The CAG's voice rang out audible through the hangar deck. "You all know what the Commander went through…am I right?!"

"AYE!" The roar of the men from the floor of the hangar deck resounded through the hangar deck.

"You all know what his wounds are; a wounded shoulder that requires rehabilitation in order to be able to get back to the F-14 cockpit; am I right?!"

"AYE!" the cheers and grins of the aviators, assembled on the hangar deck, were unanimous.

"DO YOU THINK HE SHOULD BE AN IDIOT AND HANG OUT WITH THE REST OF US NUTCASES FOR THE REST OF THE CRUISE WHEN HE SHOULD BE REHABILITATING!?"

"NO!" Again the roar of the flight crews was unanimous; even the guys from the E-2C Hawkeyes (You had to be slightly cracked to spend four hours aloft every mission under a rotating radiating disc; doing elongated race-tracks around the sky looking for non-existent threats (at least until they did become apparent threats) – it was said that the radar guys could be seen in the dark – they glowed a light green and too many hours spent in front of a monitor made them three-quarters baked; it wasn't certain that they understood what was going on here or whether they were just going along with whatever the crowd was cheering about; Hey, there's apparently a party and we were invited – yay…yay…)…and there were wide grins all around the flight crews assembled.

"What do you say to him, since he doesn't have the brains God gave a goose and wants to stick around and delay his rehabilitation!?"

"YOU IDIOT! GET YOUR ASS HOME! GET YOUR WING LOOKED AT!" was the overwhelming roar from the flight crews as laughter rained across the assembled crowd. "AND GET YOUR HEAD EXAMINED TOO!"

Animal roared over the railing "WELL YOU GUYS SURE TOLD ME! SHOULD I LISTEN?!"

"COME BACK WHOLE! ASSHOLE!" Ah…you could feel the love on that hangar deck. That was sure telling him. Meg grinned at him, her eyes shining with love for him.

"YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST GODDAMNED AIR WING IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES NAVY!" Animal roared.

"HOOAH! SIR!" There were a few scattered but extremely loud "OOH RAH! SIR!"s in the sea of faces as there was a Marine F/A-18D unit deployed with the air wing and their members were present in the crowd as well. The gyrenes were apparently up for anything that seemed like a party.

"SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!"

"GET YOUR ASS ON THAT COD! SIR!" Animal stood by the rail…and snapped them a salute. Every single one of them snapped to attention and saluted.

"Well…looks like the majority have spoken…" RDML Pointer looked over at him. "Son, you need to do as they said." He looked at him, reaching over with his left hand to rest it on Animal's unwounded shoulder. "You need to rehabilitate that shoulder so that you can get back to doing what it is that you do best; which is being at the top of the greenie board and killing MiGs."

CAG Cartwright grinned at him, "You need to come home after rehab and take the greenie board back 'cause I'm going to get a headache from Breckin when he gets the lead. I'll have to listen to that for the rest of the goddamned cruise. He may have the skills to be at the top of the greenie board, but unlike you, Animal, he's got a mouth that punches through the sound barrier. Jim, you got the key to the meat-locker…cause I'm going to shove Breckin in there the next time he gives me a headache. So you get your wing taken care of, Animal…cause I want you back here…as soon as possible. It'll save my goddamned ears."

"Aye-aye, sir…"

RDML Pointer gave Meg a fond look; he could recognize just how much Meg loved Animal, "You take care of my naval aviator for me, Lieutenant JG. Bring him back to us whole."

"Aye-aye, sir." Meg said stepping to Animal's side and snapping to attention. "I will, sir…" she added, which brought a real big eye-brow raise from Harm.

"Commander Rabb…" RDML Pointer said to Harm. "You and Lieutenant Austin…what I said on the Mercy still is in effect. If you ever need anything…give me a call. You came through for me and for Commander Nakamura. I promised I'd shield you; the promise is a standing one…if ever you need help…you give me a shout."

"Aye-aye sir."

Dollar and Spaz stood with Scooter over by the entrance to the island when they got there.

"Animal, sir…you saved our lives…I'm not ever going to forget that…" Dollar said, "You just come back to us whole, sir."

"Animal…you get that wing checked out…and make sure that you're A-1 strac, sir." Spaz said, "And thank you…as Dollar said, you saved our lives."

Scooter, Animal's RIO, looked over at him…"Damn it, man, now I have to fly with another driver for the rest of the cruise, but well…I just want you to get better, Animal; we're teamed for life…up there…" the two bumped fists; "and I want you back in the office with me…huntin' for MiGs…" Animal gave him a thumbs up as they grasped each other's hand and nodded at each other; the silent acknowledgement of the close friendship they shared and the fact that no matter what happened up there, they fought together as a team in the cockpit.

"You got it Scooter…we're a team…" The three aviators in the bags and Animal and the JAGs in their summer whites, stepped out on the flight deck and stood facing each other: JAGs and Animal on one side; the three: aviator and NFOs on the other and saluted each other. Animal could see Mason, his crew-chief off to the side standing at attention; saluting. So Animal paused; locked eyes with Mason and gave him a crisp military salute which they both held for a long moment.

Tucking their officers' caps under their arms, the two JAGs and Animal headed for the COD watching their step and making sure that their movement was safe.

As they got ready to mount the ramp of the COD, Animal saw RDML Pointer, CAG and DCAG standing on the CAG Bridge outdoor balcony. They all were standing there watching the COD. Animal made a point of locking eyes with all three of them…and they knew it. He brought his right hand to his brow in a salute and received their three in return. Meg was watching him from inside the COD and knew that this was an emotional moment for the commander. He was leaving in mid-deployment; not through any fault of his own, but he felt as though he was leaving them all in the lurch. It would be up to her to make him feel like he made the right decision. Meg saw, to his side, Harm standing on the ramp also locked in the same salute to her Tosh's superiors. Two naval aviators; leaving the carrier - She felt her eyes mist over. She knew that Harm felt deep emotions leaving any carrier; it was leaving a place that felt like home to him and to see both Harm and his mentor standing there at attention: Harm's mentor, Animal or as she referred to him, Tosh; the man that she'd fallen deeply in love with (she was still wondering just how it came about since it had happened so rapidly) and Harm, her partner at JAG. It was a heart-stirring moment. And then the moment was broken…as their hands came down and they each headed up the ramp into the COD.

Animal slipped into the seat beside her and Harm slipped into the seat on the opposite side…they wanted to distribute the weight evenly in the COD; as uneven weight distribution could potentially be disastrous during a catapult launch. Harm was wondering just how certain circumstances came about when the catapult fired interrupting his train of thought as the C-2 launched off the carrier enroute to yet another run to Okinawa and from there a Navy transport to Hawaii and from there, if they were lucky, on commercial air carrier to Washington DC. Animal thought to himself that he really needed to make certain that he wrote to his RIO and let him know how things were going with rehab; keep him updated so that he'd know when Animal made it back into the cockpit and when the Animal/Scooter show was going to get back in the air. By the time, he got back, Scooter would probably have been selected for his Lieutenant Commander's rank and he realized just what a long road it was going to be in order to get back. He wasn't certain if he'd be able to start rehabilitation in the New Year…it all depended on how his shoulder wound knitted itself back together.

From the deck of the carrier off the coast of North Korea to Okinawa was a five and a half hour journey with headwinds. And it was almost 1740hrs by the time the wheels on their COD landed on the runway at the base. From there, it would be a six hour flight across the ocean to Joint Base Pearl…which would bring them in to land a little after two on the same day that they'd left the carrier since they went over the International Date Line. It was always a time change that confused the living daylights out of Animal – westbound you lose a day; east-bound you gained a day…or was it the other way around? So he frankly started to just not care about dates…since as one wit said, "Where ever you go…there you are…" That worked for him.

It was a one hour layover at Okinawa and they boarded the US Navy C-130 Hercules…which was big; cavernous and practically empty other than the non-breathing cargo it was carrying. The human cargo was just the three of them. So they settled down in their seats and enjoyed staring at the rivets and other scenery of the inside of the C-130 since…as this was a cargo aircraft; there were no windows. Meg was exhausted and leaned on Animal's unhurt shoulder (his right shoulder) and fell asleep. Animal leaned over the other way and rested his cheek on Meg's head which was laying on his shoulder. And Harm…well…he tried to curl up in his seat and not look over at Meg and Animal who were so intimately curled up against each other. Poor Harm; besides it was pretty darned cold in that C-130 considering they were flying at 30,000 feet even if the aircraft was pressurized for human cargo. The aircrew in the Navy C-130 seeing the two officers curled up together…just threw a blanket over Meg and Animal; so that they would stay warm and gave Harm one too. Besides…the aircraft wasn't a 747…no heat…no luxuries, such as in-flight catering. If you wanted that; stay a civilian.

It was after about six hours of bone-chilling flight that had the officers land at Joint Base Pearl where they were given the option of bunking in the VOQ until 1130hrs the next morning when they would be able to catch a flight at 1300hrs from Honolulu International via 747 direct to Dulles International or if they would prefer to take the next C-141 that was headed to Nellis AFB then transfer to a Navy C130 to fly the rest of the way. Harm and Meg looked at each other opting which was the cheaper option. The C-141 would be heading out that morning at 0445 and would reach Nellis at 0920hrs. The C-130 from Nellis would take another ten hours and they would get into Joint Base Andrews at 2035hrs. What was another bone-chilling flight at 35000 feet for three exhausted naval officers?

"What do you think, Meg, Animal; get some rest and take a comfortable 747 with in-flight meals and a movie? Or a One-Forty One and One-Thirty for another ice-cooler flight that gets us home at roughly about the same time as the 747 direct?" Harm asked Meg and Animal.

"Which would the Navy prefer?" Animal muttered. His shoulder ached from the cold; the bean-counters wouldn't care though. They'd prefer their officers to take the most economical means of transportation home. It wouldn't cost the Navy anything to haul their asses from point A to point C via Point B, frozen to an ice cube in a cargo-hauler.

Meg and Harm looked at each other. The 747-400 sounded so appealing after 12 hrs in a COD and a C-130 already.

"I don't mind freezing my ass off for fourteen and a half hours if it means I don't have to listen to the Pentagon bean-counters bitching and whining about the excess cost on my travel-chit. Them whining about every little cipher on the ledger more than makes up for the convenience of the 747. Makes me wanna beat a few of their heads against the wall." Meg and Harm looked over with amusement at Animal's grouchy pronouncement.

Meg looked over at Animal then back at Harm; smirking…"Guess I know which one he wants…"

Harm sighed, Animal was right; If they took the 747-400 they'd have to account for every single item on their expense account as to why they took that option when a USAF cargo hauler was leaving in two hours for the US mainland. And then he'd have to debate the whys and wherefores of that decision with the Navy Accounting and Disbursement department as to whether or not he could get reimbursed for that expenditure. Animal was right. The convenience versus the headache; it all balanced out in the end.

"Well…guess we're in for another fourteen and a half hours of freezing our asses off in a cargo-hauler."

"Happy happy joy joy…happy happy joy joy…" Animal raised his index finger and grinned at Harm who rolled his eyes and…this was their schtick…

Harm continued, grinning back at Animal; "Happy happy joy joy…happy happy joy joy…" holding his hand up; twirling his index finger in a circle pointing straight up.

And in unison…each holding up both hands with index fingers twirling in opposite directions – they were coordinated; they had to be as aviators. "Happy happy joy joy; happy happy joy joy; happy happy joy joy JOY…tadadada DA-DA…Awwww…SHIT!" Animal crossed his eyes; sticking his tongue out; ending the first part of the refrain of 'Shave and a haircut"…with that profanity.

Meg rolled her eyes at the two juvenile behaving naval aviators and then looked through her luggage hoping that she'd had the foresight to bring her navy black windbreaker – which maybe would keep her from turning into a Popsicle by the end of the flight.

"Eat now?"

"Probably be a good idea…" Animal remarked. "Maybe we can grab a sandwich or two and a cup of coffee; it might keep us from eating our stomach lining until we drop gear at Nellis." It had been a pretty lean flight coming over from Okinawa as the base galley at Okinawa wasn't entirely ready to feed drop-ins after the Marines had picked through the helpings. They'd had to content themselves with the vending machine offerings.

They all nodded and headed over to the Navy side of the base's galley. There they managed to pick up two ham sandwiches apiece for Animal and Meg and Harm got himself an egg sandwich…at least that way his vegetarian leanings would be satisfied. Animal grabbed a cup of coffee and so did Meg and Harm. Animal and Meg both knew that with military transport, they needed to watch their Personal Displays of Affection as senior officers would not really realize that Animal and Meg were not in the same chain of command as they were all traveling together, even though Animal had a line-officer's star and the two JAG officers had JAG mille-rinds. If they were in uniform; they'd also have to watch it while on civilian transport. They wouldn't know who was a high-ranking officer in civilian clothes on leave who was on the same flight. And with Animal being the most senior officer of the three of them as a three-striper any fallout from that would drop on top of his head. To be safe, they'd all have to both be in civilian clothes. And Meg hadn't packed any civilian clothes other than her exercise gear; which was what she'd gone to Yokosuka's base hospital in to accompany Animal. So Meg and Animal just contented themselves with sitting close to each other in the galley and giving each other affectionate smiles; while Harm rolled his eyes so hard, he could probably see the back of the inside of his skull.

At least they could try to get a decent large breakfast at Nellis. And in thirty minutes after they finished eating they were back on the C-141 seated with a group of Army Rangers; at least one hundred and fifty of them headed back to Fort Bragg after training in the jungles of Hawaii. They'd debark at Nellis and catch another Air Force Transport that would drop them off at Bragg after training with the 442/100 Go For Broke in Hawaii. The C-130 that they were to catch would leave about two hours after they got there so it would leave them just enough time to get some decent food into their stomachs in preparation for the long trip to the East Coast. Animal fell asleep and curled up in his seat while Harm sat pondering the developments that had taken place over the course of their investigation. Meg was curled up in the seat next to Animal trying to make sure that their close proximity to each other didn't arouse the attention of the Army Colonel who was sitting in the row behind them. After all; he had eagles as opposed to Animal's silver oak leafs. The hiss of the airflow outside the C-141 jet transport was a lot quieter than the droning of the props in the One Thirty so Animal and Meg were able to get a few hours uninterrupted sleep; their eyes popping awake before the wheels touched runway at Nellis. When they landed, they headed over to the USAF Base Mess hall and grabbed a breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast…and Animal had his plate loaded up for which he paid extra. Since they weren't Air Force, they had to pay at the checkout…and well…it was worth it. The meal was good and it was filling and it would have to be, since they would not have another meal for another ten hours while droning through 35000 feet in a C-130.

"Change of plans, sir." said the Air Force Loadmaster of the C-141. "It appears that we've been tasked to head to Andrews; if you'd like…you can continue on with us. It would get you there in four and a half hours than the ten you would have to sit through in the one-thirty, sir."

Animal looked over at Harm who said wistfully, "I was so looking forward to the C-130…"…then grinned, "…but HELL YEAH!" which made the Air Force Loadmaster grin.

"Absolutely…" Animal said and looked over for concurrence with Meg who nodded…she wanted sleep at home after a long flight with minimal time to sleep. Their second leg was practically empty with only cargo to keep the three company. Animal curled up again with Meg. As their trip drew to a close, Animal murmured in her ear, "So…did you have to check in with Chegwidden before you head home for sleep?"

"Yes, actually, I do." Meg remembered. "Harm and I have to drop off the reports to Rear Admiral Chegwidden." She had nearly forgotten about that.

Harm was on the phone, "Hey, Anders, I'm on a One-Forty-One headed to Andrews…could you see your way to picking, Meg, me and another officer up?"

"Of course, sir…" Chief Anders from the JAG office could be heard on the other end of the phone line. "You're getting in at what time, sir?"

"1625, Anders; at Andrews…"

"Aye, sir…I'll be there…" the Chief said… "And everyone is going to the JAG office?"

"That's affirmative. My car is still there, right?"

"Aye sir…"

"Good…"

The One Forty-One made good time because they picked up a tailwind and managed to get there about twenty minutes early as the main-mounts touched the runway at 1605hrs. And Chief Anders showed up about twenty minutes later. "Welcome home, Sir…Ma'am…Commander…" he acknowledged Animal who tucked himself in with Meg. And Harm took the front seat beside the Chief.

"So did everything go smoothly over on the TR? Sir?" Chief Anders asked Harm.

"Pretty well, Chief. Though we had a bit of a detour…"

"I know, sir. Admiral had to go out to Japan to find out what was going on." The Chief said as he pulled into traffic and headed out from the base.

There was idle conversation with regards to what was going on at the office and how the local sports team was doing and Animal looked out the window at DC. He'd never been assigned to the nation's capital so this was all new to him. It was going to take some getting used to and as Bethesda Naval Medical Center was going to be his "duty station" as he was going to be rehabbing, DC was going to be his home for the foreseeable future until he was physically able to get back to flight status. It was a step in a direction that he hadn't foreseen just a little over two and a half weeks ago and he hadn't foreseen that in only two and a half weeks he'd go from being a front-line naval aviator to having to rehab his injuries; and now have the love of a very beautiful JAG Lieutenant JG. What a change in one's life fortunes could two and a half weeks bring?

And he was looking forward to getting to know Meg Austin…and wherever life's road led for the two of them.

Author's Note: This story ending leads to the story "Settling In".