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Semper Fi Pt. 01

By: calibeachgirl



Copyright @ calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011


Chapter 1     Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake

You don't have to say...
what you did,
I already know...
I found out from him

Now there's just no chance...
for you and me... 
there'll never be
And don't it make you sad about it...


Mary Gault heard the heavy rain beating against the fogged motel window; she opened her eyes and looked at her lover, feeling her heart begin to beat with a quickening rhythm.  Just looking at him... seeing the hunger in his light blue eyes as he gazed down at her... that was enough to arouse her and she felt herself dampen.  She just couldn't remember his name and wondered if he cared.  She didn't.

She reached up to touch his face, loving the way he felt under her fingertips.  "I saw you watching me... just the way you are now... and I felt... hot and breathless and... naked," she softly spoke.

He turned his head to press his lips to her palm.  Then he leaned over her and very slowly began to unbutton her pale green blouse.  When her blouse was unbuttoned to her waist, he opened it slowly and bent to trail his lips along the lacy cup of her bra.  The front fastening gave way at his touch and his mouth pushed the material aside.

Mary caught her breath and her hand slipped to the back of his neck.  She closed her eyes and bit back a whimper at the unbearable ache when he teased her tightening nipples with tiny flicks of his tongue.

She was coping with the buttons of his shirt, opening it up so that she could slide her fingers into the thick mat of hair on his chest and explore his hard cock pressing against her.

He reached down and caught the hem of her skirt, drawing it up as he touched her bare leg until the light floral material was gathered at her waist.  She thought he would take her, standing against the wall.

Mary couldn't believe how incredibly sensual, how nasty it felt to lie there on the same motel bed as countless others had, her clothing opened or pushed out of the way.  Only her panties were discarded and when he had stripped them down her legs, she could only make a shaky sound of need and parted her thighs for the touch of his fingers.

God, she was so wanton, so completely and utterly abandoned of fidelity when he touched her that nothing else mattered except feeling his hands on her and his mouth and aching because she had to have his cock inside her.

He shrugged out of his shirt and pushed his pants and shorts down and off and when he entered her, pushing himself into her pulsing pussy, she cried out and tightened her legs to pull him even deeper.

When it was over, when her heart had stopped pounding and her breathing had steadied, when her clothing had been put back into place, she was completely silent.  She didn't talk to him and he left her in the room, already another faceless lover in her long line of conquests.

An hour later, Mary left the bed, walked over to the room table, picked up her keys and purse and took one look around making sure nothing was left behind.  She saw her key chain charm, the Marine Corps bulldog from her husband swinging as she picked out her car key.  He was still in Afghanistan and would be for another four months.  They had an 'open marriage', he just didn't know it.  

She opened the door and stepped out into the rain.  "Hello," she said, smiling.  'My, aren't you handsome."

**********

"What do you have?"  Sunday morning was never the right time to look at dead bodies and this one was no exception, especially in the dark rain that blew in off the gray Pacific.  Caitlyn Bradford yawned and stretched her five foot eight frame, took off her 'granny' glasses slipping them into her blouse pocket, rubbed the bridge of her nose and then wiped the doughnut's cinnamon crumbs from her fingers as she left the unmarked police car.  

She stepped out into the drizzling remains of the storm; she had her dark hair damp by the time she reached the motel room.  Caitlyn reached into her pocket and put on her glasses and then pulled on her gloves and blue booties, hoping the murder scene wouldn't be too messy.  She hated messy.

"Mary Gault, age 23, married to Sergeant Wilbur Hooper, USMC..." her partner, Garrett Brinkley read from his notes.  He was short, only five six and built like a linebacker but amazingly fast on his feet and had the aggravating habit of running his hands through his buzz-cut.

"Wilbur?"  Jesus, who named their kid 'Wilbur' anymore?  Caitlyn walked closer to the space between the bed and the small table by the window.  She wondered if they'd change the bloody rug after the investigation or just try to clean it enough that it wasn't noticeable.  She went to look under the bed but the frame came all the way down to the carpet.

"Yeah, but his friends call him 'Will'.  She took three shots to the chest, death probably instantaneous, little blood loss, probably small caliber... probably here with some boyfriend or something.  Night clerk says she came with some guy."  Garrett reached into his pocket and pulled out a Snickers.  "Want some?" he asked.

Caitlyn shook her head 'no'.  "Some john? hooking gone bad?  Damn, Garrett, at least, eat that outside.  You're fucking up my crime scene."  She ran a hand through her still wet hair, trying to dry some of it out.  She couldn't understand these damned military wives cheating on their husbands.  Marrying too young was probably the underlying cause.  Just another excuse to cheat, as old as the Bible... if there had been another guy in Eden, Eve would have found a way to cheat with him, too... the original bitch... she found a snake, too.

"Doesn't seem to be the case... her purse is still here and so's her car keys.  Probably a pick-up from the Main Attraction down on Coast Highway, it's the closest.... that place is always full of wives seeking 'consolation' while their husbands are laying it on the line over there.  Damn bitches," Garrett angrily spat out.

Caitlyn looked at her partner.  It was bad enough more than half of all California murders never get solved, this was the third suspected 'judy bar' killing in the last month.  Garrett wasn't too interested in solving the case and Caitlyn couldn't blame him... too much.  

Garrett had caught his own wife cheating on him, ironically enough, during a prostitution raid.  Caitlyn was willing to look the other way on that one but Garrett insisted she be treated no better than the other four arrested that night.  By Caitlyn's count, Garrett's wife still had more than four years due to the amount of drugs seized.  Quickly following the sentencing was the divorce and her felony conviction allowed him to walk away suffering only a broken heart... that never really healed.

No, Garrett wasn't all that interested in solving the case.  If I was him, I probably wouldn't be, either.  "We got all the pictures we need?  CSI finished?"

Garrett nodded his head.

"Good," she said.  "Let's get the body out of here and try and dry up.  God, I hate this weather.  God damn stupid rain..."

**********

Chapter 2     Everybody's Cheating, Rick Springfield

I'm finding it harder every day
 to take it as it comes 
But as one fool once explained to me 
you can't choose who you love

Everybody's cheating on the one they love
Everybody's looking for the summer sun
No I believe I'll love you 'til my life is done
I'll live your lies and alibis
The telltale stories in your eyes
Cause you are, you are the one I love


Monday, it was still raining as Caitlyn and Garrett drove north to Pendleton and delivered the news to the company commander.  The Marine captain promised that the Corps would notify the dead woman's husband when it became possible... he was out on patrol and the news could wait, as the officer said, until Sergeant Gault safely returned to his base.

On the drive back to town, Caitlyn spoke what was on both their minds.  "He didn't seem too shaken up, did he?"  She looked out the window at the ocean, still choppy from the storm.  "Might rain, again."  She hated rain.  What was the use in living in California if it was going to rain?  Stupid damn weather...

"No, he didn't, but then, he deals with death as his business and this is the third one.  What the fuck's the matter with these women, anyway?  Just don't get married..."  Garrett beat his fist against the steering wheel, accidently hitting the horn and startling them both.  He sheepishly looked at her.  "Sorry..."

Caitlyn knew her partner was heading to a dark place and glanced at him through that space between her glasses' lens and her face.  "Garrett, don't worry about it.  Let's just see if we can find whoever did this before there's another one."

"Yeah, another one..."  Garrett looked out his window at the low flying helicopters heading south along the beach.  "Yeah..."

Across the freeway, the northbound lanes were shut down as INS chased a family of illegals running across the lanes and out into the foothills.  Caitlyn had no answer to the biggest question facing America... what to do with immigration?  Where were they going to go?  "Let's get something to eat... on me... Denny's?"

**********

Tim's hand was on her neck and he pulled her down far enough to kiss her.  His mouth was shaking when he said, "Susan, I want to marry you, you know that."

"I know," she said to her lover, "but I can't divorce him while he's still over there.  That would be cruel and I can't do that to him.  If something happened to him because of me..."

"I knew you belonged with me as much as you did him, ever since that first night... but, you never want to talk about the future."

Susan looked at her lover lying next to her.  She never talked about the future because she knew there wasn't one... at least, with him.  She was already tiring of him and would soon look for someone new... someone more exciting... someone with more money.  If, and it was a big if, her husband came back from Iraq, then she'd think about the future.

"I'm willing to wait," he said, "if you need more time."  He moved suddenly, rolling her so she was on her back and he rose above her, moving her thighs apart with his knees.  "I love you," he said, kissing her one more time.  Susan held him in her right hand, bringing it down to her, dragging him along with it.  As he pushed in, her left hand began to stroke herself, squeezing it until it hurt.  The deeper he pushed, the harder she squeezed and her moans had nothing to do with him as she worked to bring herself off.  She wrapped one arm around his neck to show her enthusiasm but had truly lost interest once she orgasmed and now just wished he'd hurry up and finish.

She looked at the nightstand alarm clock.  "Look, uh, Tim, it's getting late and I think you should leave.  I've got an early morning."

"I can stay..."  As soon as he said it, he knew it was a mistake from the frown she grew on her face.  "OK, I'll go... call you, tomorrow?"

"Sure... maybe, tomorrow evening..."

**********

Chapter 3     Blame It on Your Heart, Patty Loveless

You've got a thing or two to learn about me baby 
'Cause I ain't taking it no more and I don't mean maybe 
You don't know right from wrong 
Well the love we had is gone 
So blame it on your lying, cheating, cold deadbeating, 
Two-timing, double dealing 
Mean mistreating, loving heart


Holding a Snickers in one hand, he waved the other around, pontificating.  "Another one?  Damn, there're bodies dropping like flies around this town.  You'd think this was 'Criminal Minds', or something."  Garrett grabbed his coat.  The weather had been poor all week and it was raining, again, much heavier this time.  He opened his desk drawer and reached inside.  "Hey!  Who took my candy bars?  Caitlyn!  Did you take my Snickers?"

"This one's a little different... it's at her house... got the boyfriend, too," Caitlyn calmly said.  She wondered if her partner was losing all his objectivity.  Maybe, it was time for a new partner... maybe, it was time for Garrett to hang it up... maybe, it was time for her to hang it up and do something else... maybe, get married or something.

"That's more like it," said Garrett, wiping his hands together in mock glee.  Caitlyn wasn't too sure Garrett was joking.  Maybe, it was time...

The drive over to the house took longer than it should have; the Coast Highway was closed with a fatal three-car accident due to the rain.  People in California did NOT know how to drive in the rain.  

Caitlyn put her glasses away until they were inside the house.

Garrett bent down, looking at the body near the front door.  "I'd say he opened the door to leave and took two to the chest and she caught it running up the stairs.  Guess we're going to have to make another trip out to Pendleton."  Hands in his pocket, swaying on his feet, Garrett started whistling the Marine Hymn.

"What makes you say that?" Caitlyn asked.  Garrett was losing it... that was for sure.  Caitlyn looked to see if anyone had heard his whistling but the uniforms were too busy pulling their yellow tape around the front of the house.

Garrett just pointed to the mantel where a wedding picture was standing.  The beautiful bride bore no resemblance to the woman on the stairs with a bullet through the back of her head, blowing out the front of her face.  Standing next to her in the photograph was a Marine major in full dress uniform, several medals on his chest.

"Jesus Christ.  It's becoming an epidemic."  Caitlyn took a closer look at the photograph.  "He looks a little old for her, must be a second wife, maybe.  I'm not going out there, again.  I'm just going to call."

"Now," said Garrett, pulling out another Snickers, "you're getting smart.  This is just the beginning."

"I think you're right.  Let's go talk to the neighbors."

**********

"Well, that woman across the street was the best.  Did you see the look on her face when we told her Susan Winslow was married?  She served everything up except for the milk and cookies.  Mrs. Winslow was a busy person."  Garrett typed some more into his laptop, transferring his handwritten notes.

"I want to take another ride out to her house.  You drive."  Caitlyn stretched out her legs and then stood up.  "You want anything before we go?  Snickers, or something?"

"Don't I always?  What are we looking for?"

"We'll know it when we see it."  Caitlyn stopped at the vending machine and fed in a dollar but an Almond Joy fell out.  She kicked the machine and two Musketeers bars fell down.  She put them into her pocket.  Stupid machine... she kicked it again.


Caitlyn walked around the front of the porch and then looked out at the street.  Her feet were starting to hurt and she made another vow to take some time off, like she did every other week.  "How did the shooter know that guy was leaving unless he was waiting here the whole time?  Who knows what time the guy would have left and it was cold and damp last night."

Garrett poked a hand around the flower bed.  "I still don't see any footprints.  As a matter of fact, the ground here is pretty firm, even with all this rain.  I got nothing."  He started another Snickers, jamming the wrapper into his pocket as the caramel strung away from his mouth.  "You know, none of the bullets match anything on file or any of the shootings.  It's like there's a one-use policy in effect."

The two detectives circled the house twice, three times but found nothing and yet, they knew there was something they were missing, they just didn't know what.

"You know, Garrett, you should go to Costco and just buy them by the case."

"I do.  Two at a time..."

**********

The police report the next morning to the newspaper summed it up, Caitlyn thought.

"The names of the deceased male and female found in the home in the 700 block of Via Marina are being released.  The male has been identified as 27-year-old Timothy Bishop, and the deceased female has been identified as 25-year-old Susan Winslow.  Mrs. Winslow resided at the address.  On September 29, 2011 at 8:58 a.m. Officers were dispatched to an address in the 700 block of Via Marina.  The reporting party was anonymous and used a phone we traced to the back room of a 7-11 located on Coast Highway. Officers entered the unsecured residence and found a deceased male near the front door and a deceased female on the stairs; both appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. No weapon was found.  Police have no 'persons of interest' yet."


The San Diego news broadcasts covered it but two days later, the bars were once again full of women looking...

Caitlyn considered assigning plainclothes officers to the bars but realized the futility of it.  There were just too many women and who knew who was who?  Besides, she thought, it was becoming a case of winning a 'Darwin Award.'

"Hey, Bradford, listen to this: An unwitting Hesperia woman was caught cheating on her husband with a man wanted for murder in South Carolina she met on MySpace, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Hesperia Station officials said.  Maurice Lamont Council, 20, of South Carolina was arrested Sunday morning when it was learned Council was wanted in South Carolina for a murder which took place in August, Sgt. Colleen Kuhn said.

"The woman's husband learned of his wife's illicit MySpace affair and alerted deputies to the couple's whereabouts when the jilted spouse spotted his wife's car in the parking lot of the Motel 6 in Hesperia, Kuhn said.  'We really weren't sure what the call was,' Deputy Chad Gomez said of the strange call. 'We didn't know if it was a jealous husband trying to get us out there just because his wife was cheating or if this really was a possible homicide suspect.'

"When Gomez and Deputy Chuck Foster arrived at the motel, they found the woman, her 1-year-old child and Council in one of the units.  Council was not combative and acknowledged he was wanted for murder, Kuhn stated.
"That's rich... how can she be so damn stupid?"  Garrett laughed.

"You let that stuff get to you too much, Garrett.  It's going to drive you crazy one of these days."  Caitlyn was starting to think her partner had already stepped over that thin line.

**********

Chapter 4      Cry Me a River, Diana Krall

Now you say you're sorry...
For being so untrue...
Well you can cry me a river...
Cry me a river, I cried a river over you.

You drove me mad...
 and drove me out of my head...
While you never shed a tear...
Remember, I remember all that you said...
'told me you were through with me ...


"Detective Bradford, I'm Frank Carlson and this is Cynthia Hodges.  We're from NCIS."

Even though her feet were killing her, Caitlyn stood up as a courtesy, greeting the two visitors.  "You're here about the dead wives."  It was a statement more than a question and Caitlyn had wondered when they were going to arrive.

Carlson stood just over six feet one and about 175, Caitlyn's practiced eye told her.  Hodges, she was about five foot four and 130 and had a hard look to her face that made her much older than she actually was.

"Yes.  We'd like copies of whatever you have," Carlson said, putting his ID away.

"Are you taking over the case?"  Caitlyn wondered if there was going to be a jurisdictional 'pissing match' with the Feds.

"No," Carlson said, looking at the dark-haired beauty now sitting on her desk.  He couldn't help admiring the way her tailored slacks fit her body, following the curves with just enough definition to whet his appetite, while still maintaining the impression of professionalism.  She glanced back at him, giving him a small smile and his heart leaped.  "We'd rather work together, if it's all right with you.  We know there's been at least one outside civilian involved."

"Timothy Bishop.  Took a couple to the chest leaving Susan Winslow's house; she took one to the back of the head.  Closed casket on her.  You want a Snickers?"


Semper Fi Pt. 01



"No, thanks... he the first boyfriend killed?" Hodges asked.

"Maybe, maybe not... there might be others out there that no one's noticed, we don't know.  Have the husbands been notified, yet?" Caitlyn asked.

"No.  It was decided that would wait until we could get them out and back Stateside," said Carlson.

"Seems fair; I can imagine what the response might be.  How do you want to go about this?"  She unwrapped on of Garrett's candy bars and took a bite.

"I was thinking we team up.  You know the area and we've got the clout on the base."  The agent had a big smile on his face.  He wanted to investigate more than just a couple of wayward wife murders.

"Sounds good."  She made a decision.  "Your partner can be with Garrett and you can call me Caitlyn."  She blushed and hurried on.  "Say, any relation to the Fort Bragg killings?"

**********

Chapter 5     When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge

When a man loves a woman...
He can't keep his mind on nothing else...
He'll trade the world...
For the good thing he found.
If she is bad, he can't see it...


Working with Carlson was a joy and Caitlyn began to enjoy her work, once again.  He never complained and he didn't eat candy bars every ten seconds... and, he paid for lunch and dinner... every day.

She was surprised at the power Frank's NCIS credentials gave them while he was impressed at her ability to question witnesses.  And yet, even with all that, they were no closer to finding the "Lonely Hearts Killer" than they had been the first day.

Once they had gotten past the initial shyness of a new relationship, even one based on professional interests, they had settled into an easy partnership, each taking the lead depending on circumstances.  

Caitlyn took Frank to all the crime scenes.  While the motel room had been thoroughly cleaned and the rug replaced, the others were still as the day of the killing.  Garrett and Cynthia were back at the station, working on paper trails, hoping to find similar circumstances anywhere in the country.  So far, nothing.


A week later, lunch was from Burger King and while Frank had two Whoppers, she satisfied herself with a Whopper Jr and a small fries.  He smiled, taking her elbow and steering her out of the way of other pedestrians.  They sat down at a park bench and began to eat.  

He pulled her into his arms.  At first, she was too stunned to react, caught in his embrace.  He twined his fingers into her hair and pulled back her head, baring her throat to his mouth.  His lips settled against her neck, hot and urgent against the sensitive skin.

Waves of emotion washed over her, making it impossible to think.  She only knew how she felt... confused... excited... and frightened.  A man like him could make a woman lose her head.  She'd never experienced such feelings before.  It was like being on a roller coaster and longing to crash.

She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath.  Her body seemed to be melting.  Her lips softened and parted as he nuzzled his way toward her ear.  When was he going to kiss her? is all she could think.  Every second he waited was like an eternity of delicious torture.

She swayed and clutched his waist.  The hallway felt so hot that it was making her dizzy.  His tongue flicked across her earlobe and then probed the inside of her ear.  She shuddered and then held him tighter.  The world receded until his warmth and strength were the only ixisting realities.

He was in the same place as Caitlyn... lost in desire and emotion.  To the extent he could think at all, he was warning himself to go slowly.  Some had hurt her so she had been afraid of getting involved again, he could tell.  He felt a hard-edged satisfaction when she moaned and pressed herself closer.  She brought out the most conflicting feelings in him.  Part of him wanted to conquer her, to pay her back for the challenges and defeats and part of him wanted to worship her.  She was like glass... tough on the outside but capable of being shattered into a million pieces by a man's carelessness.

He was aching to kiss her but forced himself to wait.  Let her take the initiative, he thought.  Let her raise her lips and offer her mouth.  Still, he couldn't stop himself... he couldn't stop his hand from moving to her waist and tugging at her blouse.  She stiffened but didn't resist.  His hand began to burn.  He longed to slide against her stomach and savor the softness of her skin.  A few seconds later, he was doing exactly that... then he was moving higher...

Caitlyn went rigid as Frank's hand closed over her breast.  A voice told her to pull away but when he started rubbing his palm against her nipples, the voice disappeared.  He took a nipple between his thumb and finger and teased it until it was swollen with pleasure and then played with its twin until her body was on fire with excitement.  She'd never been caressed that way before... with tenderness one moment and rough passion the next.  She buried her lips against his neck and felt the sharp but loving bit of his teeth in return.

She wasn't going to stop him.  The realization hit her like a sharp slap in the face, momentarily shocking her.  How could she be letting him touch her? she wondered.  She had only just met him.  She didn't know what kind of person he was.  Maybe he was involved with somebody else.  Maybe she was only casual fun for him.

And if she wasn't?  If he was just as involved as she was?  That would be different.  She still couldn't accept where they had been headed but if things went more slowly...

She needed to know the answer.  She wanted to think this was real.  She struggled to frame the words and get them out of her mouth.

"Frank, please."  Her throat felt dry and tight.  "I need to know what's happening here... you and me."

Frank didn't know what was worse, her questions or the anxiety in her voice.  He wasn't the kind for one-night stands and neither was she, was she?

He released her and ran his hand through his hair.  He wanted to take her back into his arms and make love to her but common sense prevailed.  He took a deep breath.

"Uh... look, I'm sorry about this," he said.  "I'm not sure how it happened, except..."  He hesitated, at a loss for words.  Except for what? he asked himself.  Except for what?  That he wanted her more than any woman he'd ever met?


It had been Caitlyn's idea to have dinner at the Claim Jumper.  "My treat," she said.

"In that case, why don't you order?"  Frank put his menu down.  "I'm in your hands."

"OK... we'll start with the onion rings and potato skins, split the California Citrus salad, steak and shrimp.  How's that sound?"

All through dinner, Frank had been watching her, trying to pretend his feelings of desire weren't still raging.  He was enchanted how her eyes luminesced through her glasses.  He tried to concentrate on the cases, trying to keep his arousal under control.  "Caitlyn, what am I going to do with you?" he whispered to himself, trying to ignore the flames burning through his blood.

She was silent for a moment.  So silent, he was grateful she hadn't heard him.  Then she whispered, "What do you want to do with me?"

He looked up from his food, knowing both desire and frustration were apparent in his gaze.  "Everything I can think of."

She licked her lips.  "Such as?"

The shock that ran through him was so intense it almost knocked him off his chair.  He cleared his throat, trying to talk through his mouth that was suddenly so dry from desire.  "Caitlyn, you're playing with fire."

"I know," she sighed.  "I can't help myself."

Frank reached for his drink and chugged it down, feeling the margarita burn all the way down his throat, adding to the fire already raging.

"I've been telling and telling myself that this is wrong, that it's unprofessional," she murmured, "but I still can't... I don't understand myself when I'm with you.  Nothing makes any sense, only this... this feeling between us."

He pressed his hand against her mouth, his thumb parting her lips to caress the smooth inside.  "I swear, one more word and I'll take you on this table, right here and right now and anybody who's watching be damned."

She looked back at him, her eyes wide and almost glowing with desire.  "I wouldn't care."

"Let's just..."  He couldn't finish the sentence, so tempted was he to say, "...get out of here."  He let go of her hand.  He stood up, threw some bills on the table and grabbed her hand, practically jerking her to her feet.

They walked to his hotel room, dodging puddles and stood in the darkness outside his door, watching the rain that continued to fall and then... he moved.

Frank's finger stroked through her silky, black hair, cupping her head, his sensual mouth closing one pale eyelid and then the other, then drifting as lightly as a summer breeze over her face, lingering for a tantalizing moment at the corner of her mouth to the soft indentation of her short upper lip and then his mouth hovered a mere breath above her own parted lips.

Her breath came in rapid, uneven gasps; her hands find their own way beneath the fabric of his shirt to caress his superb athletic body.

His charm had bewitched her.  Beneath the palms of his hands she felt his body shake, knew a moment of wild exultation as his arms went around her, dragging her into the warmth of his body.

And, she went with a whimper of pleasure, a whisper of sound that died as his mouth took hers and ravaged her senses, drawing forth a response she didn't know she had to give as her hands straddled his head, her fingers tangled in his dark hair.

She was crazy and not ashamed as she thought she would be.  His hands pushed the silky fabric aside, exposing the white gleam of her skin, her taut breasts proudly inviting the caress of his mouth.

"Caitlyn..."  he groaned raggedly, his head dipping in wordless acceptance as his mouth found and devoured the inviting mounds, make her back arch in ecstasy, her head falling back on her neck.  His words were slurred, hot with passion, with a need that matched her own, a need that would kill if it weren't assuaged.  He gathered her into his arms.

She clung to him, loving him, uncaring of where he was taking her, her mouth finding his jawline, nibbling, tasting the spice of the inevitable beard growth, her teeth nipping and teasing until his head dropout dropped, his mouth finding hers and taking it, savagely marker her with his brand of possession.

He set her down gently on her feet, sliding her body down the length of his and his voice was tight with a toughness he couldn't disguise as he said, "I don't know what will happen when I close this door behind us.  If you want to leave, then say so now.  I cannot promise to control myself if you all things to go further and then back away."

Caitlyn said quietly but firmly enough that there was no mistake, "Close the door, Frank."  A hand lifted to touch his face and she felt the softening, the release of tension, and saw the wicked glint of his eyes as he gently swung the door into place, carefully placing her gun-carrying purse and glasses on the room's table and guided her to the bed, his hands removing her clothes, shaping her body with a touch that held reverence and desire in equal measure.

"This isn't right," he said, even as he caressed her.

"I know, but I don't care, anymore.  Do you?"

"I should, but I don't.  The only thing I care about is you.  I won't let anything hurt you, I promise."

"Touch me," Caitlyn moaned, as she pulled at him.  

He stroked his hand down her throat, his fingers sliding into the valley of her breasts.  "I want to touch you so bad, I'm afraid I'll break you."

"You can't break me."  She slipped his hand into her bra, tensing as his fingers closed over her nipple.  "Oh, God..."

"Does that feel good?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"Oh, yes," she practically cried.

He smiled an unhooked her bra, cupping her other breast, his fingers stroking the crest.  "How about this?"  He licked her, reveling in the taste of her skin, smelling the ripe scent of her sex.  

She arched her back, presenting her breasts to him.  "More... I want more."

His tongue traced a path down to the waistband of her slacks, letting his gaze mover over her with satisfaction.  Her breasts were high and taut, the peaks full and pouting as they begged again for the pull of his mouth.  He couldn't resist.  Just one more time and then it was on to other delights.  He slid her zipper down, working her evening slacks off her legs until finally she lay there with only a strip of lace covering her innermost secrets, secrets she wanted to share with him.  He unwrapped her then, like a boy with a chocolate candy, throwing her covering aside while he worked to get at the soft luscious center waiting for him within.

He tasted her, the hot honey of her melting onto his lips, the tip of his tongue flicking forward to find the sweetness inside.  Greedily he parted her, until finally he had no choice but to feast as she responded to his intimate caress.  She wrapped her legs around him, her body arching up to him until she seemed ready to break in two.  The need was there and so was the tenderness.  He'd never felt this way with another woman, doubted he ever would.  For him, there was only the moment.  This moment, only this, when he could play Caitlyn's body like a finely tuned instrument until it sang with the sweetest sounds he'd ever heard.

But sweetness wasn't all he wanted.  He wanted heat, too.  As her hands tore at his pants, he realized she wanted the same.  

"Protection," he barely said.

"Please, tell me you have some."  

He didn't know if he did or not and fumbled through the nightstand until he found the square package.

"Thank you," she said with relief, taking it from him and putting it next to her on the bed.  She leaned over him, pushing him back, her nipples brushing against his arm.  He gently cupped one breast, running a rough thumb over the peak, causing her to sigh as she settled next to him, wriggling as close as she could get.  She kissed him and Frank felt the loneliness of his life evaporate.

She reached for him and caressed him until he thought she would burst just from her touch.  As if she knew it, she took the foil square and tore it open, then placed the condom on his penis and gently guided him inside her.  

He took her... fast and hard and urgently.  Together, they climbed, only to pause at the summit before climbing again, peaking where the air grew thin and the emotions hot, erupting with all the power nature could give a man and a woman.

Afterward, he dropped his forehead onto hers, waiting until his heartbeat slowed before he tried to speak.  "Caitlyn?"

"Shhh... don't move.  Don't say anything, just be with me.."

He became still.  Just be with me, she had said, but he knew how fragile the moment was.  "Caitlyn..."

Her fingers stilled his lips.  "I need to pretend this is forever."

"Forever?  Is that what you want?"

She smiled.  "It makes no sense, does it?  We didn't even know each other, did we?"  She ended the conversation by throwing a leg over him.  Kneeling, she raised her arms to embrace the sky like a pagan goddess, the arched forward wantonly, rocking against his hips.  "I've been dreaming about this, ever since I met you," she said as he filled her.  He was just right.  Her muscles clenched in response as he thrust upward.  She looked down at him, taking in his strong features, now etched in passion.  It had happened too fast and too unexpectedly but she didn't care.  It had happened.

She was definitely, totally, completely in love with this man, with this stranger that had entered her life and now filled all the empty spaces.

Frank grasped her hips with his hands and pulled her closer.  She forgot about everything else but the need to move harder, faster... focusing on her own needs.


Caitlyn opened her eyes to see the hard shadows of the hotel room as the morning sun lit up the sky.  The harsh shadows made the room seem primitive, as if she was the first woman on earth and had just been discovered by the first man.  Her skin still glistened, exuding sweat and the tangy scent of sex.  She stretched out against him and sighed, "I could get used to this."

He laughed.  "You could, huh?"

Tracing a finger down his damp chest, she followed it with her tongue, tasting the salt and heat that still blanketed his body.  "I think so.  How about you?"

"Oh, yeah.  What are you thinking?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're smiling.  I just wondered why you're smiling."

Caitlyn let her smile expand until she was positive it could have lit the entire city.  "I was thinking about you."

"We have to talk."

"Yes, we do."

"There's so much to say," he said.  "I don't know where to begin."  His finger traced the curve of her left breast, stopping at her nipple, touching it lightly.  "What's going to happen with us? when all this is done?"

"I don't know.  I just know I want you.  San Diego isn't that far away."  She wanted to say more but he covered her mouth with his and began to love her, again.

**********

Chapter 6     Your Cheating Heart, Patsy Cline

Your cheatin' heart...
Will make you weep...
You'll cry and cry...
And try to sleep...
But sleep won't come...
The whole night through...
Your cheatin' heart...
Will tell on you...

When tears come down...
Like fallin' rain...


There seemed to be a pause in the killings for a few weeks and although nothing had been proven, it seemed likely that whoever it had been had either left the area or was lying low.  And then, it started again... or maybe, it never stopped.


It was a somber trip to San Diego and Caitlyn began to wonder how widespread the situation was.  It had now spread to three different cities and twelve murders.

"He's been dead at least two weeks," said the medical examiner, nodding to acknowledge their presence.  "Blunt force trauma to the back of the head.  Of course, after two weeks, things were a little nasty."

Caitlyn looked at the photographs.  There was no way she was going to spend time in the autopsy room with a smelly, moldy two week old body.  It took forever to get that smell out of her hair, no matter how many times she shampooed.  "Fine, but what's that got to do with Garrett and me?  You know we're busy on the Marine wives cases."

"His wife's in Afghanistan.  She's in the Corps.  We found a photo of her in some Afghani village."

Caitlyn was surprised.  "You're kidding.  I guess I never thought about that.  Looks like our killer is equal opportunity... are you sure?"

"I think that's for you to find out but I bet it is."

"Well, Frank, you heard the man... it's up to us to find out.  It still is a different M.O., though.  I wonder why."  Maybe some angry brother or father or... boyfriend?

*********

Caitlyn and Frank drove back to Susan Winslow's house and walked around the building, poking through the low-lying bushes. 

"I thought you and Garrett already came back..."

"We did... but I'm sure there's something we missed.  Keep looking."

"Yes, sir!" Frank said, smiling.  He walked around the house, wondering just what it was that was missing and why would it be in the bushes.  The murders took place in the entryway and just inside.  Whatever it was, it should be there, not out here.  He went to the front door and began to look again, this time on his hands and knees.

He felt stupid but knew it had to be done.  What could he find that CSI missed?  After a half-hour, more or less, he gave up and they left.

As Caitlyn drove, Frank was wiping down his pants.  Caitlyn pulled the unmarked over to the side of the road and pulled a U-turn.  "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"The porch... it was dirty.  There should have..."  She stopped the car.  "No, that doesn't make sense.  Whoever did it would have cleaned the place up... I'm so confused."




Semper Fi Pt. 01



Frank looked at his lover and wished he knew what she was talking about.


Caitlyn waited an eternity, it seemed, for Frank to lean over, one large hand supporting her neck and very gently, place his lips over hers.  She wanted to cry from the tenderness of the kiss and instinctively moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her.  She gave him a very strong hug, burying her face on his shoulder, smelling his clean, masculine scent.

Then, she kissed him, using her lips to softly graze the corner of his mouth, the roughness of his cheek, placing light kisses on his eyes and forehead before settling squarely on his mouth, her own urgency to incite a passion that was warm and low, something deeper and more profound than she'd though possible.

Frank closed his eyes, his head swimming.  The taste, the smell of Caitlyn was intoxicating.  His hands roved across the slight planes of her back and he groaned as she leaned backward, pulling him on top of her, one of her thighs pressing against him.  His response was slow building as the blood flow increased with rushes and ebbs...

"Let's go to bed," she said, softly.  Her hair was rumpled, her lips swollen, her complexion flushed, her breath coming in short gasps.  

He touched her smooth cheek and then moved away from her.  She took his hand and pulled him into the darkened bedroom, the glow from the entryway light guiding her.  It was pure craziness... she tugged him down to sit next to her and then hugged him fiercely again.  Frank closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of her body encompass every part of him.  

Caitlyn began to unbutton his shirt, her lips skimming across the bare skin underneath the collar of his shirt.  He shouldn't be doing this... again.  He didn't have time for love... or, did he?

Frank tried to make sense of what they were doing, of this beautiful woman disrobing him and herself, garment by garment but he could no longer think rationally.

As he gazed at her sheer bra, Frank swallowed, his senses highly aroused.  Even though they had already made love once before, this second time was even more intense than he could imagine.

She came to him, completely naked, her perfect breasts taut with anticipation as she straddled his lap.  He closed his arms around her, feeling himself swell with desire.  The back of her hands smoothed over his chest and back, making the blood surge faster, giving her clear evidence of his arousal.  Caitlyn softly kissed the back of his neck, his ear, his jaw as she pressed her body against his.

He rushed, trying to get the condom on and broke the first one.

Her body willingly opened for him, her gasps of pleasure enhancing his.  He went slowly at first, feeling her, moist, tight, her heat easily felt through the condom.  He kissed her face, enjoying the sensation of the most intimate of conversations, savoring her small moans, waiting for her to move with more urgency.  It take long before she clutched at him, her body shuddering with the intensity of her orgasm, her firm contractions disengaging any control he'd had.

And then it was over.  She lay panting next to him, her eyes glowing with an emotion too bright to look at directly, sending something to his mind.  Love?  He couldn't be in love.  Not so soon... but, he pulled her closer, feeling her slender legs wrap around his, the warmth of her cheek resting on his chest.

Frank awoke to find her dressing quietly.  "Where are you going?" he asked.

Caitlyn gave him a smile.  "I thought it would be better to leave now," she said as she put on her shoes.

"You don't have to leave," he said, upset that she was leaving.  He got up and pulled on his pants, reaching for his shirt.

"Don't bother to get up," she said and leaned over to give him a lingering kiss.  She opened the door, stepping out into the chilly morning air and shivered.  He put his arm around her and they slowly walked to her car.

"We should probably talk about this," he whispered.

She nodded.  "I know," she said, lifting on tip-toe to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.  "But, let's not talk about it too much," she said, with a wink before she slipped into her car and drove away.

Frank went back into the room.  He had only a few hours before he had to get up and report but he didn't feel tired at all.  He grinned, an unfamiliar lightheartedness filling him.

Back in the room, he lay on the bed intent on a couple of hours but sleep eluded him and he found himself getting up and reading the reports once again.  


Four hours later, Caitlyn returned to pick him up.  "There's been another one," she said.

"Where to?" he asked, settling inside her car.  He watched her face, hoping to see some of that intensity present just a few hours earlier.

"Vista... an apartment house... the landlady heard some noise and called 911 but she doesn't speak English all that well."

"Spanish?" he asked.

"No, French."

"You're kidding."

"Her daughter's there and we can speak to her."

While the questioning was done 'officially' through the Vista Police Department, Frank took the lead but aside from knowing that it occurred at a little past one in the morning and there was a single person involved, there wasn't much to be learned.

"Damn," he said, "I was really hoping that we'd get something from her.  This is ridiculous.  And, these damn women..."

"Don't forget the man."  Caitlyn looked at her laptop note.  

"...and the man, you'd think they'd be more careful or just stay home or something.  We're not getting anywhere.  Lunch?"

"Let's go to Bruno's.  Great Italian and they have an awesome buffet."

"Sure, that sounds great.  Anywhere with you is great."

Bruno's buffet had everything Frank was hoping for: amazing fresh pizza, six types of pasta, fresh bread and a salad bar that seemed to go forever and he was frustrated.  It was a perfect case of too many choices to choose from and he stood there, dish in hand with two slices of pepperoni pizza and nothing else.

Caitlyn walked over, took his dish, said "let me help you," and began to put food on his plate.  "This is good... this is better... and this... is to die for."

Frank followed her around the dining room, watching as she put one thing after another onto his plate, stopping to get another plate when it looked like everything was going to slide away and finally sitting down with three dishes of Italian food.  "This food is incredible.  I love pizza where you don't see the cheese."

Stringing cheese across his chin, he took another bite.  "God, this is good.  Thanks."

Caitlyn watched him eat, thinking how his two appetites were so similar.  She imagined his mouth on her, between her legs.  Looking at her own dish, she forked a sausage and brought it to her lips.


"Would you like to go for ice cream?  There's got to be a '31 Flavors' around here, somewhere?"  He looked out the restaurant's window.

"You've never been up this way, have you?" she asked.

"Actually... no.  I transferred to San Diego earlier this year from Pensacola and just started getting my bearings when all this started.  I couldn't ask for a better way to learn the neighborhood."

Caitlyn blushed.  His acknowledgment explained why he had so easily let her take the lead off-base.  "They're not very good around here.  I don't know why but the service bites.  There's a Coldstone over on Main; let's go there."  

A short while later, they were sharing a hot chocolate brownie covered in French Vanilla, caramel, whipped cream and pecans...  Frank looked at her, wondering if she worshipped ice cream like so many other women, as she slowly licked the white cream from the dessert and smiled.  Damn, he thought, intense.  He closed his eyes, hoping to stop his rising arousal.  

"Oh," she asked, "did you want some?"

"Watching you is treat enough, baby."  He took a small scoop of ice cream, just to say he had some.  "Do you think we're ever going to solve this mess?"

She stopped eating and frowned.  "If they stop now, no.  If they keep on going, maybe.  California isn't very good on solving murders."

"You said 'they.'  What do you know that I don't?"

"How long you've been doing this?  It has to be more than one guy... just call it women's intuition."

**********

"What's going on, Garrett?"

"What's going on, Caitlyn?  Where've you been?  I haven't seen you in at least three days."

"You know... just doing field work, that's all.  In truth, Garrett, I've got nothing.  We're no closer now than we were the first day we started.  This sucks."  Caitlyn sat down behind her desk, wondering if this was all worth it.  Philandering wives, cheating husbands, biblical payback... what more can you ask for?

**********

Chapter 7     Crazy, Patsy Cline

Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely
I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blue
I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted
And then someday you'd leave me for somebody new

Worry, why do I let myself worry?
Wond'ring what in the world did I do?
Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying

And I'm crazy for loving you
Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying
And I'm crazy for loving you.


Lying on the bed, their bodies pressed together, seemed to shorten their control and added urgency to their every move.  Frank's kiss was hot and hungry, searing and searching as his tongue probed into Caitlyn's mouth.  Her hands were demanding as they clutched at him, held him, pulled him closer than it was possible to be.

Then he was tugging off her jeans, she was pulling off his shorts until there was nothing between them.  Flesh against flesh... hot need against moist hungry heat.  Entwined, heart to heart, their bodies spoke to the other.

She never knew such hunger, such elemental need.  It was if part of her had been missing and now was found and she wanted to touch him all over, to caress every inch of him and to know he came alive at her stroking.

But, his hands cupped her breasts and he took the tender nipples into his mouth and she forgot everything else.  She was all hunger and need, melting under his touch, becoming one with him.

Moving beneath him, she opened her heart and took him in and they became one, once again, their bodies pulsing in a timeless rhythm.

"This wasn't how I pictured this," Frank said, after a long moment.

She was still trying to catch her breath, her mind still fuzzy from the sex.  "What do you mean?"

"You know... a romantic setting."

"This isn't romantic?"

"Actually, it's perfect... me and you."

**********

The following four days were filled with paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork.  Each time a city was added to the list, a stack of papers was added to the growing pile, even if it only existed on their laptops... and their desktops.  The paperless office never arrived with the computer, it just multiplied it beyond all recognition and the printers never got a rest and they never got an arrest.

*********

It was a little more than a week later that Caitlyn and her best friend, Allison Carter, were having dinner at the Fish House in Carlsbad.  "Honestly, waking up married to a complete stranger would be my worst nightmare.  Do you love him?"

"I think so..."  Caitlyn had the most anxious look on her face as she picked at her smoked albacore.  "I don't know... I want to."

"It's a unique situation; you just have to give it time; you have to tell him," said Allison, smiling and then forking a tomato out of her salad.

"Telling Frank..."  Caitlyn looked away from her best friend and stared at the patio's brick walls.

"Caitlyn, I swear."

Caitlyn blushed, amazed at her friend's intimation.  "Allison, you're wrong."  Caitlyn put her fork down forcefully, clattering the dish.  What if she told him and he... damn it, she thought.  She didn't have a clue what to do.

"No... I'm not.  What are you going to do when this case is settled?  One way or another, he'll be gone and then what?  They all leave.  They always leave."

"I don't know.  He's stationed in San Diego.  That's not so far away... just an hour, maybe."

"If he really cares..."  Allison looked at her friend, wondering how such a smart woman could be so stupid.  "Look, what could it hurt?  He has to know or are you keeping it to yourself and just taking care of it... that way?"  She shivered.  "I did it and I've been regretting it ever since."  Allison's face flashed a great sign of despair.

"I don't know... maybe nothing... maybe, everything.  Are you sure?"  Caitlyn stared at her food, hesitant.  What if she was right?

**********

"...and, then we could go to dinner," Frank suggested.

It was a romantic thing to say and he had said it in a romantic tone of voice.  For a fleeting moment, she imagined what it would be like kissing him goodbye in the morning and having him come home at the end of the day.  The woman he went to sleep with and awakened next to in the morning.  The woman he made passionate love to and in whose ear he whispered a lifetime of romantic words.  The woman who shared his life, his home, his children.  The woman he wanted to marry.

Caitlyn remembered last night.  She had gone eagerly into his arms, ready and willing to love him.  His hands were strong and possessive on her shoulders and their warmth remained even as his palms lifted to hold her face with possessive assurance.  She was a willing participant and she began to tremble and her lips took the cue, breathing him in and then his mouth was on hers and her heart was beating, her head spinning.

Nothing had made sense and nothing else mattered.  Except his lips, moving against hers, luring her deeper into his kiss, making her aware of him

"That's so sweet, Frank, but I can't stay."  Caitlyn hated what she was doing.  For the first time, she considered the possibility that this could become more complicated than she anticipated.  He was handsome, good with her, intelligent and she was attracted to him and yet, she was suddenly afraid.

"All right," he said, dejectedly.  "I guess I could do some paperwork.  I'll see you, tomorrow?"

She didn't answer, hung up and looked out her window at the rain.  It fit her mood, dark and dreary.  She had no practice playing 'hard to get', never having been serious about someone since high school... and that had ended in disaster, staying home on Prom night, alone.  She burned her pastel green gown the next morning, accidently setting her parents' garage on fire and being embarrassed in front of the whole neighborhood.

But, this was different.  She was afraid he wasn't going to like what she had to tell him and began to retreat into that place she went to when she didn't to deal with something.

Caitlyn half-heartedly pushed some files around her computer desktop, rearranging them, right to left, top to bottom... and then, back again.

Garrett walked over.  "Milky Way?" he asked, holding one out.

"Yeah, give me a couple."

Astonished, Garrett opened his desk drawer and passed three candy bars across the way.  "Here," he said, "take what you need."

The monotony of one day passed into another as she found one excuse after another... until she realized she was being an idiot.  After the second week of her self-imposed exile, she called Frank but only got his voice mail.  "Ooooffff," she moaned, putting her cell down.  

"What's the matter?" Garrett asked.

"Fran... Agent Carlson... I can't seem to reach him."

"Oh, them... they left, said they were reassigned.  I thought you knew.  There wasn't enough progress being made and it's all gone cold, anyways."

"Reassigned?  I didn't know..."  Her voice trailed off into silence.  "Gone..."

The phone rang and Garrett answered.  

"There's been a killing over at the 7-11.  Night clerk, botched robbery..."

"Give me a minute," Caitlyn said, finishing her candy bar.  "I've got to go to the bathroom."

"Take your time, the dead guy's not going anyplace."

She looked in the mirror.  Her hair was disheveled and wisped around and away from her face.  She thought of him.  When she had been with him, it had been the most pleasure she had in her life.  The thought brought her up short.

*********

Frank looked at her.  "I'm upset because you made a decision without talking to me.  I can't understand that..."

"You're upset," Caitlyn snapped, "because... because... 

His anger flared again.  "I think you're skirting the real issue."

"Do you?"  She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.  "Maybe I am.  Frank, maybe this whole thing has been a mistake."

His stomach knotted.  "You can't be serious."

"Can't I?  What guarantee did I have that you'd still be around a month from now?"

"Is that what's upsetting you?  You were afraid I was going to bail on you?"

Her breasts rose and fell rapidly.  "Don't you see what's happening?"

He clenched his hands to keep from reaching out to her.  "Why weren't you happy that we were together?  We had something pretty good.  At least, I thought we did.  I think you're afraid of getting too close and you're using this to pull away."

She backed away.  "You're not listening to me."

Frank looked at her for a long time.  His gaze flicked over her eyes, her lips.  "If you were that convinced I was going to leave eventually, you don't trust me.  And if you don't trust me, what kind of relationship did we have?"

"Can you honestly say you trusted me?"  She stared at him.

"Yes, I did," he said.

The look on her face said it all.

Pain and frustration combined to push him over the edge.  "If you're trying to get rid of me, at least be honest about why.  Don't use this as an excuse."

Her face reddened.  "I am not!" she shouted.  "This conversation is over!"

"You're right," he said.  "It's pointless."  He looked around the room at the other detectives.  "I've got to hand it to you, you're timing is... ah, shit."

He stormed out of the police station but it didn't heal the gaping wound where his heart had been only minutes before.

**********

Frank was upset with himself.  He had worked with attractive women all the time and never mixed business with pleasure... until now and she had broken up with him.  What had he done, he had no idea and it bothered him.

She could have least said 'goodbye' instead of just brushing him off... not that it mattered, he thought.  The case had gone cold.  Whoever the killer was, he... or she, he realized... had gone to ground.

The phone on his desk rang.  "Carlson."

"Frank, there's been another one."

"Ah, Jeez..."  Frank stood up, took his gun out of his drawer and whistled at Cynthia.  "C'mon, time to go.  There's been another one."

"Oh?" she asked.

"Yeah.  It's a guy, married to a Navy reserve nurse in Afghanistan.  Two to the crotch, one to the head."  Frank headed out his office.

"Are we hooking up with those two cops?"

Frank hesitated.  "I... I don't think so.  I don't see any reason, do you?"

"I just thought..."

"Don't think.  When this is over, I'm transferring somewhere else, maybe Honolulu or Seattle or something... anywhere but here.

**********

"Hey, Caitlyn, there's been another one.  Some guy in San Diego."

"Drop it, Frank.  It's out of our jurisdiction; we've got our own to worry about and..."

"...and, you're just angry about Frank.  What did that guy do to you that you dropped him?  I thought..."

"Don't think, Garrett, just leave me alone about that."

Garrett knew something had been bothering his partner for the last few weeks but he couldn't determine whose fault it was until now... and, now he knew.  What to do about it, though, was a completely different question.

They spent the rest of the day finishing reports about the 7-11 homicide.




Semper Fi Pt. 02



Copyright by calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011


Chapter 9     Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, 


"Jesus Christ, I can't believe it!"  Garrett Brinkley dropped his candy bar and looked at his partner, Caitlyn Bradford, sitting in their unmarked car.  "How the..." he was starting to ask but then was quiet... a quiet so silent it hurt.

"It was an accident, I guess.  It must have broken."  She wiped a tear and looked out her window at the latest crime scene, another "Lonely Hearts" murder.

"What's he going to do?"

"I haven't told him."

"You're fuckin' kiddin' me.  Caitlyn... he deserves to know."  Garrett couldn't believe her.  Whatever hold Frank had on her had ruined his partner and he didn't like it.  He needed her at her best and she'd been anything but...

Garrett squeezed the steering wheel in anger... in anger for the situation... in anger for what she had done, was still doing... in anger for what Frank had done.  And, damn it, they still hadn't caught the killers and probably weren't going to.

"Garrett, I'm sorry..." she began, "but he's going to leave when this is over and there's no reason to tell him.  I don't want him to stay just because of the baby."

"How the hell do you think he's going to react when he finds out?"

"What?"  She looked confused.

"When he finds out... how do you think he's going to react?  You're not going to tell him, are you?"  He shook his head in disapproval and disappointment.

Garrett noticed her hands were shaking and that was what he was afraid of.  Caitlyn had lost her edge and had retreated, deferring to him in everything... and, he didn't like it.  He needed her to be at the top of her game and right now, there was no game, at all.

"No," he said, quietly, "I'm not... but, he'll find out, anyway.  He'll find out, no matter what you do.  You're too well known, now."

A few minutes later, after she had collected her thoughts, they left the car and walked over to yet another motel room.  Inside, a familiar scene presented itself to them: a dead cheating military wife, a dead lover and no clue to the killer.

"Any security video?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, the camera was taken out by a damn good shot.  Nobody heard anything."

"Whoever did it policed the brass, as usual.  I wonder why they opened the door."  She looked at Garrett, wondering if he had an answer.

"I don't think they did.  I think somebody picked the lock, somehow.  It's one of those keycard locks.  I..."

**********

The murders continued without respite and without a hint of usable evidence.  The police in each jurisdiction felt useless, realizing that only half of all California murders were ever solved.  Whoever it was, they were just too smart... too careful... too lucky... too elusive.  It was almost like different people all doing the same thing.

She doubted they would solve the case...

...and, they didn't.

*********

Five Years Later...

"Welcome back to California, Frank," said Barbara Montgomery, his new partner.  His new partner was a pretty, tall African-American woman in her later thirties with amazing large curly hair, a penchant for reggae and a deadly aim.  He called her 'Barbie,' much to her amusement.  He carried two mugs of coffee to her desk and sat down.  Opening the cliché'd box of doughnuts, he passed one to her and took a cinnamon crumb one for himself.  She wasn't used to be charmed, if that was what he was doing, for police officers and NCIS agents tended to be lacking in the finer graces.  Even though she had steeled herself against what she considered his charms, he still affected her more than she expected.  

"What brings you back?" she asked, setting her mug back on her desktop.

"You know," he said, putting his own mug down, accidently splashing some coffee onto the beatdown top.  The coffee smelled wonderful.  She inhaled carefully, as if she could filter the aroma out of the air she breathed.

His smile was confident.  He was going to say something but a sharp buzz from the intercom on her desk cut him off.  Barbara held up a finger and arched her eyebrows.  "One minute," she said, carrying her mug back to her side of the desk.  "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to break in," the intercom droned, "but there's been another killing."

She pressed a button to cut off the speaker and grabbed her coat.  "I'll drive," she said, pulling open her drawer and reaching for her keys.


She braked at the red light and Frank looked at her.  Her fingernails were cut close, with a clear polish and her dark, clear eyes stared back at him.  To get a manicure wouldn't be fitting with the no-nonsense attitude she tried to project.  

He spread his leather-bound notebook on the seat next to him and flipped the pages until he came to the one he wanted.  

They arrived at the apartment house and stopped in the circular driveway in front of the building.  The doorman approached and as Barbara pressed the window button down, he pointed to visitors' parking spots along the side of the building near the tropically landscaped driveway.

The afternoon sun threw her face into the shadows but it highlighted her dark, large curls, giving it a glow that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

Two sets of glass doors set off the lobby from the drive and in the vestibule, the doorman, now stationed behind his courtesy desk, was busy watching his closed circuit television monitors.

Outside the outer doors, two uniformed San Diego policeman stood guard, already stretching yellow crime scene tape across the front of the building.  Walking inside, Frank and Barbara took the elevator to the third floor.  The door glided open and they walked down the hallway.

Another two officers were in front of the victim's apartment and were staring inside the front room.

He flashed his badge.  "It's all right," he said, "she's with me."  Laughing, he walked in, followed by a flustered Barbara.  He wondered if she played tennis.  She had fine muscle tone, he could tell, but then, her wrist was all wrong for someone playing tennis all the time.  The bones seemed too narrow and her hands looked more to be those of an artist.  Maybe, she played the piano? he wondered.

In her free time, she probably went on whale-watch tours and tried to save the planet.  Was he going to be this distracted working with her?  It had been five years since a woman affected him in such a way and here he was, finding himself feeling like a high-school boy on a first date.

A pair of San Diego detectives were waiting for them and nodded as they met.  "Deceased is Mary Schnebel, 34, wife of Colonel John Schnebel, USMC, currently in Iraq... time of death, probably last weekend."

"She alone?" Barbara asked.

"No... there's a couple of guys in there, also.  Philip Stevens and Michael Grady, both of San Diego..." said the lead detective.  "Single gunshot to the head, two more to the chest... seem to be nine mills."

"Cleaned up?"

"Yeah, no sign of anything left behind.  No reports of noise..."

"So, what was the tip-off?" asked Frank.

"She didn't show up to work."

"Which was?" asked Barbara.

"Kindergarten teacher, what else?"

**********

It was Monday morning and the pile of reports was always higher.  Barbara wasn't sure why there were always more files that day than any other unless they were reproducing over the weekend while she was gone.  Sometimes, if she stared at the files enough and squinted her eyes and her brain slightly blurred, she could almost imagine them lighting up cigarettes and asking, "Was it as good for you?"

The stacked files reminded her of Mount Whitney and the danger of an avalanche was still present as she carefully moved them from one side of her desk to the other.  The only reason she wasn't buried was that she had no boyfriend, no husband, no family... and until Frank had arrived, no interest.

The latest killings went with the others, so numerous now that they filled their own file cabinet, counterfiled by date, location and military branch.

"Well, I see nothing's really changed," Frank said, looking at the papers filling the cabinet, "except to grow five years more paperwork."

She shrugged her shoulders, knowing the answer.

**********

Frank took Barbara for a walk along the beach.  He told himself it was in the interest of getting to know his partner better, to know what to expect when they were working together but he knew better.  He was attracted to the woman, even if she was five, six years older than he.  

He watched their footprints disappear in the swash as the water retreated back into the sea.  He instinctively reached for her hand, her dark fingers interlaced with his as his other hand reached up to fight the glare bouncing from the water.

It wasn't until he met her that he realized how lonely he had been since leaving San Diego the first time.  The hole Caitlyn had left in his heart was slowly being filled by Barbara.

"Barbie?" he said, gripping her hand tighter.

"Barbie?  You've got to be kidding me."

"No, you're my chocolate Barbie doll."

"I could have you up on harassment charges so quick, it wouldn't be funny."

"Are you going to?"

She glanced across to him.  "No," she said and kissed his cheek.

He stopped her and kissed her full lips, his hand smoothing her face.  "Dinner at eight?"

"Sure... I'd like that."


"I think," he said, quietly, "that tonight, I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Don't kiss me, she prayed... not because she didn't want his kiss but because once he kissed her he would desire more from her and more until their closeness would be tested beyond what it could withstand.  He would either let the kiss proceed to its logical end, which she knew would be a disaster and there would be no chance of them remaining friends, or she would stop him in which case she would resent him or think she was crazy.

The moment he kissed her they would be on a roller coaster with no chance of getting off and she was filled with dread.

Frank's mouth touched hers and she knew she was in trouble.  He grazed her lips again and she yearned to wrap her arms around him and hold him tight, to beg him to kiss her and hold her and be everything to her.

His next kiss was different... harder, hungrier and then he coaxed her lips apart and after that she was unable to think.  His tongue reached into her mouth.  It took him no effort to pull her onto his lap and move his fingers through her hair until he was holding the back of her head.

She looked at his face, his mouth, his eyes so intense she could feel his gaze like a caress against her skin.

Then he took her mouth once again and she felt his kiss in her breasts, her hips, in her throat, her heart.  "Let's go," he whispered, not wanting to break the magic.

"Where?" she asked.

He put her hands in his and pulled her to her feet and she realized where he wanted to go.  "No... Frank, I can't.  I'm just not good at this."  That was as honest as she could be with him.  If she told him her true feelings, what would he do?

"It'll be OK," he said as he kissed her again and she almost believed him.

He led her down the hall into his bedroom and she stared at his bed, made up with dark sheets and blankets.

He swept her into his arms again and she closed her eyes, wanting to believe in him.  She prayed that he wouldn't hate her.

His hands moved down her back to her waist and he tugged her blouse free of her skirt.  She felt his hands beneath the cloth, felt his fingers against her skin.  His fingertips were demanding and followed the line of her backbone upward until he reached her bra and with a flick, it was undone and gone.

Barbara no longer knew how to breathe; his touch felt so good.  He stopped kissing her and she opened her eyes.  His smile almost frightened her as he abandoned her breasts and pulled her blouse away, and she stood before him, bare from the waist up, feeling not so much modest as wondering what she was doing.

He pulled her to him as he backed up and sat on the edge of the bed and then she was trapped between his knees.  He kissed her stomach and then held her with his legs as he removed his own shirt and hurled it across the room.

To her amazement, she wanted to touch him, to feel those muscles which she now saw.  She let her fingers move along his shoulders and he caught his breath.  Within seconds, her dress and panties were gone, so were his shorts and they were lying on the bed, side by side, completely naked.

She was prepared to fake it, if necessary.  She told herself this was Frank, her friend and for this one evening, she decided to give herself to him completely.  

"Touch me," he whispered... and she was touching him... his neck, his collarbones, the slight curves of his chest, his arms and flat stomach and then pushing her breasts against him.  Everywhere she touched him pleased him.

"Touch me," he begged as he took her hand to his erection, closing her fingers around him... big and hard and hot.

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe and her hand pulled away.  Every kiss, every touch disappeared as a horrible memory pushy them from her mind back to a time she couldn't seem to ever forget.

"No," she said, unable to look at him.  "No, I'm sorry, Frank, I just can't..."  She pulled away from his embrace and rolled away, curling herself into a whimpering ball with her back to him.

She was embarrassed beyond words and wanted to run away but her legs had turned to rubber... and then she heard him groan.

He said nothing and a long minute passed in silence as her body trembled as she felt herself drowning in ice water.

"I'm sorry... I really am."  She hated how feeble she sounded, how frightened.  How many times had she promised herself never to be this frightened again, never to let that old fear conquer her?

He pushed her onto her back so he could look at her face and waited for an explanation.  "I'm sorry," she said, yet again.

"Barbara," he whispered, brushing his fingers across her curls.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I do," he said, more forcefully than he wanted.

If she could find a way to leave his bedroom, to run away, she would and shivered under his touch.

"Someone hurt you."

She wanted to tell him the truth.  "Yes," she admitted, dying inside as a tear rolled across her cheek and soaked into her hair.  "Someone hurt me."

He cursed... not at her but at her revelation.  Frank sank into the pillow next to her and brought her to him, cushioning her head with his shoulder.

She tried not to cry but with his arms comforting, sheltering, she had no choice.  He kissed her, gently, this time.  "Who hurt you, Barbie?  I'll kill him, I swear to God."

"It happened long ago but it still follows me.  I should have gotten over it by now.  It was a cop and he pulled me over, one night and..."

He touched her shoulder with his hand, feeling that she was starting to shake again.  The warmth of his touch didn't burn this time; it felt soothing, seeping into her and pushing away the tremors.

"He made me walk off the road and he made me... touch him the way... the way you just asked."  She had to fight the tension in her throat.  She was choking on her own words.  "He made me take him in my mouth.  I thought I was going to choke and he had his gun to my head and he kept pushing..."

Frank kissed her face and held her tighter.

"He told me he knew my name and where I lived and he had a gun."

"Did you report him?" he stupidly asked, realizing that she hadn't a moment later.

"No, no one was going to believe a black girl accusing a white cop."

"So, you grew up and became a cop, yourself."

"I wanted to stop their abuse of power.  I knew what it was like to have a gun pointed at you and I wanted..."

She started to cry, again.

Frank held her and she finally fell asleep in his arms.

**********

Barbara was waiting at their car, honking the horn.  He was still waiting for his change from the counter clerk as he waited for the two Whoppers, fries and drinks.  

Finally leaving Burger King, he got into the car as she drove out of the parking lot and headed over the Coronado Bridge as they ate in the car.  Another wayward wife had met her demise over the weekend and being the spouse of an admiral, she was receiving more attention than the other weekly killings.  Rank has its privileges, he thought, but you're still just as dead.

"This one is a little messier than the others," Barbara said.  "I don't think it's the same guy as before unless he's changed his M.O."

"Nothing stays the same.  It could still be him... or, them.  Why don't these women stop doing what they're doing?  I just don't get it."

"Loneliness excuses a lot of things, Frank."  She clearly didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"Maybe so, but then, just get a divorce, don't cheat.  What the hell..."

A half hour later, they pulled onto the street in front of the admiral's Spanish bungalow house.  Two uniforms standing on the porch were guarding the front door; the bodies inside were still waiting for the medical examiner to arrive.

Frank put on his gloves and booties and walked in, watching his step as he crossed several Oriental rugs.  Some crystalware lay broken on the floor, along with a smashed bottle of champagne.  This was the first time he saw damage to furnishings and wondered just how violent the killings had been and what had warranted them.

"The admiral's still on the Reagan.  He's flying in and should be here by tonight."

"How are they going to handle it?  Tell him the truth?"  Frank looked at the two bodies.  A certain amount of pure hatred had worked its way into the murders and there was dried blood, everywhere.  This one was way too personal, much more than the others he had seen.  The woman had been punched, beaten and kicked. There was extensive bruising on her head, breasts, face, shoulders, groin, thighs and legs. Her throat had been cut and she was almost decapitated.  The man with her, young enough to be her son, had taken one to the head and lay on the floor.  It looked like he was trying to run out through the French doors leading to the pool.  "Probably the pool boy," he quipped, not realizing until later how right he was.


Even though the Crime Scene Unit was taking their photographs and gathering evidence, Frank knew they weren't going to find anything more than they had at any of the others over the last five or so years, even with all the violence evident.  He was angry.  At what point did Darwin's Law enter into it?  He wondered what the next weekend would bring.

"You think we're going to find anything new, here?" he asked her, out of courtesy rather than interest.  He knew the answer, already.

"No, even if this is a mess... it's been the same since you left and now are back.  There's nothing to be found.  I can't explain it and neither can anyone else.  Whoever is doing this is very, very good... and very, very angry... especially, this time."

"I wonder if it was someone else.  Barbie, this feels different.  I don't mean the violence, just the way the scene feels... that's all."  He gave the room one last cursory glance and walked back into the hallway.  "This is just ridiculous, that's for sure.  I'm ready to go if you are."

Barbara looked at him.  "Always work this fast?"  She was surprised.  He was supposed to be the best, the only failure, if you could call it that, was his failure to catch the "Lonely Hearts Murderer."

"No, it's just what you said... there's no clues and why waste time, that's all.  Maybe the CSI guys will come up with something more, this time."

It took over an hour to return to the San Diego Navy Base. 

"I'll let you write this up," Frank said, "I've got to take care of some personal business."  Without waiting, he walked out, leaving her standing by the car, by herself.  It was not going to be easy, working with him, she discovered.  However, he was attractive, in a rugged sort of way and she was determined to find out just how rugged he really was.




Semper Fi Pt. 02



**********

Surprisingly, she saw him by accident, caught in another spring rain, his wet dark hair raked back by his fingers and his jet-black T-shirt clinging to every muscular curve of his chest.  This was the same man she had loved five years earlier?  It was impossible and yet, it was true.

Along with his new short back-and-sides haircut, his face had changed.  The planes of his face, his hazel eyes below his furrowed brow, they were still deep enough to drown in, although they, too, had changed... where they had been so very kind they were now cool, closed, guarded... and his face sported a thin scar down the left side.

But if everything else had changed, the mouth would have clinched it for her.  That mouth would have dragged her in all on its own.  The natural curve was just so kissable and the corners were forever turned with the hint of a private smile.

From deep down in places she had forgotten about, a mix of sensations and emotions dragged themselves to the surface.  Her reaction to him was out of practice but as it had been... inevitable... knee-weakening... and blinding.  So much so that her heart raced and she could hardly breathe.

She recognized how little her feelings meant in the grand scheme of things... the intense passion of new love that burned so hot with lust and then burned out so quickly with fear.  She hoped what she felt now was just a faint echo of years earlier but in her heart knew that wasn't the truth.

She remembered... his lips, gentle on hers... his tongue seeking out the taste and texture of her mouth... a wave of new sensations flooding through her... feeling his muscled body pressing against her own... fingers stroking her face... his mouth working its magic...  She fought her way back to reality, struggling against the growing intimacy of her memories.  

"Hello, Frank," she almost whispered yet shocked how loud it was, her hand going to the necklace he had given her a week before she broke up with him... the necklace she had never taken off once in all these lonely years.

His head snapped up; his eyes narrowed.  A moment later, they softened, lit from within, their hazel depths flickering with warm gold and beneath the oh-so-changed exterior he presented, he gazed back at her... and she all but melted as vivid memories of love and sex and comfort flew through her soul.

That last night... putting his hand behind her head... kissing her... saying her name... the parting of lips and the possession of her mouth... the slow, sweet kiss deepening and growing hotter as the moments passed... arms encircling... straining to hold her body... drowning in the pleasure of her mouth.

"Hello, Caitlyn."  His smooth, low voice washed over her like warm golden sunshine.  The five years since he had heard from her vanished as if it had been no more than five minutes, five seconds, five short moments.  "I would appreciate it if you would just leave me alone." he said.  "You sent me away."  You broke my heart.  He counted to ten in his mind.  "No such thing as romantic, everlasting love between a man and a woman?  Caitlyn, you're such a liar."

Frank remembered... he gave her what she was asking for, what she wanted, covering her breast with his hand and roughly caressing the nipple.  She shuddered as he rolled her onto her back as he bent his mouth to her breasts.  He slid his hand down over her hips and then between her legs.  A few gentle caresses and she was burning up from his touch, he knew it.  His mouth returned to her lips.  "Let me," he said, "let me make you happy."

"Me?  I'm a liar?  How dare you...?"  She WAS a liar, wasn't she?  She never told him she was pregnant, let alone that Kelly was his daughter... let alone that she loved him more than life itself... let alone she felt miserable every day of her life except for those moments with her little girl.

Her heart's response was broken by the buzzing vibrations of his cell phone.  He turned away and answered it, his voice switching to a more professional tone.  After a few moments, he put his hand over his phone and said, "It's my office... please, wait."

He continued to speak to someone, outlining how he wanted something done regarding an open case.  So, she surmised, he's still with NCIS.

Her self-consciousness returned.  She was worried that compared to her former self, she now looked too thin, too old, too tired, too... just, too.  She pulled out her compact and inspected her face... her eyes... for the lines of life.

She flashed back... "I want you to make love to me..."  He represented safety and security and an oblivion from the world she found herself in every day.  He caressed her breast and she felt her nipple harden under his touch as the ache returned between her legs...

Caitlyn tugged at her skirt, smoothed out her hair, ran a finger beneath each eye to make sure her eyeliner was even.  She sucked in her stomach, puffed out her larger 'I've had a baby' breasts and waited for her one-time lover, for the man she thought she'd live the rest of her life with, to return.

"Would you like some lunch?" she tentatively asked.  "Maybe, Claim Jumper's?"  It wasn't a coincidence she chose that restaurant.  It was the night of their first sexual encounter, the first of so many and its memory had been burned into her.

"So," he said, "we've done this before... you taking charge."  He shifted on one foot to the other.  "You always have to be the one responsible for everything... at work... and at love.  You see how well that's gotten you."

He got into his car, followed her over to the restaurant and after they had been seated and ordered, he asked her, "WHY am I here, Caitlyn?"

Her hands stopped moving on the tablecloth.  "I miss you, Frank."  How I've missed you, she cried inside... every damned day of my life.

He had no intention of letting her know the power she held over him, just by being there... so close.   "It's been over five years, Caitlyn.  Five, long, impossibly lonely years... how could you?"  His face fell in dejection. 

She must have sensed his insecurity but it might have been resentment... it might have been sadness... it might have been just grief over what might have been, what should have been.  Her face was as red as his.  

"Love is an illusion," he said, "that's what you told me."  The words felt rehearsed, as though he had repeated them a thousand times before... a million times before.

His glance shifted her way and all the armor in the word couldn't protect her from the heated look he gave her.  Her breath faltered... her skin warmed... and her libido, dormant all these years, stirred back to life.  He seemed to be as far from an illusion as possible and for the first time since the day started she was alive.

Caitlyn swallowed.  "Do you really believe that?" she asked.

"I do believe it," he said, hoping he meant it... knowing it wasn't true.  "That's what you told me; that's what you taught me."

Caitlyn shook her head and it was all he could do not to reach out to her, to help her with her pain, just as he would have years before.  How could he ignore the physical sensations he experienced when he was with her, even now?  All the more reason to be strong, he knew, and not let her do it to him, again.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Here?  You asked me to lunch."

"I mean, here..."

"All sorts of reasons... I live here."

Their food arrived and as the waitress set their plates down, Caitlyn lost her appetite.  She tried to smile, the corners of her mouth turning up for just a moment before sinking back down.

Frank grabbed a piece of bread, heavily buttering it.  He stared at their food.  How had she remembered exactly what they had eaten that night?  It was all too intimate... all too familiar... all too far from where he thought he'd be when he woke up in the morning.

But his physical hunger overruled his emotional conflicts so he began to eat but the bread stuck to his dry throat as the memories that it invoked came tumbling down upon him.  He left the remaining food on the plate and wiped the crumbs from his fingers. 

"How long have you been back, Frank?"

"A little over a month... maybe... six weeks... maybe, more or less... something like that."

Her heart broke.  All that time... it had taken all that time and they found each other by accident?  What cruel god had done that to her?  Despite her promise to be strong, it ached to think they had once been lovers and here they were engaging in useless conversation.

She thought back... she moved astride him, taking both his wrists in her hands and holding them to the pillow.  "We'll see," she whispered, "which one of us is in control..."

She snapped back to the present.  He made no apology and did not seem to even notice the awkwardness of the situation.  She was crushed and could feel a tear forming.

"It's taken me this long to get transferred back," he continued.  "I was filled with sadness that you would not tell me what happened to us.  What did I do wrong?"

He stopped talking and looked her over.  Caitlyn straightened up under his meticulous attention.  She had no answer for him.  "Frank... it's been five years.  Let it go."  Please... let it go... and yet, why did I ask him to eat with me?

"I can't," Frank said, sadly.  "After five years of nothing, after five years of not having the courtesy to let me know if you were dead or alive..."  Five years, he thought, of not knowing if you were healthy and happy... if you had moved on to other relationships... or if you missed me so much it hurt, just as you had hurt me?  He took another slow bite of his bread but his gaze held hers.

Caitlyn looked at him.  He had something more to say, she knew it.  She waited in agonizing anticipation for his questions.  She had no answers other than she had become frightened how fast their situation had evolved.  Cold feet...  

"Well, this is ridiculous.  We can't go on."  He made to leave.  "Was there someone else you wished to be married to?  I wasn't good enough?  Was that it?"  

She could see the pain on his face.  "No!"  She almost shouted, turning heads in the restaurant.  Caitlyn shook her head and pushed her hands in front of her face.

"So, what's the rush to get rid of me, again? ...considering you never answered my letters for the first three years, I gave up."

"You gave up?"  She couldn't understand what he was saying.  Letters?  What letters?

"What did you think I do?" Frank asked.  "You never answered."

She looked at him in shock.  "After you left, I realized how stupid I had been.  What was I supposed to tell people?  Oh, my lover has disappeared..." and I have to raise this baby by myself, she thought, no matter how much Garrett and Clara and Mellissa and Maria help but that's the breaks?  She started to cry, unable to tell him about Kelly.

"You never answered," he said.  "I had to get on with the rest of my life."  Who was I fooling?  I never got on with my life no matter how many times I tried.

She was silent but secretly overjoyed that he had tried to reconcile with her... for three years but... where had the letters gone?  "I never got them."  It sounded so stupid.  Why would he ever believe something like that?

It made him furious.  The hurt, the confusion and the loss he had undergone was more than what she had felt that he was sure of.  He had been all alone... for five long, lonely years as he fled his demon, staring at the ceiling every night with his empty heart in his empty apartment.

He pounded his hands on the table, stood up and walked to the door, his legs all but turning to jelly beneath him.  He looked her way one more time; his heart shattered as he saw her slump into the dining room chair and lower her head into her hands, but he had to leave.  It hurt too much to leave but it hurt more to stay.

**********

Caitlyn still felt miserable when she finally went home.  When she opened the door to her top floor apartment, Kelly was playing with Maria, Caitlyn's live-in maid and their kitten, Discard, for someone had left the calico-colored cat in the apartment dumpster two months earlier.  "Hey, baby doll," Caitlyn said, as her daughter ran to her, practically bouncing across the floor in her furry bunny slippers.

She picked the little girl up and took the elevator back down two flights until she came to her friend Clara's apartment.  She knocked on the door.  Her other 'girls' night out' friend, Mellissa, opened the door while chewing on a piece of honey-covered toast.

"Hey, Kelly," she said, touching the little girl's cheek.  "Hey, Caitlyn..."

"Hi, Mellissa....  I need someone to talk to."  Caitlyn entered and set her daughter down.

"Sure, let me get some food for our little girl, here, first," Mellissa said, walking into the apartment's kitchen.  A bowlful of Cheerios quickly went in front of Kelly, who ate them, one at a time with the promise of an orange if she finished it all.

"He was here, today," she said, warily.

"Who was here?" asked Clara, coming from the bedroom, drying her hair with a thick towel.  "Oh, no, you don't mean..."

"Yes.  Clara, what am I going to do?"  Oh, God, what AM I going to do?

The three women sat down on the living room couch, sipping white wine, wondering how this unexpected turn of events was going to change Caitlyn's life... change all their lives, really, as Frank came back into their little universe.

**********

Frank drove back to his San Diego apartment overlooking Mission Bay.  Walking in, he changed his clothes to sweats, went down to the fitness center and took out his frustration on the weights and the punching bag.  All the pain of five years ago came rumbling back.  What did he expect, though, coming back to San Diego?  Not to run into her, that was for sure. With over three million people living in San Diego County, what were the chances?  Maybe, he should have stayed in Honolulu where the nights were warm and the women took your mind off your troubles... even if all you did was look.

After the sauna, he was invited by that girl in 206 for dinner.  "Hey, handsome... I have steaks," she had said, "and you can barbeque them on the sundeck."

As pretty and friendly and willing as she was, he finally kissed her cheek and went to bed, alone.  Five years and nothing and now he had Barbara, Maria, the girl in 206 and now Caitlyn back in his life...

Did he still want Caitlyn?  There was still something there but she had broken his heart badly enough he had to leave, first to Seattle, then San Francisco, then Virginia Beach and finally Hawaii.  He did, he knew... and he didn't, he knew... and, he had Barbara to consider.  He really liked her and didn't want to hurt her.

**********

Chapter 10    You Were Always on my Mind


"How'm I going to get him back, Clara?  There's got to be a way."

"Oh, Honey, I don't know.  It's been a long time since you two were together.  Do you think he still cares?"

"If only you could see his eyes... I know that he cares and... still hurts.  Oh, God, I was such a fool.  The best thing that ever happened to me and I threw it all away."  Caitlyn began to cry.

Clara put her arm around her friend.  "Invite him to dinner, if not here, then a romantic restaurant.  Do it.  What have you got to lose?"

"What if it drives him further away?"

"Then, there's no hope, anyway."

**********

As much as it hurt him, Frank knew he had to avoid Caitlyn.  Five years was a long, long time and although his life had been empty all that time, the way she had dismissed him left a sour taste in his mouth and an emptiness in his soul.  He had spent all that time desperately trying to forgive her... to forget her... and yet, he couldn't for the life of him.

He remembered that last kiss, with one hand cupping the back of her head and the other moving slowly, deliciously down her spine.

*********

...he put his hand behind her head and turned onto his side.  He was about to kiss her when she said his name in a smoky voice that was even sexier than the moans she was always making.  Caitlyn parted her lips and waited; she felt the touch of his tongue, the brush of his lips and then, finally, the gentle possessiveness of his mouth.  The slow, sweet kiss they shared deepened and grew hotter as the seconds ticked by and when the kiss was no longer enough, their arms went around each other and they strained to get as close to each other as they could.

She startled away, sitting upright in bed.  What a dream!  She hadn't dreamt about him in months and now he was back in her mind... her heart... her soul.  Her body ached in loneliness.

**********

"It's me," Barbara said on the cell.  "There's been a possible break."

"I'll be right there," Frank said, "just give me a half-hour.  I'm almost done, here."

"Meet me at the admiral's house.  He's back, by the way."

Frank looked at his phone.  He hated being in constant touch with the world but realized it came with the job.  What other situation could let him travel around the world, see the sights and act like the Lone Ranger?  At least, in his own mind.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture Barbara in his mind, again as his hand moved its lazy journey back and forth.  The problem was, though, that Caitlyn kept intruding on his thoughts and he had a hard time deciding what he wanted.

He gave up, washed, dressed and left for Coronado.


"What's the big discovery, you couldn't tell me on the phone?" Frank asked.

"Look," Barbara said, pointing to the wall near the bed.  

His gaze drifted past her finger onto the blood-stained wall.  "What?"

"Right there," she said, carefully walking over.  "See this?  It's a different blood spatter.  There was a third person present."

"We know that.  The killer..."

"I don't think so.  I think there was a third... partier?  Is that a word?  It is now.  A third partier... who escaped."

"You're kidding..."  It was something that had never happened before... as far as anyone knew.  A survivor.  "Well, that's different."  He walked closer to the wall, his face only inches away from the spatter.  "How soon before there's a match?"

"He... or, she... might not be in the system... or, might be dead by now.  We don't know how much blood was lost... or, might be hiding so deep that we'll never find him... or her."

Frank was determined to find that third person, if for no other reason than to answer his own questions.


Two days later, a box-boy on cart duty found a dying man in a car parked behind a Safeway and convinced the store manager to call 911.  

To Frank and Barbara's disappointment, though, he had nothing to do with the murders and was the victim of a carjacking gone bad.

**********

Frank put another bite of the cheese biscuit into his mouth and followed it with a sip of iced tea.  "I'm for the shrimp salad," he said, putting the Red Lobster menu down.  "How about you?"

"I'll have the wood-grilled shrimp and rice," Barbara said.  "Give me one of those biscuits, will you? before you eat them all.  You act like you've never seen them, before."

He pushed the basket across the table to Barbara and looked at the desserts, making appreciative sounds as he appreciated each one.  

"This is going to go just it has for the last five years, probably longer.  It's like one of those quadratic equations... no solution."

"Quadratic equations?  You're comparing these murders to a math problem?  Well, I've got to admit you've got a strange way of looking at things, Frank."

"Barbie, what do you think?"

"I think that we're looking at some military vigilantes who've decided to take revenge on these cheating wives... and husbands."

"And we can't catch them because?"

"They're really good and they keep getting transferred out."  She chewed on a biscuit.




Semper Fi Pt. 02



"I knew you were smart.  I came to the same conclusion the last time I was here but couldn't get anyone to listen to me.  I don't think we're going to get any more this time, either.  There's too many personnel moving in and out of these bases.  Impossible to track each one down, especially considering that most of them are in the Middle East, now."

The waitress brought their food and left after filling his iced tea, again.  Of all the things that bothered him in restaurants, when they left his glass empty always bothered him the most.

"Let's talk about something else, shall we?" he asked.

"Sure, Frank, whatever you say.  What would you like to talk about?"

"Tell me about Hawaii," she said.  "I've never been there."

Frank looked at Barbara.  "You're kidding... never?"

"When I had the time, I didn't have the money and when I had the money, I..."

"Didn't have the time... I get it.  Life sucks, sometimes.  Well, it's about a five hour flight but the anticipation is really something, at least it was for me.  I stayed there a little over two years, close to Pearl.  A lot of it had to do with drugs and then there was that whole Al Queda situation."

"You were connected with that?  I didn't know my partner was such a hero."

"It... it wasn't anything that anyone else wouldn't have done, yourself included.  We all do our job, that's all."  Frank never liked talking about that incident.  His partner in Hawaii was dead because of a grievous mistake, causing him to ask for yet another transfer.  It seemed he was destined to be a vagabond, moving from one city to another over and over.

"Don't be modest, Frank.  That's not what we heard.  We just didn't know who was involved.  My God."

"Let's talk about something else, OK?"  He hated talking about that time and had seriously considered leaving NCIS altogether until he realized there wasn't much else he could do.  Putting tomatoes on a shelf wasn't enough.

"Sure, Frank, whatever you say."  She felt her face burn, knowing she had crossed an unwritten line.

**********

It was just a short drive over to Souplantation and before long they were sitting at a corner table near the windows.  

"I like this place," he said.  "I really missed it in Honolulu.  Lotsa rice there, though."

"There are a lot of other places, there, I mean," she said.

"Yeah, but it's like when people are on vacation and they can eat anything they want and they still go to McDonald's.  People like what they are used to."

"Is that right, Frank?  What do you like?"

He looked at Barbara, confused for a moment.  At one time, he would have said he didn't need another woman in his life, now or ever, he thought, and yet, there she was.  He tried to convince himself they only brought misery and grief.  What Caitlyn had done to him scarred him for many years and now, he had met her again.  Honestly, he thought, what did he expect?  As large as Southern California was, the law enforcement community wasn't all that big and it was inevitable they would cross paths, once again... which, they had.

And yet, he was sitting across from Barbara and was convinced he was falling for her, if not in love, exactly, then a good case of 'serious like.'

After his second trip to the bakery section, he looked at Barbara and asked, "Movie?"

"Sure, Frank.  Thanks.  I'm dying to see that new Transformers movie."

"What?"

"I guess I'm more than meets the eye, huh?"


**********

"Just close your eyes and relax," he said.

"Frank..."

"Shhh..."  He pressed his finger to her mouth to quiet her.  "Barbara, close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and he kissed each eyelid, his lips gentle and then he kissed her upper lip, her lower lip, the hollow of her throat.  She felt his hands on her, so slow but insistent, gliding between her breasts, over and around them and when they moved on her so easily, the last of her panic disappeared.

He lowered his mouth to her right breast, tasting, nibbling, licking a path to her nipple and as he sucked it, she felt a tightness deep inside her.  She felt a pull deep within her hips and in her soul and relaxed.

He loved one breast and then the other and when he stopped, she opened her eyes for he had moved away to look inside his nightstand, finally pulling out a handful of condoms.

His kisses were erotic and had nothing to do with that other part of him, the part that had frightened her so much last time.  She was in love with his heart, his mind, his humor and his kindness and before tonight, she would have never have imagined loving a man as much as she did him... the first man she'd me who cared enough to drag the truth from her so that she could heal.

He brought his hands to her thighs and she heard herself moan.  He was touching her, massaging her legs, kissing her knees, bending her knees, kissing her there.

The first touch of his tongue shocked her and she jerked up, stunned.  What was he doing?  How was she supposed to relax when he was kissing her THERE?

"Damn," she gasped and he knelt between her legs, his body bend over her, his eyes bright as he looked down at her.

She began to shake but not like before.  These shakes were deep inside her, hot and drawn out and pulling downward as the muscles in her thighs clenched almost painfully; her hips writhing and he put his hands on them to hold them steady.  She ached for him... she burned for him... everything was on fire for him.

And then, before she could comprehend what he was doing, how it made her feel, what it made her want, he rose up and thrust deeply within her in one move.

Her eyes flew open in shock and he peered down at her, his face just a kiss away.

"Yes..." she whispered, hardly able to her herself.

He withdrew and thrust again... and again... and again.  She felt the muscles of his body against her, the tension as he arched and flexed... the love glowing in his eyes, the passion burning in his soul and her own sharp need for him.  Each time he moved, she felt more.  Each time he filled her... each time he filled her.  She couldn't close her eyes... she wouldn't.  She had to see her Frank, know him, feel him on her and in her and all around her.

She wanted it to last forever and it was too much for all the throbbing, craving, desperate want and she was going insane... too much... too much.

Her last cogent thought was of her and him and this, this deluge of pleasure flooding through her and she heard Frank moan and then groan and his body pulsed inside her, his breath ragged as he held her tightly.  She brought her arms around him as he made the past disappear.

**********

Caitlyn had no idea why he agreed to dinner but she wasn't going to question her good fortune.

"Well, this will probably do it," said Clara.  "It's beautiful."

Caitlyn took the beaded dress and headed for the door, carrying the garment carefully into her bedroom to change.  She pulled the beaded chemise over her head, thrilled by its silky rustle and delicate feel.

When Clara had last worn this dress, had she been dressing up for a man she loved, imagining the startled admiration that would grow in his eyes when he saw her?

She smoothed the fabric over her hips, strapped on her pumps and slowly turned to look at herself in the mirror.

The effect was miraculous.  However Clara had gotten the dress, it was made for Caitlyn and fitted her perfectly.  It cradled her breasts, skimmed her hips and flirted with her knees.  Even the shoes hugged her feet.

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her.  "My God," said Clara, "you look positively magnificent."

Caitlyn felt embarrassed, looking at her bare shoulders.  "I can't possibly..."

"If you don't wear that dress, I'll never speak to you again."

"What will he think?"

"He'll think you're positively gorgeous, that's what he'll think."

"Your biggest worry is what he'll do when he sees you in that dress.  Try and not get it ripped up, too much."  She laughed.

Caitlyn looked at herself in the mirror, again, noticing the neckline of the dress, which was much lower and more daring than anything she had ever worn before.  But then, he had seen her naked, had made love to her, had touched her...

Unconsciously, she began to stroke the sinuous fabric that covered the warm, secret spot between her thighs.


Dinner was at his apartment.  Frank had grilled two steaks, pulled the potatoes and cherry pie out of the oven and the salad had been tossed.  While waiting, she had looked around his new 'home.'  It was a single bedroom apartment, with a nice living room overlooking the bay and as the sky darkened, the lights from Sea World shone like tiny stars in the blackness of night.

Dinner was quiet, each wondering what they were doing together after such a long time, again... after such an incredible time together and after such a sad end to their love affair.  She vowed not to tell him about Kelly.  If the reconciliation did not work, there was no reason to have him intrude on their lives and she refused to have him stay with her out of some misguided and forced sense of honor.  He was an honorable, decent man and she couldn't take the risk.

"The food is delicious," she said, breaking the silence.  "You're a fantastic cook."

"Thank you.  I like cooking.  I think men approach it differently from women.  Either they use the microwave or they really do a job on it."

"You can cook for me anytime."  She reddened, realizing what she had said.  "I..."

"It's all right, I know what you mean."  He looked down at his plate, face reddening.

"Frank..."  Her voice was suddenly anxious, unsure, timid.

"Yes, Caitlyn?"

"Do we have a chance?"  Oh, God, I said it, didn't I?

"Do we?  I don't know.  I'm sorta with someone, now.  It's been five years, Caitlyn, five long, lonely years.  That's why I asked you to dinner.  That's why I wanted to talk to you, tonight.  I... need to know.  I can't transfer, again.  I'm here and you're here and I don't want to live that way... avoiding you.  That's why I... uh, wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, Frank, I was so stupid... and scared."  Tell him the truth... tell him the truth.

"Scared?" He found that hard to believe.

"Suddenly, I just got scared.  I shoot people and look at dead bodies and I got scared."  She felt a huge, aching sadness that threatened to engulf her.

Frank stared into his wine glass.  "If somebody were to convince you it might be a good idea..."  And then, he thought of Barbara and what they had done.

Caitlyn gave him a thoughtful glance.  "Could you do that?  I want you so much.  Frank, I'm sorry.  We've lost all this time because of what I did."

Frank shrugged and waved a hand in dismissal.  "I've wanted you, Caitlyn.  I've wanted you from that first moment I saw you.  I'm just as guilty.  I stayed away."

She didn't know what to say.  "I..." she stammered.

"Come here," he said, "let me love you, again."  How can I do this, after Barbie?  What's going to happen with her?  He felt like he was going to burn in hell for what he was suggesting.

"What?" she asked, shocked at his sudden boldness.

He grinned.  "You know I still love you."  And, I have feelings for Barbie.  Ah, Jesus, I am SO screwed.

"I'd like to take it slowly... if it's to last.  I haven't..."  What am I doing, she asked herself.  He still loves me, he said, and I'm here, aren't I?  I know I want him, I'm just...

"If you ever had a baby, would you be a cuddly mother?"  He glanced at her, trying to judge her response.  He should have asked Barbara the same question, or was she just something to pass the time, pleasurably?

Where had that question come from?  She was confused.  Had Garrett told him about Kelly?  She stared back at him, feeling her secret was out in the open.

"Oh, yes," she said.  "Absolutely, I'm a... I mean, when..."

"What?" he asked when she paused, even more confused.

"Nothing," Caitlyn said, painfully embarrassed.  "I was just thinking how much I'd like to hold a baby.  Your baby."

Frank obviously sensed something in her voice because he watched her in silence for a moment, then set his glass aside and came over to sit next to her on the sofa.  He touched her shoulder.

"It's OK, Caitlyn," he said.  What else could he say?

She tried to smile but was just as ready to cry.  "Maybe I should go back to my own apartment so we can both get some sleep."

He held her close and kissed her neck.  "Sorry, not interested in that idea."

Caitlyn tried to keep her voice under control, keep it casual.  "How about..."

He pulled her to her feet, then slipped a hand inside her dress and touched her breast.  "I'm interested in this..."  He caressed her nipple with a light, tantalizing touch, ashamed that all thoughts of Barbara were fleeing from his mind.

In the midst of an overwhelming physical desire for him, she also felt a flood of fear.  What if he's toying with me, just to get even?  It would destroy me.  He said he's with someone else... sorta... I don't care.

Then his mouth was on hers, hard and searching, and she couldn't say anything more.  She was lost in his kiss, drowning in passion, unable to think of anything but the pleasure of being in his arms, once more and the raging desire to make love to him.

"Come on," he said, catching his breath.  "Let yourself go.  Don't fight it, Caitlyn.  Just give in to what you're feeling."

She nestled close to him, shaking her head against his chest.

"It's safe for you to feel," Frank said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You could but I'm too weak to care."

"Weak?" he said in disbelief, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her toward his bedroom.  "A homicide detective?  You're one of the strongest persons I've ever known."

She tried to laugh but her voice broke into a sob.  "If you only knew..."

"I will know, Caitlyn.  It's just a matter of time.  I intend to know everything about you, to never have you send me away again... to never leave you."  He placed her on the bed and settled next to her, gazing into her eyes in the dim light from the living room.

"I don't believe it," she said.  "I think you're just going to make love to me tonight and then be on your way."  And, I don't care... I don't care... I don't care.

"Why would I do that, when you're all I've ever wanted?  I've stayed alone all this time; I never got over you."

"Look," she said, "you don't have to say things like that.  I'll stay with you, tonight.  You already have me.  Just don't lie to me."

He reached out to cup her chin and stare deeply into her eyes.

"Caitlyn," he said, quietly.

"What?" she asked, uneasy under his steady gaze.

"I care about you.  I love you.  I always have."  I just have another girlfriend, that's all.

"Don't say that.  It's impossible."  No matter how much I want it to be true.

"It's the truth.

"You can't possibly love me... after all that I've done."

"I know exactly how I'm feeling," he said.

"But if you really knew..."

"What?"  He took her into his arms and began to kiss her intently, his lips moving over her face and neck, her eyes and throat and breasts.

"If you knew all about me... and what I've done, you wouldn't feel that way."

"Just try me."  With a lingering kiss, he began to finish undressing her.

She lay silently, biting her lip and was alarmed to find her inhibitions vanishing a little more with each button released.

"This is a whole lot sexier than a zipper."

He pulled the buttons on his shirt, tugged it off and then gathered her into his arms again.  By now, she had on only her panties and the warmth of his bare skin against her naked breasts was a wonderful, breathtaking sensation.

She reached over, touched the bulge of his pants and pulled his zipper down and then watched as he stood and stripped off the rest of his clothes.

"You're just the way I remembered," she said as she stared at his body in the shadows of the room.

There was a little gray to his hair, just a touch, but the hair on his chest was still as dark as always and ran in a line down his stomach to surround his powerful erection that took her breath away just as it had five years earlier.

Frank drew her into his arms and pulled at her panties.  "You wouldn't think so if you saw all the scars I have."

Caitlyn kicked her legs free of her panties and then moved closer to him, running her fingers across his chest.  "I'm sorry."

He ran his fingers up and down the length of her body following the curve of her waist and hips and luscious ass with loving care.

She shivered at his touch.  "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she barely said.

"I told you I'd never hurt you."  He stopped, not wanting to bring up ancient wounds.  He especially didn't want to think about Barbara.

He thought back to their last time together when she had said, "You will.  I know you will."

"How can something like this be hurtful?" he had asked.  He had kissed her mouth with such passion and then knelt beside her to run his mouth across her breasts and stomach.

His reverie disappeared as his mouth and hands began to drive her wild.  She had never known a lover like this man, so utterly committed to her pleasure and since he had left, there had been no one else.

She had only been faintly aware of the moment when he rolled away to find a condom from his pants and realized that she hadn't even thought of something like that.

She reached for him, his hands and mouth seeking blindly in the dim light.  When he entered her, she was sad because it meant their lovemaking would soon be over, along with this wild abandon... this wild emotion.

And all the while his hands and body were loving her, he whispered loving things in her ear... words of tenderness and his caresses were bring her over and over again to the brink of climax and then leaving her wild with hunger.

"Frank," she moaned, she pleaded, tugging at his hair and biting his neck in an agony of need.

"Trust me," was all he said.  "You're almost there."  And suddenly, he was right.  She reached the very lip of the crater, hesitated for a long, terrified moment and then let herself fall into a place where she was consumed by fire.

After a long time, she stirred and moved in his arms, loving the spent, heavy feel of his body on top of hers.

Caitlyn wrapped her arms around him jealously, holding him above her and inside her.  "I never want you to move."

Gradually, she came back to her senses and realized she had spoken the truth.  It was both intensely sweet and intensely sad.  She loved him, always had and always would.

He rolled off her and gathered her tenderly in his arms, holding her close and kissing her neck.  "Do you feel all right?"

"I feel wonderful," she could barely say but her mind was in turmoil.  What would he say... what would he do... when he found out he was a father.

Futility washed over her, accompanied by shame, remorse and a terrible sadness.  The tears began to fall.  Soon, she began to cry in his arms.

He held her for a long time, patting her back and supplying tissues until her sobs subsided.

"Now," he quietly said, "do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

She shook her head.  How could she tell him she was crying over lost opportunities... wasted opportunities and a love squandered because she had been so careless with their love?  But most of all, she was crying for their little girl who had lived without the love of her father.

What if he didn't want a child?  Just because he was a considerate, tender lover didn't mean he wanted to be a father... no matter what he had said.

"What are you thinking?"  He leaned up on his elbow to touch her face and stare down at her intently.  "What's on your mind?"

"I've got to tell you something.  I'm thinking you won't want to do this again."

"We'll do this every night.  Move in with me... and as far as not wanting to do this again..."




Semper Fi Pt. 03



Copyright by calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011


Chapter 14 Our House...


A house is not a home unless you share it with the person you love or so he'd been told.

They wandered around the Zoo as Kelly tried to name the different animals.  Frank finally sat down on a bench, needing a break.  A four-year-old child somehow had more energy than any adult he had ever seen until she fell asleep.

"Disneyland?" he asked.

"Are you crazy?" she answered.  "Disneyland?  My God, she'll go..."

"Crazy?  Sorry, I couldn't help it.  When are we getting married, Caitlyn?"

"I had to make sure that you wouldn't freak out... you know... with her."

"Are you kidding?  I've never had so much fun in my life."  It was true.  He had forgotten the simple pleasures of life, all these years... the joys of childhood... the joys he had once upon a time.

"Yeah, but Frank, life isn't all amusement parks and zoos.  There's other things, too.  Staying up all night with a sick child and kissing her hurts and worrying about her every second she's not in your sight and even then... and, she's just four.  What happens when she's older and there's boys involved?"

"We've got guns."

"Frank, I'm being serious."

"So am I, Caitlyn.  I love you and I love her and it's been long enough."

"Where will we live, Frank?  I'm still in Oceanside and you're here in San Diego."

"As much as I like this apartment building, I'll move or we can buy something in-between or something, like Del Mar.  We can work this out."  We've got to make this work.  I've got to make this work... for Kelly... for Caitlyn... for me.

"Are you sure?"

"As much as I have been about anything."

"Church or civil?"

"What do you want?  Church would be nice.  We've got a flower girl."

"Oh, Frank..."

**********

The real estate agent, in her yellow and white spotted dress, walked through the condo, pointing out the view from the front window.  "You can see the ocean from here," she said, "and I'm sure you can agree that two-forty is quite reasonable."  There were only a few condos left but the economy had hurt real estate, everywhere.  This unit had been available for months and her Lexus lease payment was coming due... again.

"Only eight-hundred-and-fifty square feet, though," Frank said, wondering how Kelly would like living in such a small apartment.  There didn't seem enough room for all the toys he wanted to buy her, let alone the Victorian dollhouse he planned to build.  He got down on his knees and looked closely at the carpet, finally getting up after running his fingers through it over and over.

"Yes, that's true," said the agent, "but the beach is only five minutes away, the schools are excellent and there's the pool, don't forget."  This sale was taking longer than she had hoped... maybe, they would go away empty-handed, like her other three clients.  Time to think positive, she realized and determined to push a little harder.

He stood there, looking.  There was no yard to play in but the beach WAS only five minutes away and there was a park... it had definite possibilities.  Day care, though...

Frank walked through the condo, again.  The two bedrooms were about normal for California, thirteen by eleven, which meant only a full sized bed would really fit.  On the other hand, he thought...

He looked at Caitlyn.  "Give us a little bit, please," he said to the agent.

"Of course," she said, walking outside, satisfied, now, they were going to buy.

"What do you think?" he asked, pacing the beige carpeted living room area.  He wondered if there'd be room for another child.  Probably not without moving...

"Well, it's only two-fifty and it is halfway..." she started to say, looking out the window at the pool three floors below, its blue water shimmering the reflection of the afternoon sunshine.  Her apartment building didn't have a pool and she'd always been too busy to go to the beach.

"Do you want to look at something else?" he asked, wondering if there WAS anything else.  The price was doable with plenty left over each month to live a good life together.  

"What about Maria?" she asked.

"Oh, Jesus, I forgot.  Does she even want to come?  What are we going to do?"

"Yes, we've already spoken.  Find something bigger, I guess."

"OK, then we'll see what else there is."  Frank walked out the door to speak with the agent.

"Well..." she said, "there's two others in this complex, three bedrooms each, one at three-twenty five and the other at three-thirty."

"Fine, let's take a look."


Caitlyn turned slightly and gazed at the Pacific below the bluffs through the wide, white blind slats.  "No, this is the fourth place we've looked at and everything else costs way too much and isn't much bigger."

"So, you're good?"  For the first time in his life, home was going to be more than where he hung his hat... if he had a hat.

Caitlyn looked at Kelly sitting quietly on the floor, playing with her bear, giving it some 'tea'.  God forbid, she thought, anything happens to that bear, Kelly takes it everywhere.  "Kelly?"

"Yes, Mommy?"

"Would you like to live here?"

The little girl looked around the condo as was quiet, again, thinking.  "Daddy live with us, too?"

"Yes, Baby, we're all going to live together, forever."

She put up her arms to be held.  "Good.  Daddy, can I swim?"

"I'll teach you, Sweetheart.  All right, then, I guess we're home."  He took Caitlyn into his arms and kissed her, tenderly and once only.  As much as he wanted to, there was Kelly to consider.

"New furniture?" she asked.

"Of course... and a gun safe."

**********

The rest of the week was spent ordering furniture.  Full size bed, two nightstands, two dressers... white tiled table and four chairs, sofa and love seat and coffee table and a 60 inch flat-screen... twin beds and dressers...

"Es muy bonito," said Maria, looking at the new kitchen.  "Puedo cocinar mucho comidas de bien aquí."  She walked over to the stove and opened the oven door.  "Muchas enchiladas..."

"Well, she's happy," Frank remarked.  "I guess we'll be eating pretty well."

"Don't think that doesn't mean you're not taking me out to dinner, every now and then."  Caitlyn laughed.  

"Breakfast in bed..."

"Shh... she'll hear you."

"Ha ha ha ha haaaa... that's too funny.  Maria?"

"¿Sí, señor?"

"¿A qué hora es cena?"

"No hay nada aquí."  She looked at Frank, wondering if he was loco.

"Maria, juego con te.  C'mon, let's go out to dinner."  He scooped up Kelly and held her close, tucking her in his arms.  "Who's little girl are you?"

"Yours, Daddy... you're silly."

"Este el viernes, nosotros estamos en casa," said Maria, a huge smile on her face.

They drove toward the freeway to Bellisario's Pizzeria.  After they walked in, the door stayed open and Frank went back to close it.  On the walls were New York Giants and Yankees' jerseys which didn't surprise him... but he was becoming a Chargers' fan so he did make a comment about something or other.

He ordered a medium pepperoni and a Greek salad and was surprised when the woman came outside to yell their food was ready.  Considering they were in Southern California, the attitude rankled him but the pizza made up for the rudeness.  Maybe, they were taking the New York lifestyle just a bit too far, he thought.  Definitely going to be a take-out place for them...

It took almost an hour to drive back to Oceanside but he kissed Caitlyn and Kelly goodnight and then made the long drive back to San Diego.  The morning came early enough, as it was.

**********

Caitlyn sat on the edge of the desk.  "Garrett, I'd like you to, uh, give me away," she said.  "You're the closest one I've got..."

"So, you finally woke up and let him catch you... or, is it the other way around?"

She blushed.  "Does it matter?"

"No, not really, as long as it's for the right reasons.  It's been five years and he still loves you.  That's got to be a record.  When?"

"As soon as possible.  I've got plenty of time saved up and so does he... and we're caught up, here."  She closed her files down and shut her laptop.

"I'd be glad to.  Remember, I told you..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know.  You were right."

**********

Even with the death of the admiral's wife, lacking additional evidence and without any viable suspects, it soon became a cold case like all the others as Frank became more involved with the approaching wedding.

In the intervening weeks, Frank and Barbara caught a chief petty officer who embezzled seventy thousand dollars and a gang of gun runners who had infiltrated the Corps while Caitlyn and Garrett caught a liquor store robber-turned-killer and an attempted car-jacker who had shot a mother of two.

**********

Chapter 15     M-I-C...K-E-Y... M-O-U...S-E


A sexy, winsome smile played at the corners of Garrett's mouth and set Barbara's heart on fire.  As they walked along, he teased her, making her laugh.

"Laugh if you like," he said.  Her attitude amused him.

"I'm not laughing at you, but you make me smile a lot," she admitted.  She looked at him with a thoughtful expression.  "Maybe, that's why I'm here."

"Maybe," he replied, his gaze still locked on hers.

When he looked at her, he made her feel warm.  She couldn't look away and watched, mesmerized, as his gaze wandered over her face, studying her... liking what he saw... finally dropping to her lips.

"You know, you're very lovely.  Beautiful, actually."

Men speaking about her looks always made her uncomfortable, mostly because she never could find herself believing them.  She felt herself flush with embarrassment but he sounded like he meant what he said.

"You're not here just because of my looks, are you?" she timidly asked.

"To be honest, I didn't even pay that much attention to what you looked like when I met you."  It sounded trite but she felt he was telling the truth.  "Now that I have, let's just say that I'm overwhelmed."  He gave her a toothy grin.  "And... you blush when I tease you."

She opened her mouth to protest but before she could say a thing, he reached out and touched her cheek.  He was about to kiss her, she knew it and her breath caught in her throat.  He couldn't kiss her, not here, not now.  She looked back at Caitlyn and Frank but couldn't move away from Garrett and as his hand stroked her cheek and his thumb swept over her full bottom lip, instead of moving away, she moved closer, so close she felt the heat of his breath on her skin and when his long fingers worked their way through her curly hair, urging her closer, she reached up to his face with her own hand and lightly touched him.  His mouth covered hers... his lips were warm, his touch persuasive.

She thought to pull away but the sensation of his mouth on hers was too much.  There was nothing hesitant in his kiss.  His lips moved over hers, savoring her response and persuading her to give him more and more.  His arms wrapped around her and his tongue slipped into her mouth and she heard herself give a small moan of pleasure, a sound that encouraged him even more.

She knew she had to stop... they were in the middle of Disneyland! but she couldn't stop herself.  All her hesitations and doubts about him disappeared with her compelling attraction to him.  

Their attraction had simmered below the surface from the day they had met and now had exploded in the Magic Kingdom like the fireworks that flew when the park closed.

Barbara couldn't reason, couldn't protest, couldn't stop kissing him or resist the pleasure of him kissing her.  They had moved to another place and were separated from the real world around them even as so many tourists walked around them, watching and laughing.

She leaned her head back and felt him hold her shoulders.  Her mouth opened under his and the kiss deepened, rising in intensity and hunger as her fingers glided across his chest, feeling the heat through the cloth of his shirt.

She pulled her mouth from his and her head dropped to his shoulder.  She felt too weak to pull away from him but knew it was impossible to stand there as everyone walked around them.  She was shocked and amazed it had gone as far as it had.

"Garrett seems to like your partner," said Caitlyn, watching her partner and Barbara finally walk along Main Street toward the Castle, oblivious to the world around them.

Frank, having learned his lesson at Sea World and the Zoo, was pushing Kelly in a stroller that seemed intent on pulling to the left.  He had that strange feeling, caught between heaven and hell, of a man who had loved a woman and seeing her with someone else.  If it worked, then good for her... and, Garrett.  Why did he feel jealous?  He felt confused as his face reddened, remembering the nights he had shared with Barbara.

"Uh, yes, I suppose he does," he said, quietly.  Ever since he had returned to Caitlyn, his relationship with his partner had been strained.  No matter what she did, no matter how professional she tried to act, it was always there...the way he held her gaze when she had smiled... the way he looked at her when he thought she wouldn't notice.  He tried to think she didn't know how he had felt but couldn't bring that about.

Kelly's hand snuck up along the side of the stroller sunshade.  "Daddy?  Can I have some ice cream, please?"

"Sure, baby, just wait a minute, OK?"

"OK, Daddy."

Up ahead was a vendor and he bought ice cream bars for everyone before heading to Fantasyland.  Peter Pan, Casey Jones, and the obligatory visit to the gift store for Mickey Mouse ears took up the next hour, followed by the even more obligatory ride on the obnoxiously sweet Small World boats.  At least, it was cool and dark... and then they went to the maddening Toontown.

Frank thought back to when he had first gone to Disneyland in the early 80s with his parents.  The park seemed so much more fun but now he was looking at it from an adult's eyes.  He wondered if his parents had felt the same way when they took him around the park, themselves.

"You look cute, Frank," said Barbara, looking at his Donald Duck shirt.  "It matches your personality."

"Uh, thanks, Barbie... Barbara."  He didn't know whether to laugh or not and hoped that Garrett wouldn't break her heart like he had... he wondered if he HAD broken her heart.  Probably not, he thought.  She seemed happy enough with Garrett's attentions.  He didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that revelation.  His love life had always been a series of missed opportunities and 'what might have beens.'

Frank looked at Caitlyn and then his little girl, knowing where his future lay.  Time to quit worrying about what might have been, he knew, and take care of what will be.  He just wished he could shake his feelings about the situation.

"I don't know about you but I need some real food in me and soon," said Barbara, "and none of this fast food junk here in the park.  Let's take the Monorail over to the hotel and eat there."

"All right," said Caitlyn, feeling the same way, knowing full well how little girls became cranky once their stomachs started demanding attention.

Garrett looked at Barbara.  He wanted to kiss her, to taste her, to savor the way she would kiss him back, her lips soft and warm beneath his, her tongue slipping with his.  He wanted to feel her body against his.

Garrett smiled.  He never double-dated before and was enjoying himself immensely.  He wondered, though, why Frank kept watching them as he had.  Maybe he was being protective of his partner, just as he was about Caitlyn.  

In Caitlyn's case, though, the existence of Kelly put a completely different spin on the situation.  He hoped it would work out, this time.  Caitlyn had made such a bad mistake, last time.

"Garrett?" said Barbara.

"Huh?  I'm sorry, I must have zoned out for a second."

She pulled him over to the side, near the steamboat.  "Let's have dinner at the Blue Bayou... you and me.  We can meet them later, somewhere."

"Uh, yeah, sure.  That would be nice."

She took his hand and tugged him in the direction of New Orleans Square and eventually they were seated just a short distance from the small white boats floating toward the pirates down below.  Surrounding them were the twinkling 'fireflies' and the sounds of crickets and frogs from the twilight swamp.

"What would you like, Barbara?" Frank asked, looking at the menu.  My God, he thought, the prices in this place!

Barbara was looking at her menu.  She didn't realize the restaurant would be so expensive.  "I guess," she answered, "it takes a lot to keep Mickey in business.  Why don't you choose, Frank?"

Frank looked at her and made a decision as the waiter approached.  "Two surf and turfs, please," thinking it had been a while since he'd had lobster for dinner.  Besides, why would he want to be that way with her?  What difference would twenty bucks make, anyway?

"How would madam like her filet?" asked the waiter.

"Medium rare, please," Barbara replied.  She handed the menu to him and sipped her iced tea just a bit.  "Thank you, Garrett," she said, her voice sultry and almost in a whisper.  She batted her eyes for a moment, making him think of what they used to call 'bedroom eyes.'

"You know," Garrett said, as the waiter walked away, "I've really enjoyed myself today and..."

"Me, too."

"And, I'd like to see you again, that is, if you'd like."  He realized, finally, that living alone was destroying him and the hurt his ex-wife had given him was needing to be put away, as far as possible.  It had been almost twenty years, he recognized, and his life had been so empty for what?  For nothing...

She looked at him and made a decision.  "Yes, I'd like that very much."  She put her hand out across the table and he took it in his, putting his other over hers and slowly, gently caressing her long fingers.  "I like your hair," he said, filling the silence that had descended between them.  God, he thought, I sound like a schoolboy.

With her other hand, she touched her hair.  "Thank you.  My friends told me I needed to be 'out there' a little more."

"I think it's wonderful."  He kept her hand in his, not wanting to let her go.  A little older than she, he was thinking of wanting someone to spend the rest of his life with.  Barbara, he thought, was quiet yet funny and intelligent and pretty for her age.  He fantasized coming home to her in the evening and having dinner and then going to bed with her.  He colored crimson, feeling himself becoming aroused at that sight in his mind.

"Yes," he declared, "I think it's wonderful."

Their food arrived and although he glanced up and smiled at her, they became quiet, wondering if what they had agreed to was the best idea they ever had or a disaster waiting to happen.

They both started to talk at once.

"No," Garrett said, laughing, "ladies, first."

"Are you planning on staying with the department?"

"I've got a couple more years and then I can retire.  It gets old, after a while and it's so depressing."

"I see," she said.  "NCIS is at least full of surprises.  We cover so many different things.  Have you ever thought of maybe... changing?"

He was silent for a moment.  "Not until just this second... don't they have rules about... you know?"

"No."

He dipped another piece of lobster into the butter and then, on a whim, offered it to her.  She opened her mouth and sensuously closed her lips around his fork, taking the delicacy from him.  She made a wide smile.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I was thinking of something else."

"Oh.  OH!"


Dinner went its inevitable way and Garrett was seriously considering getting a room at the hotel, even if just for an hour but he wanted their relationship, if there was indeed going to be one, to be built on more than just a wild time beneath the sheets. 




Semper Fi Pt. 03



"Dessert?" he asked.


Later that evening, they rode the steamboat around the island, watching the log cabin eternally burn and the sounds of the Indians piped out from hidden speakers.  He wondered what she thought, seeing the 'glory' of the South put forth to everyone as just good fun.  He glanced at her, her face lit up by the fireworks shooting through the sky high above the castle, the colors reflected by her dusky skin.

Maybe, he wondered, taking the stupid boat ride wasn't such a good idea, after all.  And then, she turned and smiled at him and leaning over, kissed him... not a friendly kiss but one that promised more in the future.

Garrett's cell buzzed.  "Hello, Caitlyn."

"Garrett, we were thinking... it's kinda late and even if we left now, it would take forever to get home.  How about we get some rooms here and spend the night and leave tomorrow?"

"Are you sure you can even get something this late?"

"I already called and put a hold on two.  Is that all right with you?"

"Why don't you speak with Barbara?"  He passed over the phone to her and stepped away a few feet, letting her have enough privacy to speak her mind.  From the corner of his eye, he watched as her face broke into a smile.

"We're spending the night," she said, matter-of-factly.  "You get to share a room with Frank."

"With Frank..."

"Hahahaaaaa... just kidding, silly.  


The way he looked at her made her heart race.  It had been a long time since any man had given her such appreciation... and Garrett wasn't just any man, he was an extraordinary person.  The more she learned about him, the better she felt about her decision to sleep with him.

He stared at her, hungrily, and she felt herself softening like a chocolate bar left in the sun.  She leaned toward him, staring at his mouth, hoping to kiss him again as he picked her up.

Carrying her into the room, Garrett closed the door with his foot and the noise from the hallway receded at once.  Barbara looked at the room... a large king bed, a table and two chairs, a television on a dresser and a bathroom leading off to the right.

"First, a bath," he said, carrying her into the smaller room.

Barbara thought she couldn't wait to slide into the warmth of a bath, washing the dirt of the park off her skin, off her hair.  Garrett set her down on the toilet and turned to the bath; she heard the water gushing out.  

"I don't want you drowning in here, especially now," he said, pouring some bubble bath into the warming water and the bathroom filled with the fragrance of roses.

Garrett's arms went around her, pulling her toward him.  "I've thought about you all day," he whispered, quietly, "wondering where've you been all my life and why I couldn't have met you years before."

His hand moved up her back and she felt the long zip slide down.  He carefully peeled the clingy material from her body and the dress slithered to the floor.  She felt him start to push the straps of her slip down over her arms.  His amber eyes held hers while he slowly slid her slip down over her breasts, her waist, her hips... until it, too, fell to the floor.

Almost hypnotized, staring deeply into his eyes, she gave herself up to the intense pleasure of feeling him look at her, touch her.  She had had dreams like this, where a lover had touched her, naked, kissed her... in her waking moments she wouldn't let herself remember but now the dream emerged into the light, was really happening with someone that affected her like no other lover... it wasn't a fantasy, no matter how much time they had spent in Fantasyland.  She trembled and couldn't breathe.

He unsnapped her bra and let it fall and then she felt the slow, warm brush of his fingertips on her breast; her nipples hardened, dark chocolate in color and stinging with sensation.

"Garrett," she whispered.

He looked into her eyes.  "Tell me you want me... tell me you like it..."

His hand travelled on, stroking her stomach; he slid it inside her now wet panties and she gave a little moan.  The panties were gone; she was naked and he was looking at her body in a way that made her skin hot, unbearably hot.  She turned her face into his chest, shuddering.

His hand covered the back of her head, running through her large, dark curls; he stroked her hair, moved his cheek against it... she felt a pleasure so sharp that a groan rose from deep within her.

"I want you," he said, "forever." 

A moment later, she was in the bath, covered by the warm, bubbly water.  

He was naked, now, the strong, athletic body moving toward the bath.  And then, he was in the water with her, a tsunami pushing back and forth from him to her.  The floor and all their clothes were wet.

His legs touched hers, one on either side of her and she felt the muscled thighs moving against her.  She watched his mouth move saying something she couldn't hear... a mouth that made her heart beat with a strong, hot pulse.

Garrett shifted his position; his thighs moved in closer to her, enclosed her firmly, rubbing softly against her.  She knew what she would see if she looked down into the bath.

"Don't forget to wash your hair," he said and got up.  For a moment, she though he was getting out of the tub but he reached for the shower attachment on the wall and then stood over her, directing it down on her head.

She laughed and with water running down her face, tried to grab the shower head from him but he moved it away and then opened the small bottle of shampoo that was sitting on the shelf.  He tipped the creamy liquid into his palm, knelt down and began rubbing it into her hair, kneeling in front of her, his strong fingers massaging her head.  She shut her eyes, as much to stop seeing his erection near her face as to protect her eyes from the soap bubbles trickling down her face.

He rinsed the shampoo off, washed his own hair and then toweled her hair dry.  She stood up. 

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?" he asked, dropping the towel onto the floor by their wet clothes and caught her by the waist and pulled her back into the water, this time on top of him, her body between his parted legs.

"oooooo," she whispered as she felt his hands sliding over her bare skin, his chest behind her back, his body moving against hers, his erection pressing against her butt.

His lips moved against her ear, saying nothing that she could understand.

He picked up a bar of soap and began washing her slowly, rhythmically, methodically... first her shoulders, her arms, then softly over her breasts while she tremble and closed her eyes.  His hand moved on down and she cried out in wonderful surprise.

"OOOOOO..."  It was an instinctive response... a mindless response to unbearable pleasure.

As his fingers invaded, she shook violently.  He closed his hands on her waist, lifted her and spun her around, lowered her again and she found herself looking into his dark golden eyes.

He began soaping her back, her butt, her legs in that slow, exploratory fashion while he watched her face.

"God, you're beautiful," he whispered and then lifted his face until their mouths met.

He excited her, she couldn't deny it, thank God, more than anyone had ever done before.  She kissed him back, hungrily, her blood singing in her ears, giving in to the urge that had gripped her ever since she saw him taking off his clothes.  His touch was so different from any other's and she realized there would never be another for her.  

She belonged to him, body and soul... from the moment they had met, she now understood.  She didn't want anyone else.

She wanted him so badly... she touched him with shaky hands, caressed his broad shoulders, the deep, muscled chest, ran her fingers downward until she heard Garrett draw a long, sharp breath.

In their entanglement, they forgot where they were, their bodies tangled together, shifting eagerly, coming closer, sliding deeper into the water.

It was only when the water came up over their faces that they broke apart, laughing.

"The water's getting cold," he said, his voice thick with desire.

He got out first and watched her rise from the water, her dark skin glistening, wet like a mocha Venus.  His hand closed around hers, his fingers strong and warm.  "The minute I saw you," he said, "I knew I wanted you.

She knew it had happened to her, just as instantly.  She could try and deny it but why and recognized he could feel the fierce racing of her pulse under his fingertips.

"What do you want, Barbara?"

"You... I want you so much right now, it hurts just to breathe."

She slipped her arms up his chest, sending sparks of heat shooting through his body.  "Make love to me, Garrett.  Make love to me and make me forget there were any other men in my life, ever.  Make love to me until all I can remember, all I can think about, is you."

Reaching up, she pressed her mouth against his.  It was the sweet, slow kiss of a temptress.  A kiss of hunger... a kiss of need... and for a quick second, he held himself back, trying to regain control.

But then she traced his lips, moving that wet, pink tongue across the seam of his mouth and the last of his tenuous control disappeared.  It exploded inside him.  He pulled his mouth away just long enough to pull in a breath and try and regain whatever sanity he had left.

"Make love to me," she whispered.

He dipped his mouth down for another taste.  One kiss became another and then another.  Hot, wet kisses that grew and grew... he could kiss her forever and forever... for a lifetime.

"Touch me, Garrett."

She didn't have to ask him twice and he slid his fingers down her tall body, past the curve of her breasts and along the arc of her waist.  He cupped her butt and then retraced his journey, caressing and exploring once again.  She was silky smoothness, sweetness and sin...

He wanted her fast and hard, slow and sweet and he drove his tongue into her mouth.

Her tongue moved with his and as he stepped back, his breath caught at the sight of her naked body before him.  She arched her back, filling his hands with her sweet-smelling skin.

Her fingers found his erection, closed around him and he groaned.  "I want you inside..." she murmured.

And, it was where he wanted to be and lifting her, he carried her to the turned down bed and laid her down onto the sheets.  He moved between her thighs.

Garrett reached for the condom he had found sitting on the nightstand but she said, "No... just do it," and he couldn't wait any longer.  He entered her in one, long, deep stroke.

She gasped his name and he struggled to hold back, afraid for a moment that he had hurt her but then she was arching her back, once again, against him, her nails biting into his skin as her body moved with his and she took him deeper inside her.

He gave her everything but held himself back, waiting, watching, wanting to see her face when the first climax hit her, wanting to hear his name one her lips when it did.

"Garrett..." she cried out as the climax slammed into her and made her shudder in his arms.  He latched his mouth onto hers, devouring her with his tongue and teeth and he drove himself harder, faster, deeper inside her.  And when he felt her begin to shudder again, felt his body explode as the climax hit him and he said, "I love you."

**********

Barbara woke to the sound of water and singing.  She pulled up the blankets and was struck by aches in places she didn't even think she could hurt.

She closed her shut and thought back on those wild, crazy hours she had spent in Garrett's arms the night before.  She thought she had known what to expect from sex... after all, she wasn't a virgin without any experience but nothing in any relationship she had ever had prepared her for making love with Garrett.  She smiled as she recalled her response to him.

And... he told her he loved her.

"No regrets?" he asked, standing there in the bathroom entryway.

"Who said I had regrets?"  She had no regrets... how could she regret what was the most incredible experience of her life?  "If we choose to have an affair, it's no one's business except ourselves."

"An affair?  Is that what you see this is?"

"Don't you?" she asked.

He made his way to the bedside.  "No," he told her as he peeled back the covers.  "An affair doesn't even come close to what I want between us."

He stripped the towel from around his waist and joined her in the bed.  His erection pressed hard and heavy and hot against her as he went up on one elbow to look at her.  She wanted him again, she realized as her blood began to heat.  She wanted that wild, crazy feeling that she had only ever felt when he was inside her.

"I..." she started to say as he dipped his head to kiss her breasts.  She squirmed at the feel of his teeth on her nipple as his mouth closed first on one and then the other.

His mouth traveled down her stomach and then farther to kiss the inside of her thighs and then he moved between her thighs and loved her with his mouth.  His tongue tasted her, loved her until she thought she would shatter into a million pieces of broken glass.

And when the climax ripped with the force of an atomic bomb, she cried out.

"I'm never letting you go," he gasped and before she could reply, he drove into her and sent them both spiraling like the fireworks from the night before, exploding together.


"Yes, room service?  I have some clothes that need to be laundered, please.  A half-hour?  That's great, thank you..."  He turned to her.  "We'll have our clothes in plenty of time for breakfast."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and after making sure he had everything together, he handed over the clothing with a twenty.  "Thank you."

The phone rang.  "Yes?" he asked.  "OK, in about an hour... we need to get our clothes back... don't ask.  All right, see you then."  He hung up the phone and turned to her.  "Breakfast at ten downstairs and then, we can go back to the park, that is, if you want."

"Well, it IS the Magic Kingdom, after all."

He laughed.  "Yeah, I guess it is."


She should have been embarrassed, she told herself, as they took the elevator down to the hotel's restaurant... and she would have been except that she was as eager for him as she felt he was for her.  The realization shocked her a little.  How a woman who had remained alone for three or so years had suddenly fallen for a man she knew less than a couple of months was a mystery.  She thought she had known passion before, had known love before but now, she knew she hadn't had a clue about either.

Not until Garrett had come into her life, she had not truly known how wonderful life could be.  If things ended between them and he was gone, how would she ever go back to her life without him?

**********

Chapter 16     Once upon a time... 


Caitlyn put on her safety glasses and although knowing she'd get a bed-head from them, ear protection, took out her Glock and put three rounds dead center into the target's printed head as the spent shells flew past her head.

"Not much chance of getting them in for questioning, that way," said Garrett.  "You might want to aim a little lower, next time."

In answer, she put one into the crotch, dead center.  "How's that?" she asked, seriously... angrily.

"What's bothering you, Caitlyn?  You've been on pins and needles, ever since Disneyland."

"We've bought a condo together and we're going to live together but..."

"But, what, Caitlyn?  What's he done?  I'll kill him.  Doesn't he want to marry you?  I thought he did."

"He's been perfect.  I guess I'm just a little scared."

"How the hell can you be scared?  You've raised Kelly without a father all these years... you're a cop, for Christ's sake.  How can you be scared?  You're going to mess it up, again, just like last time."

"Marriage is so permanent."  She put another magazine into her gun.  "And, he's going to be there, all the time.  There's going to be changes."

"Not much is permanent these days and change is good."

"Is that what you're going to tell Barbara?"  She shot another four rounds off, all in the heart.

"Damn, Caitlyn."  Garrett didn't like what she said but had to admit it worried him, too.  He, somehow, was deeply in love with Barbara but he knew how easily a fast love could burn out and turn into something else.  "No," he said, "that's... that's different.  I thought..."

"...that I should know that?" she replied.

"Yeah, something like that."  He shot three, missing wide right on each one.  "Fuck..." he muttered, angry at himself.  He shot three more, missing again.

"Better put your mind on your target, Sergeant..."  She shot off one last round, cleared her weapon and put it down.  "...or you're wasting your time."

**********

"Get your hat," Garrett said, "we've got another one.  You wanna drive?"

"No... I need to think."

Garrett was worried.  Caitlyn had been doing a lot of thinking, lately, and he thought nothing good would come from it.  She had a bad habit of doggedly distressing about things... good for the homicide... bad for the personal life.


It was a short ride to the back of the run-down bar.  The body was lying next to the dumpster and the woman didn't look like a military wife...

"Thrown out like yesterday's trash... are you sure this is connected with the rest?" he asked.

"I don't know.  It looks the same but doesn't.  You know what I mean?"

The detectives waited until the medical examiner's photographer had finished, the constant 'clicking' of her camera filling the windy silence of the alleyway as she moved around the body, taking pictures from every angle and distance.

The medical examiner bagged the woman's hands.

Garrett was checking his notes while he sat in the car.  He looked at the woman's driver's license photo and then the uploaded photo on his laptop.  In four years, the woman's face had completely changed.  The face looking at him from her license was that of a typical Southern California housewife, pretty without being beautiful.  The face staring back at him with dead eyes from the damp asphalt was almost unrecognizable... her hair, once seemingly glossy and full, was now patchy and dull... her face was deeply lined and there were several open sores.  Her lips were cracked.

"Yeah, too different in the small details... look at this," he said, pointing at the dead woman's hands.  "There's skin under her fingernails and defensive wounds on her wrists.  There's never been any evidence linking the killer before... and I know we just didn't get lucky.  No way... the clothes are all wrong and she has bad teeth.  She looks like a meth addict."

He knew it wasn't the same as the others... from the bruising he was sure she had been strangled.  Except for the admiral's wife and lover, every other killing had been impersonal, almost a necessary evil.  This one was personal.  Maybe the killer and the victim didn't know each other but knowing the last person she would ever see was her killer... Garrett shuddered.  There weren't too many worse ways to die.

As miserable as her life had become, she still deserved his attention, he thought and using his computer, looked up whatever family she had.  Not too surprising, she had a husband and two children.  At times like this, he hated his job.

"Mr. Gerald Mosler?  This is Detective Garrett Brinkley with the Oceanside Police Department.  I'm calling about your wife, sir."

He listened to the man on the other end of the phone.  It was a typical case of addiction... they had been divorced for two years, the husband used abandonment as his cause and refused to be bothered.  His wife had only been twenty-four.  Garrett shook his head in sadness.  He thanked the man and disconnected.  

Thanks to fingerprints and DNA, in most cases it was no longer necessary to have family members come down to identify the body.  In this case, the man refused to come, anyway.  His anger was still present three years later.  How do you explain to your children that mommy was a meth addict?  Better she got run over by a trash truck or something...




Semper Fi Pt. 03



**********

If they could catch Janine Mosler's killer, it would be the first solved murder in the last two months.  California was a bad state to die in; less than half of the deaths were ever solved... there were too many transients... too many people not in some system.

After their night at Disneyland, he had hoped to spend time with her again but work had gotten in the way.

"Can I see you tonight?" he asked, tapping his pen on the desktop.  "I don't know, maybe eight?"  Garrett looked at the wall clock.  It was already six.  "We could have dinner, together... at the Grotto..."

*********

They had the Steak and King Crab... a bargain at only $40, he thought, considering what he wanted to say to her.

"I missed you," he said, looking at her light coffee-colored smiling face.  "You have no idea."  He nervously forked a bite from his baked potato, his hand slightly shaking.  How can I be nervous? he wondered.  I've already slept with her.  "You changed your hair," he said, trying to regain control of his voice.

Her eyes coquettely glanced up and she patted her now long spiraled curls.

She smiled.  She knew.

"Barbara..."

"Yes, Garrett?"

"The other night..." he started.

"Yes?"

"It was special and..."

"Yes?"

"I think... I think I'm in love with you.  I..."

"Garrett, I love you, too."  

He smiled.  He knew.

**********

He drew her hand across his chest, letting her feel the rapid thud of his heart, then bent his head and nuzzled at the lush swell of her breasts above the lace of her bra, teasing the chocolate softness with his mouth.

Barbara was lost as her hands slid to his waist.  He moved above her, intending to be as wild and uninhibited as he was inviting her to be, an untamable passion devoted to her physical pleasure.

He said things... erotic things... graphically erotic things that made her blush in the dark as he stripped away the last cloth between them, the last barrier to their joining, calling her 'baby' in a thick, low voice.  He shaped and formed her as if she was a living sculpture with his hands and his lips as she melted with ecstasy from his touch.

Kneeling between Barbara's parted thighs, holding a hand to her shimmering mocha-caramel breasts as her other held his head to her curly hair and he bent to brush his mouth there, tasting her curls and then between.  She jerked at the intimacy and he did it again, lingering lovingly until she quivered and her wrists went limp and dropped from his head.

Later, he lay on his back, breathing deeply as she slowly moved her hand across his chest, toying with his chest hair.  "Garrett?" she said.

"Mmmmm..."

"I... you do love me, Garrett?"

Without a moment's hesitation, "Yes..."

**********

Caitlyn pulled open the two new matching grey gym bags, determined to have all her packing done long before the flight to Honolulu.  Frank remembered she had never been to Hawaii and surprised her with tickets to the mid-Pacific state.  

"Oh, Frank," she had said as she put her arms around him and gave him a deep and probing kiss.  "Hawaii!  Oh, you shouldn't have..."

"Why not?  Nothing's too good for you."

She had expected to leave Kelly with Maria while they were gone but Frank insisted she come along and pulled out another two tickets.  She blushed, wondering how much noise they would make, knowing Maria and Kelly would be in the next room over but then, shyly realized they were all going to live together, anyway.

Two bikinis, one red and one blue, went into her bag, followed by new panties and bras and a couple pairs of jeans and some nice blouses and slacks and a pair of Skechers.  Frank had promised Hawaiian shirts once they were there and even though they'd look like the cliché'd tourist, she couldn't help herself wanting at least one... well, maybe two... and a sarong... and a lei... and a lay, she giggled.

In the next bedroom, Maria was busy packing her own bags for the trip.  She had packed lightly, knowing she was going to buy new clothes in Waikiki and wanted to have plenty of room in her bag to bring them home.  If she had liked Frank before, she worshipped him now after he had presented her with a first class plane ticket.  

She was astonished how easily he had bonded with Kelly and the little girl lived for him, now.  "Kelly," she called, "you need to find some clothes for our trip, querida."  She went back to counting her cash for the trip.  To her delight, Frank had given her five-hundred dollars as a gift for the trip.  In her own way, she was beginning to worship the man, herself.  She had noticed how Señorita Caitlyn had come alive ever since he had really come back into her life.  Soon, she was going to be Señora Caitlyn, Maria giggled, although she knew that Señorita Caitlyn was acting more and more like a Señora Caitlyn... especially... at night.

She began to hum "Tiny Bubbles," picked up Kelly and twirled the giggling girl around the room.  

**********

The shock of pleasure burned through Barbara and tingled all the way down to her curling toes.  Garrett's mouth was firm and warm and skilled and demanding.  He ate at her lips with gentle bites and moist sucking, making her head spin.

She grabbed for something solid to hang on to and dug into Garrett's shoulder as she opened her mouth for a deeper kiss.  Hot kisses in wild abandon would have buckled her to her knees if he had not already held her up and she was frantic for the taste of his mouth.  She couldn't get enough and in response, he sucked her tongue deeper into the heat of his mouth.

Barbara like it... liked it so much that she was crying for more... and more... and more... and whatever little inhibition that had somehow remained quickly vanished.

Sliding her fingers into his hair, she hummed her lust deep within her throat, the same throat that she had taken him with at the Magic Kingdom's hotel.  He lowered her only long enough to clamp his hands behind her lower back and then lifted and carried her forward, her feet bobbling against his shins.

His kiss became desperate with a mesh of tongues and teeth that aroused but didn't satisfy him enough and he crowded closer.

She received him against her, the hardness of his erection straining his zipper and pressing her stomach in a tantalizing tease of her emotions.  Tilting her pelvis, she eased him into a long slide downward that broke their kiss and brought a sweet moan from them both and he stopped exactly where she ached the most as his breath beat hard and fast in his ear.

She opened her eyes and worked an arm between their bodies, slipped her hand inside his shirt and scored her fingernails over his taut skin and auburn hair.  "Mmmm," she hummed, once again fascinated with his hard chest.

In a single swift motion, he moved back, jerked apart her blouse and trapped her arms at her sides.  He thrust his hips once, then lowered his head to trace her collarbone with the tip of his tongue.  Icy shivers ran down the slopes of her mocha breasts to the sensitive dark nipples barely covered by cloth.

"Tell me you love me," he whispered, but she was incoherent and unable to speak.  Garrett's mouth moved to Barbara's throat, where his tongue lapped and swirled the hollow for every sensitive inch it could cover.

When her head lolled back against the wall, his tongue quickened, mimicking her wilding fluttering pulse and liquid heat moved straight downward and she grew conscious of the small fabric still left against her naked flesh.

Barbara slipped her hand beneath his shirt and marveled at his thundering heart.  Sucking in a breath, he carried her through the door of her bedroom and kicked his way through.  A small lamp on her nightstand gave a dim glow of light to the room and he took her to the neatly made double bed.  Then she was lying on a cloud of soft blankets, staring up at the face of her lover.  As he stood motionless, his gaze moved over her slowly.

"Let me touch you," she said.

He ripped off his shirt and flung it aside and their mouths met, open and hot and they began where their last kiss had broken off.  Within seconds, Barbara was clawing at his smooth muscular back, bring blood to her fingertips and his knee came up between her legs and she writhed against the added feeling.  She reached down to again learn the shape and feel and heat of him to give him the same pleasured agony he delivered with his own touch.

Gentleness wasn't what she wanted... wasn't what she needed... and tasted blood but didn't know whose and didn't care.  She was frantic to know all of him once more.  He tore his mouth away to trail hot kisses from her neck to her shoulder to her breasts.  He praised her beauty, he encouraged her boldness, he told her how she made him feel and what he wanted her to do with him, to him.  He quickly straddled her knees and bending over, took her dusky nipple into his mouth.  She gasped and was lost in a sensual fog of pleasure and emotions.

By the time he parted her thighs, she was melting like butter on a hot day and the first touch of his most intimate kiss widened her eyes and then rolled them back as her head pushed backwards.  The climax rolled upon her like thunder, building, building and then exploding as she thrashed her head, grabbed fistfuls of the blankets and cried out as lightening burst through her once... twice... three times.

Jesus Christ!!!!! was all she could barely think as he slid up beside her and lay on his side.  "Come inside..." she barely gasped and at the first push of his body atop hers, she sighed.  He nudged her knees apart and he began the slow delicious slide forward.  "I love you, Garrett," she said as he began a slow rhythm, fluid and strong, easing her ache to be with him as close as nature made possible.  His beat quickened and the body she thought satisfied became hungry once again, more than ever, feeding on his growing passion.

Barbara welcomed every powerful thrust, lifted herself to receive him ever deeper, her inner contractions shimmered in warning, then exploded, tearing a cry from deep within her soul.  She clung to his shoulders while he sought his own climax in a series of thrusts that skidded her along the mattress and he suddenly tensed, buried his face in her neck and let out a long, low groan.

**********

"I'll take this one and that one... and gimme that one over there," Frank said, pointing to the large prehistoric plants in the second row.  "And... I'll need some large pots to go with them... and some help getting them into the car."

He looked around, wondering what else he could buy for the new condo.  The plants ancient look betrayed their primeval heritage.  The sign had said, "Food for the dinosaurs," and he believed it.  The large pots brought the plants high above Kelly's eyelevel so he wasn't worried about that and by the time she was tall enough, she would also be old enough to be safe.

He needed to get the borrowed Tahoe back to Garrett.  As nice as the big SUV was, he missed his sports car.  He stopped for gas and cursed.  Each time he filled up, the hole in his pocket grew wider and deeper.  Fifty dollars!  Sometimes... just sometimes... he doubted his sanity in buying the Corvette but when he was doing sixty down the San Diego and stepped on the gas and was doing a hundred and ten in three seconds!  There wasn't a high enough gas price to take that feeling away.

**********

Frank wrestled the heavy clay pot from the elevator into the condo, the cycad's harsh fronds scratching his face, finally pushing it into the sunny corner of the living room; he brushed one hand against the other in self-congratulation and then got the vacuum cleaner out.  

He sat on the carpet leaning against the wall and watched the evening shadows move across the light cherry-colored wall as the sun set onto the nearby Pacific waters.  He took another sip of beer, tipping the green-glassed bottle of Grolsh back.  He played with the white swing-top cap and finally locked it closed.  Glancing at his cell phone, he saw that it was almost eight o'clock and got up; walking into the bathroom, he took a shower and then put on a pair of sweats to watch a little television before he went to bed.  Caitlyn had taken Kelly and was spending the night in Oceanside with her friends, having what he hoped was a quiet party before the wedding.

For his own part, Frank thought the whole idea of a wild bachelor party was insane.  Once you made up your mind to marry someone, he thought, only a complete and total imbecile would do something so disrespectful to the person he was supposed to share his life with.

He came to the realization that he hated Ashton Kutcher, even more now than before.  The crude jokes on the show had given him a headache after five minutes and he shut the set off and went to bed.  He put the radio on and fell asleep to the sound of George Noory's impossible "Coast to Coast" on KFI radio.  UFOs and ghosts and secret black helicopters filled the room, accompanied by his soft snoring.

**********

He woke up, feeling sleepier than he should.  He hated that.  When he went to sleep earlier than normal, he mostly woke up later than usual and with a grogginess that wouldn't leave.  He padded back into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, shaved as closely as he could and stepped into the shower.  He grabbed Caitlyn's Pantene shampoo and worked it into his hair, finally rinsing it off.

He usually lifted weights in the morning before showering but with the wedding so close, he had no desire to throw his back out with a wrong move so he skipped that morning ritual... at least, until after the honeymoon.

His radio was still playing from the night before and Bill Handel was pontificating about the governor's failure to act... again.  He had two Eggos with some jam, a glass of milk and a cup of hot tea, along with the regime of vitamins that Caitlyn now prescribed for him.  He chuckled.  She said she wanted him to be in tip-top condition, as she called it.

The wedding was only three days away and he could sense the tension in Caitlyn.


Later that afternoon, Kelly was napping, Maria was fixing dinner and Caitlyn, his Caitlyn, was filling paperwork on the latest murder to occur in Oceanside.  Thankfully, it wasn't another "Lonely Hearts Murder".  Those had stopped and he felt less guilty taking time off from the unsolvable cases.

In the corner, his mother's vinyl recording of John Gary was playing, tiny hisses and all.

Once upon a time...
a girl with moonlight in her eyes...

The old record spun hissing on the almost ancient turntable.  His mother had gotten it during her college years from her own mother and passed it down to him along with her record collection when she decided to travel the world with that sneaky bastard, Jerry.

Frank hated that guy.  Why his mother thought she could replace his father with him was beyond all reason.  The man was an obnoxious boor who thought he deserved respect just because he was with Frank's mother.  Fat chance on that, Frank thought and wondered what would happen when all the money was gone.  Of all the men she could have been with...

Thanks to Jerry, his mother was going to miss his wedding.  Damn bastard...

Old romantic songs brought back memories of growing up.  His mother had always been so sad, mourning the early death of his father in that car accident, haunting them both all the following years.  Puccini's La bohème was a constant companion during the evening as his mother would listen to the opera, preferring the tragic romance of Mimi's death to that harsh reality of her own life.  

He personally preferred Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific and could picture the film in his mind whenever he heard the various songs flow through his mind.

He picked up his hammer and lightly tapped a finishing nail into the wall to hang the latest photograph of Kelly and her mother.  As easy as digital was, it never could compete with color film for depth of sensuality and warmth.  The same was said for the old vinyl, he had heard, and could believe it.

Sometimes, the old ways were the best ways.  

**********

Chapter 17     Always and Forever

"Will you hold still?" Barbara said, zipping up the back of Caitlyn's dress.  "Seems like a lot of trouble to just take it off, later..."  She had a wicked smile, wondering how long Frank would wait before he pulled that same zipper down.

"Well, just wait until it's your turn," said Caitlyn, "and we'll see what's what."

There was a knock on the door and Barbara opened it just a crack.  "Go 'way, Frank.  You know you can't see the bride... it's bad luck."

"I just wanted to say," he raised his voice, "I love you."

"OK, fine, you said it, now get out of here.  I'm carry'n, I'll have you know," Barbara responded.

"Where the hell would you stick a gun?"  Damn!  Carrying a gun to a wedding, she's crazy!

"Ha, that's for me to know and you to try and find out."

"Oh, God..."  He walked away, whistling the Three Stooges theme song.

The high pitched notes of the church organ begged them to start... and as first Barbara and then Caitlyn, with Kelly as her flower girl, walked up the aisle, Frank and Garrett waited near the altar, wearing their powder-blue tuxedos.  The shuffling noises of the guests standing were almost drowned out by the music and finally, she had arrived at the front of the sacristy.

She had considered just having a justice of the peace... of just having a living-together arrangement... but she had always dreamed of the perfect wedding.

The priest faced them as they knelt and Frank felt good.  He wasn't nervous at all and wondered why anyone could be.  The time for being nervous was when you ask the woman... that was when you put your heart out there, ready to be crushed by a single two-letter word... "no."

She had said, "yes."

She had said, "yes," and his heart had skipped a beat as he had been able to breathe again.  

Kelly pulled her hand away from Caitlyn and grabbed his.  "Daddy, are we getting married?" she asked.

Amid the laughter from the guests, Frank leaned over to her and said, "Yes, sweetheart, we're getting married."  He brought her around and had her kneel between them.

Vows were made... promises were kept... and Frank felt safe for the first time in years.  He thanked whatever guardian angel looking out after him for his luck as he looked down on his daughter.

They walked back down the aisle, together this time, Kelly between them, holding their hands and they finally were in front of the church and waited as guests surrounded them, well-wishers offering hopes and congratulations.  Hundreds of photographs taken, hands shaken, backs patted, and then, everyone left for the reception.

**********

The light-green waves moved higher up the black-sand beach and erased his daughter's small footprints.  Frank took Kelly into his arms and let her splash in the deepening water.  He looked behind him and saw Caitlyn taking their picture, once again.  He smiled.  Life was good.

He walked out farther and the water was waist deep, the surge of the waves pushing and pulling as he tightened his grip on his daughter.  "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, Daddy.  I'll hold my breath."

"Good... here we go!" and he ducked her head beneath the wave and then pulled her back up as she laughed. 

A light tap on his shoulder turned him around.  "Frank, honey, it's time to go.  I'm getting a sunburn."

"OK, just one more," he replied and dunked Kelly once again, plastering her hair to her head.

Frank looked at his bride.  For a woman in her late thirties, she had kept in fantastic shape and he was glad he was still in the water and didn't have to explain to his daughter why he was suddenly aroused by her mother.  He handed Kelly to Caitlyn and turned back toward the sea, hoping that his erection would soon disappear so he could return to the beach.




Semper Fi Pt. 04



Copyright @ calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011



Chapter 18  Die Young

Caitlyn went up the stairs to her second floor office she shared with Garrett and soon stood in front of his desk.

"Well, it's about time you got back," Garrett grinned, standing up to give Caitlyn a bear-hug, lifting her off the floor and kissing her cheek.

She couldn't answer him with a straight face. "Well..." she started to say, looking around the room to see if anyone noticed. He watched her, thinking she looked better than he had ever seen her, before. Several inquisitive faces looked back.

"Welcome back, Caitlyn. So, did you have much time to work on your tan?" He gave her an appreciative glance from head to toes, laughing.

"Enough, you dirty old man... what did I miss?" Caitlyn asked, trying to change the subject as she plopped down onto her vinyl chair and closed her eyes.

It was at times like these that she thought of quitting and wondered if she'd ever have enough nerve to say so. She'd never leave him empty-handed, though...

He was still good-natured and downright charming... except when he was in the middle of a difficult case and the last five years...

"Not much, thank God. It's been quiet. I've caught up all your paperwork and we're good to go. You owe me lunch." He absent-mindedly reached into his drawer for a candy bar but then remembered he had given them up ever since meeting Barbara. "I just wish we could figure out who is doing all these "Lonely Hearts Murders." It's been bothering me ever since we came onto the first case." Returning to work had brought back all the frustrations of the last five years that had bothered her.

"I know... I know. There just doesn't seem to be anything I can put my head around other than it's got to be someone in the military." Someone pretty damn good, he realized... a bunch of someones pretty damn good.

"We could always get a decoy," he said, laughing. "You volunteering?"

She gave him a scornful gaze. "You've got to be kidding. First, there's no way to tell which bar they're looking at and second... we don't know how they're choosing the women..." She rattled her pencil cup on the desk top in frustration, got slowly up and hung her coat next to his, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"They've got to have a list, somehow, that they're working from. It couldn't be too hard, they know who's overseas and who's married and what they look like. That's how I'd do it." He looked at her, proud of his pronouncement. "You know, we've been all through this, five years ago... and nothing's changed except the people involved."

Caitlyn put her head on her hands. "This sucks. I don't know, I thought... I was hoping that it would all disappear by the time I came back." She took a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, well... welcome back." What the hell? He looked at her, wondering what had changed. Could getting married have changed her THAT much?

She sat in her chair, listening to its rhythmic creaking as she rocked.

The shrill call of the phone could be heard over the noise of the room later that afternoon.

"OK," Garrett said, a tired expression on his face, "we'll be there soon enough... c'mon, Caitlyn, we've got another one." He stood up and opened his drawer before remembering, once again, that the Snicker box was long gone.

"Ah, shit..." She clipped her holster onto her belt, grabbed her coat and followed him out the room.

She wasn't surprised to see her husband, Frank, and Barbara at the crime scene. It was a different thing, though, to see Frank in such a different light. She blushed, remembering their last night in Honolulu. A flash of tangled sheets and tangled limbs came to mind. Her face burned.

"Hey," she said, nodding her head at the black woman. "You've changed your hair." Caitlyn looked at Barbara, amazed at the transformation the black woman had undergone in the two weeks they had been apart.

Barbara had her hair in a long, loose braid, piled high upon her head, accentuating the profile of her exposed face, her chin pointing slightly below her full lips now colored with a pale pink lipstick. Her eyes had just the slightest bit of liner while her brows had been plucked into two long, thin lines. Her ears, now uncovered, each had a single diamond stud earring, and her skin had been toned just a shade lighter, more of a copper color.

"Hey, honeymoon girl... so...," Barbara grinned, "how was... I'm sorry, I can't..." Barbara started laughing. Three officers looked their way and she stopped. "You have to tell me all about it, promise?"

Caitlyn looked sideways at her husband. "Well, yeah, maybe..."

"I can always ask my partner," Barbara said. "There's no secrets between us."

"Don't you dare! There better be some secrets. What the hell!"

"I'll, uh, call you tonight or we can go out for dinner..." Barbara replied, quickly, before either man knew what they were talking about.

"I'll have to drag my husband along, then. I'm still on my honeymoon. Besides, he's not into that 'girls night out' stuff." God knows how much trouble that can cause.

"All the better, girlfriend, all the better," giggled Barbara. "You know you're going to tell me all about it, eventually. All Frank says is that you went to the beach. Uh, huh... the beach. One of those private beaches, I bet."

"Jesus, Barb, we had Kelly and Maria with us."

Before she could answer, Garrett interrupted. "What have we got? I hate to break up this little gab fest but we've got a murder to solve."

"Yeah, right," his partner retorted.

"Damn, Barbara..." said Garrett.

"Ah, you know as well as I do that this is an impossible situation," she responded.

Frank had moved over to look at the body, leaving the other three to the side. He put on a pair of gloves, crouched down and carefully touched the dead woman. She had once been pretty... still was if you overlooked the deep slash across her throat and the bloody asphalt gravel embedded in her cheek.

He stood back up, knowing he wasn't any closer to answering any of the questions surrounding the maddening murders than he had been five years earlier.

And this murder wasn't going to make any difference; he knew it in his bones.

Frank walked around the parking lot, looking for anything that seemed out of place. Aside from the woman's body lying in the middle of the lot, he saw nothing. It was incredibly frustrating and, for the first time, wondered what it was doing to his career.

Damn, he reflected, how mercenary was that? He was ashamed and immediately walked away in disgust with himself.

**********

Chapter 19 Your Cheatin' Heart

Barbara walked back and stood by Frank. The graveside ceremony was taking longer than expected and the drizzle was starting to bother her but she understood his need to be there. She looked over the crowd, wondering if the killer was there. Probably not, that would be too obvious. The crowd was small, only a few family members present... divorced parents, each standing with a new partner, one sister and three friends. The husband was still on station aboard the aircraft carrier, Reagan.

She photographed the three friends with her cell and approached them once the short service was over. Handing out her card, she started to speak with them.

The first woman didn't have much to add above what they already knew but the second one...

"Yeah, I knew she was steppin' out but what was I supposed to do about it? I told her it was stupid."

"Did you tell her it was wrong?" asked Frank, who had just stepped closer.

"What? Wrong? What do you mean?"

"Wrong. She was cheating on her husband. That's why she's dead."

"What do you mean? That's why she's dead?"

Frank ignored her questions; he had enough of his own.

"How often did she, uh, indulge in her 'dates'?"

"At least, once a week, sometimes two; I don't know, maybe more."

"You didn't have a problem with that?"

"Well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Men have been doing it for years."

"Did she go to the same bars each time?"

"No, she mixed it up and never took anyone back to her apartment. It was always motels or back seats."

"Back seats?"

"In cars, you know, for a quickie."

"Um, have you, uh..."

"Have I met guys there? Yeah, sure, but I ain't married. Girl's gotta do..."

*********

"Crap! All we learned is that she was a damned cheating slut who didn't care. At least, there were no kids. You know," Frank said, that night at dinner, "I wonder what the reaction has been from the husbands. We need to find out if it's been any different than from before."

"After you had left, you know, before, the agents had followed up on that idea but really got nowhere. The husbands were overseas and they were shocked. But, I'll do it again."

That night, Caitlyn held her husband tightly, seeking comfort in his arms. "Those poor men," she started, "are over there and not only are their wives dead, murdered but they were cheating on top of it."

"We'll have to figure this out, sooner rather than later," he declared, "but it won't stop the killings."

"What do you mean?" she asked, afraid of his answer.

"Think, honey... it's been over five years and they haven't stopped. It's a group of people, spread out over the years, each one responsible for maybe one to three each and then they stop and get replaced. I'm sure of it."

Beneath the sheets, Caitlyn reached farther down. "Make love to me, Frank."

**********

Barbara pulled her lunch out of the microwave and after tearing off the plastic film, mixed up the rice and chicken. In the background, Rush was talking about something. When she had first started listening to him, many years ago, he was funny but no longer. He just complained without solutions of his own and he didn't like the president. Well, the hell with him, she thought, her mood spoiled.

This is pretty good, she thought to herself, much better than the almost stale sandwiches out in the machine. I need Garrett to take me out to lunch, again. I'll ask Frank...

She went through the motions. It was getting depressing, after all this time. She knew they were no closer to finding any of the killers than before. There were just too, too many suspects... the entire contingent of Marines at Pendleton, and Navy Seals, perhaps and God knows who else.

Barbara cocked her head, looked at the papers and and called the first of a long line of former husbands. "Sergeant Jack Bondle?"

"It's Mr. Bondle, now."

"This is Barbara Montgomery, from NCIS. I'm calling about your wife, Susan."

"The bitch is dead."

"Yes, I understand. I was wondering how you're doing and all."

"Look, it's been three years and while I'm not glad she's dead, I'm not unhappy about it, either. She cheated on me, too many times to count, evidently from what I've been told and now she's dead. I've got enough issues... now I don't feel like dating anyone, anymore. She's ruined my life. What do you want?"

"I'm sorry. Did you have any indication that your wife was cheating on you, I mean, before she was killed?"

"No. Look, I'm sorry for being so rude but unless you've got something really important to ask, I've got some stuff to do."

"No, that's all right, thank you for your time."

**********

Chapter 20 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Barbara sat in the back booth at the Oceanside Red Lobster on Vista Way, waiting for Caitlyn, Clara and Mellissa to arrive. When she finally saw them, she waved as her friends approached. 

"So, girl, how was that honeymoon. Frank's been quiet except to say that it was wonderful but not much else."

"It was incredible. Frank was wonderful... and, the sex... my God, that man knows things I can only imagine women dream about." Even as she spoke, Caitlyn felt her face flush red with both excitement and embarrassment as she related the highlights of her honeymoon.

"So, it's safe to say it was a success," Barbara declared. "That's great. I'm hoping that Garrett will take the hint..." Her voice dropped off, her feelings for the detective pushing her other thoughts away. "I need a husband. I want to stay home and raise babies and be a wife."

"You want me to..." Caitlyn stopped speaking for the waitress had arrived with their menus. "I'm having the shrimp and grilled chicken..."

"The haddock for me..." Mellissa took another sip of her soda. "And bring plenty of those cheese biscuits... and some butter."

"Me, too," Clara chimed in.

"I'll have the lobster and sirloin..." Barbara finally decided. "I need something more substantial, all this running around." Yeah, lookin' for murders and all...

"Oooo... living large, are we?" Caitlyn asked.

"Ha... ha... ha..." Barbara came back with.

"What were you saying about Garrett?" inquired Mellissa as she bit into a cheddar biscuit slathered with butter.

She decided to turn to the one person she could trust with her wish. "Well... to be honest, I was hoping that he'd take a page out of Frank's book and..."

"Ask you to marry him? Some men are the marryin' kind and some aren't."

"Ah, I know... but, I love him so much and I know he loves me. He's told me. Maybe, I need another job."

"Ah, that might just be his little head talkin'," laughed Clara. "Why, I remember..."

"No, I know he's in love with me." She pushed the cheddar biscuit across the bread dish.

"Then, why wait?" she replied.

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple, ask him."

"Ask him what?"

"Ask him to marry YOU. This IS 2012, after all. Ask HIM to marry YOU."

Barbara looked at the woman with a small smile growing on her face. "Maybe, you've got something there."

The conversation once again circled around Caitlyn's honeymoon trip and Frank's ability in the bedroom.

"You know," said Clara, "I'm going to have a hard time looking at him in the same way, again."

"A hard time, huh?"

The four women broke up in laughter just as the food arrived. 

**********

On the ride back to the station, Caitlyn decided to say what was on her mind. "Garrett, I'm telling you, that's what's going to happen. You better make up your mind and do something about it, one way or the other."

"Thanks, Caitlyn." His face was crimson. He never thought he'd fall in love with another woman after his ex-wife's betrayal, let alone one who was going to ask HIM to marry her.

"That's what partners are for, Garrett, that's what partners are for."

***********

"Two thousand, eight hundred, huh?"

"Yes, sir. That, of course, is for the entire set, one engagement ring and matching bands. Of course, you need to bring the young lady in and have the rings sized."

Garrett looked at the rings lying before him, each one shiny gold on black velvet, the diamonds brightly reflecting the jewelry store's lights. Caitlyn was right, what was he waiting for? Barbara had pushed his ex-wife so far back in his memory that he hadn't really thought of her in... he wondered how long, not that it mattered, anymore, he realized. She was the past. In all his life, though, he never thought he'd fall in love with a black woman. How life changed.

He took out his cell. "Barbara, honey, say, you good for dinner tonight, say someplace really nice?"

**********

Chapter 21 The Way You Look Tonight

Garrett pulled his Tahoe into the restaurant's parking lot. It wasn't as sexy as Frank's Corvette, he knew but it was still a good car... leather seats, and all.

Walking around to the passenger side, he helped Barbara out. She was wearing a new dress, dark peach, with a single strand of pearls and high-heels that accentuated her long legs.

He almost shyly took her hand and they walked into the French farmhouse.

"Welcome to the 94th Aero Squadron," the hostess said. "Table for two?"

"Uh, yes, I have reservations under the name Garrett," he said, hoping that Frank and Caitlyn hadn't arrived yet. He didn't see them, anywhere and his heart slowed just enough that he could follow the two women to a table along the window overlooking the spotlighted replica World War One fighter plane outside. He quickly pulled out Barbara's chair, his heart speeding up, once again.

He was so nervous that he didn't even remember ordering and was surprised when two rib-eye steaks arrived later. He tried to make small talk during the meal and ended up stuttering for most of the evening. 

Barbara was nervous, herself, wondering when would be the best time to ask him. She decided she'd do it before dessert arrived and her hand shook as she took another small bite of her baked potato.

The music was slow and bluesy. Garrett stood and held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

She put her hand in his and he led her to the far end of the dance floor and took her into his arms. To Barbara, it seemed like the most natural place in the world for her to be. He was warm and strong and she fit him perfectly.

Her response to him was something she had no control over. She'd been responding to him since she first set eyes on him. She was responding to him that very moment. She had no intention of holding back anything from him.

As the music swirled around them, they swayed closely together. He bent his head and rubbed his nose against her head. "You smell wonderful."

Goose bumps ran down her spine as she felt his hot breath on her face and with her head on his shoulder, she let her eyes drift close and inhaled.

A shiver ran down her arms.

"Cold?" he asked.

She raised her head and smiled. "No."

He studied her face, just as he had done when he picked her up from her apartment. "Your heels make you taller," he said.

Another couple bumped into his back, pushing him against her and her new height pushed her against his hips. For a brief moment, she enjoyed a familiar pressure against her.

She started to move back but he held her in his arms. "This is perfect." Now, barely moving, they swayed to the distant music. Lifting his head, Garrett met her eyes, saw caution mixed with desire and a bit of fear. He chose to ignore it all but her desire. His mouth, a whisper away from hers, teased her bewitching lips and he watched her eyes darken in response.

He paused only for a moment then moved forward, tighter into her embrace, knowing only that he wanted to taste, to explore. He felt nothing but hunger.

Her lips were soft and he traced their outline, running one finger along them, then to the seductive line of her collarbone to her neckline. Her mouth opened in a gasp and he took swift advantage, touching his lips to hers, gently exploring the tender recesses a she joined her body to his. 

Barbara put her fingers around his neck, then through his hair before moving down to his shoulders. 

Unable to resist, he drew his hands down her sides and then cupped her full breasts, eliciting a gasp as her fingers tightened convulsively on his shoulders. Even as she leaned toward him, he sensed a rapid beating of her heart and her face flushed hotly. Her lips were ripe and full and seeking his kiss.

The music hadn't slowed yet their movements had... a seductive swaying that had nothing to do with the now forgotten song that was playing, only the heat that had built between them. Disregarding the other couples in the room, he cupped her head in his hand and pulled her mouth toward his.

Whatever she was going to say turned into a murmur of pleasure, encouraging him to deepen the kiss, clutching him with what seemed strangely like desperation. As her need drew him, sending off the signals that made him want to protect and cherish and lover her forever and even as he acknowledged that she had become for too important to him, he wanted more.

Each taste, each bit of pleasure... it intoxicated him. Despite the fire raging between them, he knew this wasn't a simple need that sex would... could ease.




Semper Fi Pt. 04



In his embrace, Barbara expected the heat, the passion but she'd never expected the gentleness, the restrained power that did so much more than simply beckon her to him.

She knew she would hold him but not without consequences... swelling breasts and hardening nipples... heat building between her thighs. She pushed her hips against his until he put a hand to the small of her back and let out a quiet groan. She felt his hardness seeking her out.

"Look what you've done," he whispered.

She raised her head from his shoulder. Their gazes met. He was so hot, so full of promises that both excited and terrified her and she had difficulty breathing. His lips lowered to hers.

His mouth opened and moved another small fraction of an inch toward hers. Her own lips reached for his, already feeling the slick heat of his mouth, though he hadn't really touched her.

Garrett touched his pants pocket again, checking that the ring box was still there. He had done it enough during dinner that Barbara had looked at him inquisitively, wondering just what he was doing with his hand below the table.

"We should sit down..." she said and led him back to the table.

He cleared his throat and was going to say something when the waiter returned with their apple walnut pie and two forks. He started to say something, getting out of his seat, when he spied Frank and Caitlyn approaching. His eyes widened in surprise that they were early and he motioned them back with his hand beneath the table.

He had never known a woman like her before, one that he wanted to be friends with, yet set his blood on fire. Their attraction couldn't be denied and he didn't want to try. The way he acted around her was equal parts of confusion and fear and admiration and lust. Sometimes, he didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't stay away from her and he refused to try.

"Garrett," Barbara started to say. She remembered what had happened with his wife... how she had cheated and left him with a broken heart, a character flaw he never saw through the mist of what love had had for her. He had lost interest in everything, going through the motions... efficiently, correctly, but without the zeal that had marked his career before.

He suspected he was the only one who noticed the faint trembling of her hands before they disappeared beneath the napkin, a bittersweet smile on her lips.

She met his gaze, briefly. "Will you marry me?" they both asked, almost at the same time, she holding his hand, he holding out the ring. She was shocked, having thought she was alone in her hopes for marriage and caught her breath. It was the question... then waiting for the answer that was so killing.

"Oh, God, yes," she said.

"And, it's about time," said Caitlyn, arriving at their table a step ahead of Frank. "It's about time, you two, it's about time."

"Well," Garrett said, "since you're here, you might as well have a seat," now wishing that he had not asked them to come.

Both women starting speaking at once, Barbara holding out her hand with the ring, Caitlyn smiling at her. "See, I told you," Caitlyn said as the waitress brought over two more chairs. "Now, we've got another wedding to plan."

Frank patted Garrett on the shoulder. "I'd say you're a lucky man, but you already know that. Besides, it's about time you made an honest woman out of my partner. I was starting to worry."

Garrett put his head down on his arms. "It's all be a conspiracy, I see."

Frank laughed. "It's time to pay the piper, Garrett. Besides, look at all the money you'll save, only having one place to live. Now, what are we having for dessert?" he asked, as the waitress returned with the champagne.

**********

Barbara left her engagement ring in the top dresser drawer, determined to protect it. Investigating murders was difficult enough without worrying about whether a diamond would be lost at the scene of a crime. To ruin her ring would destroy her, now that she was finally, totally in love.

She slowly closed the drawer, watching the jewelry box disappear and then pulled it out, one more time to open the small box and gaze at the five diamonds sparkling back at her, even in the relative dimness of her bedroom.

A slight smile crept across her lips as she thought back to their dinner two nights before. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Garrett proposed at the same time as she did. She didn't know whether Caitlyn or Frank had spoken to him and she didn't care. The deed was done and her life would never be the same, again.

Her mind was so obsessed with that night... Garrett had taken her home and spent the night, bringing her to a level of excited arousal she had never felt before, even with him. Oh, love was SO wonderful.

On the ride home, he had reached for her hand and placed it on his thigh, holding it there until he felt her fingers flex and settle there on her own. Her touch made him crazy. He slipped his hand beneath her coat and settled it at the hem of her dress, his fingers sliding back and forth along the silky nylons covering her chocolate skin.

"The car will be warm in a few minutes," he had said.

"I'm not cold," she said.

She was delighted to be with him, a happiness that had been there from the moment they had met and then had come the admiration for his technical skill and inherent ability to discover the hidden secrets they needed. Every time he held her, she felt protected and comfortable and loved and needed and erotically satisfied.

That night, coming back from the restaurant, her new ring on her finger, their lips had met and her heart was soaring as high as a Fourth of July rocket, exploding as it reached for the sky and she began to cry in joy.

"Come here," he said, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her to him.

His hands held her face gently as his mouth touched hers, bringing a new passion to her heart and then his lips pressed carefully on her closed eyelids, the slightly wet sensation had made her sigh and then he tenderly kissed her face until she responded by kissing the warmth of his skin and the roughness of his shadowed beard.

He kissed her... hard. He devoured her. He gave her everything he could with a kiss. God, he thought, the feel of her in my arms... she was almost more than I can bear. With a moan, he broke the kiss, trying to catch his breath. Her breath was just as ragged as his.

Garrett touched Barbara's hair, almost licking the sensitive area behind her ear, making a wet trail across her skin while one hand moved across to touch her breasts through her clothes. His fingers felt her grow taut as her nipples became hard beneath his hand.

Garrett's eyes closed briefly and then he leaned forward, his hands easily unzipping and then silently slipping down the sides of her dress, sliding it seductively down her thighs and she had never felt so exhilarated in her life as his touch met her skin. Before she could even understand, her dress was gone, lying in a small bundle of color on the floor at her feet and in one swift motion she drew his head to her breasts and gave a shudder as his tongue flicked out and closed over one hard nipple and then the other.

"Oh..." she moaned, wishing he would go on and on and on...

Within moments, her soft yellow panties somehow vanished and he was pressing kisses on her now fully exposed body, his lips waiting at that special spot that only he had ever gone to, his tongue teasing her. She ran her fingers through his hair and bowed forward to kiss his head, feeling an urgent need to touch him... to bring him against her... to possess him deep inside and never let him go.

He leisurely stood up as she struggled to undo his belt and was frustrated when it refused to open and then he was tearing at his belt, possessed by a desire he no longer controlled.

Naked against his half-clothed body, she felt an intense abandon, a wantonness that she had never felt before. Her nipples lightly touched his skin and when he shifted his position they dragged across his chest until she felt she would melt from the heat.

Slow... sensual... excruciating... she never wanted it to stop, feeling the rush of fire consuming the last bit of reason lurking in the back of her mind. Her feelings, her weakness grew as his hands tenderly massaged the back of her thighs with a gentle rhythm that soon matched the demands of her body.

Their hearts had beat with the same rapid thunder, their mouths met and parted and sighed as they tumbled onto the bed, their arms and legs wrestling to imprison one another and she knew, then, at that one wonderful moment in time, that she truly did love him.

This man was hers. She had known it forever... and now, they had acknowledged that. Their kisses deepened with a fire and desperate need that nearly overwhelmed her and there was a hunger that did overwhelm her. She whimpered and clung to him. The world had begun to spin and he was the only solid thing she could hold on to.

His warmth and strength surrounded her and she felt... loved... cherished the rapid, heavy beat of his heart. She was drowning in her emotions, knowing she would never be the same and yet would still be her own person and with her lips and hands and body pressed against him, she asked for more and gave it back.

Garrett felt himself tremble with the force of her response. He slid his hands down her back and pulled her hips harder against his. She was, and had been from the beginning, everything he had ever wanted.

He felt the hot rush of blood to his arousal, hard against her thighs. God, it felt so good. She felt so good.

The bed creaked against their movements and when her legs shifted, he came between them. He ran his hand from her waist, up her ribs, to hold the bottom side of her breast. She arched into his hand... perfect, so perfect.

He kissed his way down her jaw to her nipple and when he nipped, she almost flew off the bed. He knew he hadn't hurt her, for her hand on the back of his head kept his mouth firmly in place... right where he wanted... right where he needed to be.

"I like you touch," she almost said. "I like your smell," she almost said.

Blood pounded in his ears and then all that blood rushed between his legs. He thought he couldn't get any harder.

"God," he said, "you make me crazy."

"Garrett, love me... love me."

She could feel how hard he was... gloriously hard. She thrust her hips against him, again. God, had that moan come from her own lips?

She was on fire... she was dying that petite mort, that little death... so consumed was she for her need of him.

His lips met hers, again, even more fiercely than before. She was lost.

He kissed his way down her throat, down around the fullness of her breasts, until his lips hovered once again over the tip. He wanted to take his time, to tease her and watch her nipples harden, but he couldn't. He took the peak into his mouth and savored the sweet, sweet taste and heard her gasp of pleasure and the felt the subtle shift of her hips.

At the touch of his lips on her breasts, she wanted to scream and then his hand slipped down between their bodies and touched the wet heat there.

"Please, please..." she said, not knowing she said it aloud and he shifted his weight between her legs and whispered, "Yes, yes..."

It was a long, smooth, deep thrust joining them together and she thought she was going to die from the pleasure and for the first time in her life, she felt complete, loving the man who was going to be her husband.

He was there, again, filling her, taking her higher, touching her very soul while she dug her fingers into his hips, pulling him closer, wanting more... more.

The scrape of her fingernails drove him hotter, faster, exciting him beyond belief and he was surrounded by her heat, her passion. The rhythm and the pounding took over, stole his breath, cleared his mind of all thought and suddenly they were there, together, shooting over the edge of everything, unable to breathe, holding to one another and it shook her to her very soul, shattering her into a million pieces as he exploded within her.

It wasn't until she got into her car and went through her morning ritual, checklisting off her various necessities that she discovered she had left her gun back in her apartment and made the walk back to retrieve it, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're late," Frank said, already heading out toward his car. "C'mon."

Oh, shut up, she thought, hurriedly following him out of the building. You're lucky I'm here, at all. "Where are we going?"

"There's been a kidnapping. Little girl... Navy ensign's kid..."

"Ah, Jeez..."

"Yeah..."

**********

Chapter 22 Lost Girls

"Susan Silver, age five, kidnapped seven hours ago, as near as we can figure, from her house... mother was shot... expected to survive... ah, shit, I hate it when it's little girls." Frank closed his laptop. "It's just up ahead, I think."

Barbara took the next corner and was greeted by several police cars blocking the roadway. She pulled out her identification and flashed it to the uniform. "NCIS," she stated, folding it back up and putting it into her blouse pocket.

"The FBI's here. There'll be a pissing match to who has jurisdiction. I hate those guys."

"Damn, Barbara... give 'em a chance, will you?" asked Frank. "We'll probably need them."

"Yeah, I know."

Inside the house, the agents introduced themselves to the others and received a photo of the young girl. 

"We think it was a neighbor kid. He was always hanging around the home, kinda creepy-like, and no one's seen him." The FBI agent looked around the room, seeing only police personnel. "He's been expelled from school for inappropriate behavior, as they say. I understand his parents paid off a couple of families to keep things quiet."

"Canvassed the neighbors?" Frank asked.

"Right away. Our only hope is that someone isn't home but knows him or where he goes."

An hour passed. Barbara was in the boy's bedroom, going through his things, hoping for a clue to where he might have gone. She lifted up a soccer trophy, the bronze figure kicking a ball over his head. On the wall shelves was a rock collection, each one labeled, some quite pretty.

"Frank? We really need to get around this kid's head. There's got to be something here." 

Frank was down on his knees, looking under the bed. "Ha!" he exclaimed. "Look at this." He slid down onto his stomach and reached up under the bed into the tiny slit in the box mattress. "Here we go."

He pulled out several photographs of a cave. "Just where the hell this is, though, I haven't a clue."

"People... somebody has to. I bet that's where she is."

She grabbed the photos and headed out of the room.

"Hey, wait a minute," Frank called, still on the floor. He stood and took one last look around the room and then at the rocks.

"Where the hell does he go collecting?" he said to the otherwise empty room.

"We found his mother," said the police detective. "She showed up late to work and we're holding her down at the station."

The NCIS and FBI agents headed to the Vista police station. The woman was in an interrogation room, her hands folded in prayer, staring at the wall.

"What's she doing," Barbara asked, watching the woman's lips move silently.

"She's praying. She's crazy."

"Where did you find her?"

"She works at the Vons in Carlsbad. That's why it took so long to find her. She was in the warehouse."

"Flip a coin?" asked the FBI agent.

"Sure, why not?"

"Where's your son, Mrs. Bethal? We know he's got the girl. You're going down as an accomplice if you don't cooperate and if something... anything, happens to her, you'll get the death penalty. Juries don't like kidnappers with little girls."

"I don't know where he went."

"Well, that's too damn bad, then... and when we find her, and we will, you're going to die. I'm personally going to watch you die."

Barbara walked out, bad cop all the way.

Five minutes later, John Smart, the lead FBI agent, walked in, along with the county prosecutor.

"Look, where does your son like to go hiking? We saw his rock collection."

"Boucher Trail, Palomar State Park... please, don't hurt him."

Within moments, Frank was on the phone to Pendleton, arranging for helicopters, even as the sun was setting.

Even with helicopters, it was more than an hour before the infra-red sensors picked up two heat signatures near the entrance to a small cave. The four agents were dropped off almost five hundred feet away and approached cautiously down the faint trail, only travelled by the kidnapper and his victim. It was so faint that even calling it a trail was a misnomer, it was more a dry wash.

Barbara was amazed that their prey was able to drag or carry the girl through such an environment.

They slowly picked their way through the rough, rocky terrain covered with the thick, dry brush of Southern California, finding an old campsite marked by a rusted old stove, abandoned for years. Even with night-vision goggles, it was slow work and they finally came into a quiet clearing, their helicopter far and away distant. To the left was another camp, straight ahead was a rickety ladder made out of tree branches lashed together and farther up the hillside was the small cave opening they were seeking. 

Even knowing what they were looking for, it was a good ten minutes before they were in place and were able to see the small cave so cleverly hidden behind tree branches in the side of the hill.

"Harry... we know you're in there... c'mon out, Harry. We won't hurt you."

"Go 'way," he screamed, holding the small girl in front of him..

"Let the girl go, Harry."

"No, she's mine, we're sup...."

The shot rang out and he fell back, dropping the little girl at his feet. Barbara ran forward as fast as she could, grabbing her away from the now lifeless body before she would see the carnage.

"It's OK, Baby, it's OK," was all she could say, over and over, carrying the girl down to the wash and wrapping the girl's pajama clad body in her own jacket before taking her farther up to the now waiting helicopter.

**********

"Spacing's a little wide, Lieutenant. Maybe you need a little more time on the range."

"Yes, sir."

"And, Lieutenant?"

"Sir?"

"Good lookin' out, the other night."

The lieutenant turned back to the range and sighted through his scope as the colonel walked away. He put three through the center of the target, one so close to the other that it just made a slightly larger hole. Saturday was only two days away and he could smell it coming.

He slowly pulled the trigger, living for the moment the bullet left the rifle, speeding toward its inevitable target. He put a face to the target and pulled all the way, at one with the bullet as it split her imaginary face in two. Cheating bitch...

There was a tap on his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Lieutenant, I asked you if you wanted some water. It's getting hot out here."

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost eleven... you've been out here for close to two hours."

"Thanks, Corporal. Yeah, it's time to come in." He rose to his knees and then stood up, cradling his weapon with both arms. His sniper rifle was expensive and his life had depended on it more times than he wished to remember. He tugged his cap down, walked back to the jeep with the corporal and they headed back to the base. 

It was time to go hunting, again.

**********

"I'm not sure whether I'm happy or not that kid is dead. He was a piece of work, that's for sure." Barbara signed and put her pen down.

"That was a hell of a shot, that's for sure. Those military guys..." Frank stopped talking for a moment and looked at his partner. "Oh, shit, where's the slug from that shot?"

"We didn't recover it; it was night and getting the girl back... c'mon, you were there."




Semper Fi Pt. 04



"We need to go back," he replied, "no matter how lousy that sounds. I think we can find it soon enough."

"I'll have to get my boots. They're in the trunk of my car."

"OK, meet me at my car in five."

It was a long drive back to Palomar and Barbara started asking 60s television trivia of Frank.

"What three shows in the mid-60s were crossovers?" she asked, laughing.

"You know, I wasn't even alive then... Uh... let's see. There was Batman... no, that was two episodes a week... hmmm... I got it: Andy Griffith, Gomer Pyle and Mayberry, RFD. Ha, got you!"

"That's pretty good. I didn't even think of them."

"Well, what were you thinking?"

"Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction."

"I didn't take you for a Hillbillies fan."

"Ah, well..." he said, thinking of Ellie May.

"Man, this sucks! It looks completely different in the daytime."

"Calm down, Barbara. Jesus." Frank adjusted his hat, put the metal detector over his shoulder and followed her into the small arroyo.

They walked up the dry creek bed, following the hillsides looking for the abandoned campsites they had seen two nights before. Forty minutes later, they were still walking through the gray-green brush and the smell of the chaparral was heavy in the air. All around them, the drone of insects became louder and louder as they continued moving.

"This SUCKS!!!" she yelled. "DAMN IT!!! These pants cost me $80!" She brushed at a long scratch on the side of her denims.

Frank stared at Barbara. What was causing her to act like this? he asked himself. Lately, she had been short-tempered.

She clomped through the deep brush. "Look, there's that stupid stove." Standing by the stove, she turned to the hillside, looked up and began to carefully find her way up the steep ground, watching for rattlesnakes.

A few minutes later, she was standing in the small cave where the kidnapped girl had been kept, trying to find the slug that had killed the boy.

"I've got something," she said, bringing the detector closer as the sound grew louder in her ears. "Ah, it's just a knife... kinda old, though." She reached down and put it into her pocket.

She walked further into the cave, waving the it along the walls. "Gotcha," she said, reaching out to the sandstone. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the old knife and used it to pry the slug away from the rock. Holding it up between her forefinger and thumb, she carried it out into the sunshine and put it into a ziploc.

"Wish I had super vision like Supergirl," she laughed. "Here we go." She took a drink from her water bottle and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"Time to go," he declared and turned to head back down the canyon.

**********

"You're right. This slug, even banged up as it is, is a match for that killing two months ago. Now, we just have to get that lieutenant in here."

**********

"What do you mean, he's shipped out? Get him back," Barbara demanded.

"He's halfway to Afghanistan, by now. Besides, you're working on a false premise. Even if you speak to him, what will you prove? That he used a rifle that was maybe used to kill someone, possibly, two months, you say, ago? And, where's the rifle? It's gone somewhere, too. You're wasting your time, Agent."

Barbara looked at the colonel, disbelieving her ears, realizing he was right. To have come so close and come away with nothing was unbelievable. The colonel all but admitted he knew what was going on and there was nothing they could do about it.

The problem of cheating wives was out in the open... was well known... was being attended to as only angry men could.

"Well... that sucked," she said, as they drove back to San Diego. "I don't know what to do, now."

"He's right. There's no proof of anything and that rifle's probably destroyed, now, probably sitting on the bottom of the ocean. All we can do is write the report and send it up the line. All we have is a bunch of loving wives getting harsh justice."

She got up and holding her hand to her mouth, rushed to the restroom.

**********

That night, Frank and Caitlyn were at 'Tonio's, having pizza. He cut away another piece and gave it to her and then sipped some more Chianti. 

"I still find it hard to believe that he can get away with it," said Caitlyn. "All those women dead..."

"Well, you've got to remember the motto of the Marine Corps. Semper Fi... Always Faithful. And, those women weren't." He picked up another piece. "To make matters worse, they were doing it while their husbands were half a world away fighting this stupid war."

She was amazed. This was the first time he had ever said anything about the war. "I thought..."

"It's been a waste, sweetheart, a total waste. Except for getting those Taliban assholes, what have we accomplished? Not a hell of a lot, our people and the money have been wasted and they hate us even more now than before, if that's even possible. Change has to come from the inside, especially over there."

She talked about girls finally getting an education and he countered with the number of them killed, maimed or blinded by the radical fundamentalists.

"So... you're saying they should still live in the stone age," she declared.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sick of the way those people treat the women over there. It's a disgrace to be called human. If you want to be called human, you have to act human, not just have enough DNA to push you over the line from the rest of the apes."

"What about 9-11?" she asked, almost afraid of his answer.

"It proves my point. To act like that isn't human, no matter what excuse they try and use."

"But..."

"Look, I don't have a solution... I just know that I wouldn't have had a single boot on the ground as long as I had one airplane that could still fly. And, what the hell's the Marine Corps doing in the desert, anyway? That just doesn't make any sense."

Dinner was quiet, after that and they drove home in silence.

**********

Barbara threw her coat onto her desk. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"Garrett and I are buying a condo in your building. Unit 223."

"Wow, that's great. Think of all gas we can save, carpooling..."

"Yeah, right. You just want to sleep on the way in."

"Well... yeah..." He thought back to the love affair he had had with her, before getting back with his wife. He shook his head, driving those memories away from his heart. He did love Barbara, just not that way... anymore. He couldn't.

"Yeah," he continued, "it'll be just fine." He tried to look busy.

Thankfully, the phone rang. 

**********

Chapter 23 When the Swallows Come Back

It was a warm afternoon with only a few white clouds hanging over the coastal hills and despite the breeze coming from the ocean, the courtyard was heating up. Barbara looked over the wooden railing at the guests waiting below.

Behind them were the white canopied tables at Café Mozart, even now filling with more guests. Within moments, she was going to marry Garrett and leave for a two-week honeymoon. She looked for him but could not see him and wondered where he was. A moment of panic flashed through her. What if he didn't come? What if he had changed his mind? What if this Hallmark moment was just a dream?

She folded her hands together to pray for guidance.

Barbara smoothed out her peach dress, the same one she had worn to that auspicious dinner with Garrett. "Hold still," said Caitlyn, responding to the subtle shift in her friend's mood, "I've still got three more to button up... now, it's my turn to mess with you," and then she pulled the soft pastel yellow veil forward on her friend's head.

"You're beautiful," said Caitlyn, "just beautiful. Garrett is a lucky man."

"No, I'm the lucky one. I didn't ever think I'd find someone to love me." Barbara refused to think of her affair with Frank. As wonderful as it had been, it seemed so long ago and so far away.,, another life... another her.

The two women walked down the stairway toward the waiting guests and finally stood on the reddish-brown ground tiles as Garrett approached with Frank.

She looked at Frank, wondering what he was thinking. But, he was married to Caitlyn, wasn't he? He had made his choice, she knew, because of Kelly. For a moment, just a moment, she questioned whether he would have made that choice if it wasn't for the little girl... and then felt guilty. She had Garrett, who loved her... who pledged his life to her. She turned to face the minister, holding Garrett's hand. He moved closer, increasing the pressure on her arm, drawing her closer, his stance protective, warm, loving.

"I do...

"...forsaking all others..."

Barbara felt better, flushed with excitement... it was over. Garrett was smiling back, his tanned hand over her darker one. She looked at the new ring on her finger and stretched her fingers, getting used to the feel... such a small thing with such a huge meaning.

Gingerly, she put her hand in his and lifted her eyes. As she responded to his kiss, she realized she did, indeed, love him.

Following the ceremony, they had their wedding portraits taken by the fountain, the opening yellow water lily blooms just matching her dress. Several swallows swooped down toward the fountain pond from the mission and skimmed the water, startling her for a moment.

Garrett's arm reached out and held her to him. "Easy, darling, don't want to fall into the water. No sense in getting in over your head."

***********

She felt the rush of his breath on her neck, making her want to throw her head back and allow him her sensitive neck, allowing him to explore further...

Garrett bent his head, placing his lips on the tender flesh of her neck, her answering sigh almost a shudder. He felt the firm yet soft press of her breasts against him and then moved his hands downward, pulling her hips close to his.

One hand slipped into her curls then caressed her neck as he gently massaged the tenseness between her shoulder blades.

She swayed toward him and every nuance of her body now tantalized him. She was his wife and this was their wedding night. Breathing in her alluring scent, he had to remind himself that this moment was one to savor forever, to live in his memory as long as he did. His want was hot, feverish, barely controlled and even though they had had sex, before, this time she was his.

When her hands tugged impatiently at his coat, both feelings escalated and it took only a moment to join his hands with hers, pulling off their clothing. When only one piece of cloth remained, that of her panties, he sucked in his breath. She was magnificent and she was his, the reality outshining his most vivid imagination all these years, wondering if he would ever fall in love, again.

Whatever he thought fell short of what he felt. She was his.

Barbara reached out to stroke his chest, warmth over hard steel and knew she wanted to continue. He was hers... finally.

And then, nothing was between them.

Savoring the sensation of bare flesh against bare flesh that hungered for his touch, she felt herself being picked up in the dimness of the room and carried to their wedding night bed. Somehow, she felt the press of the mattress against her back but it was overpowered by the touch of his body on hers.

And then, his hands began blotting out any rational thoughts she might have still had... each touch, each stroke of his fingers... she was overwhelmed. He was taking her to an edge she hadn't known existed before, creating a fire that burned in her soul and when his fingers skimmed her breasts, tracing a line over her rib cage, dancing across her hips, she could only quiver in response, feeling the temperature in the room rise so high it was impossible.

Unexpectedly, he turned that heat into tenderness and that was her complete undoing. He traced a line up her inner thigh until she was as soft as warm wax and his tenderness melted her to such a degree that the heat became secondary in her mind.

She saw the love in his eyes as he looked at her... there was so much emotion there she wished she could hold it forever.

He felt her skin, now covered with a sheen that shone back to him in the almost dark of the room, already anticipating the feel of her legs wrapping around his back. Each perfect breast filled a hand and their dusky tips lured him to taste but first he wanted his fill of looking, touching, absorbing everything she was... lean, long, loving. She was his.

Barbara trailed her lips down his throat as the taste of him seeped inside her, searing itself into her memory.

His hand glided down, cupping her, finding her moist and hot between her thighs and when she arched against his hand, he reached out to taste in return, taking one perfect breast to suck. Rewarded by her sudden movements, his lips followed the path his fingers had just taken and she trembled more, finally pausing at the juncture of her thighs and then he pleasured her until she could do nothing but quiver at the touch of his tongue.

She felt herself lost as Garrett continued and she wavered between pain and pleasure and then the boundaries were destroyed as he took away his mouth, fitted their bodies together and plunged inside with strokes that made her cling to his shoulders, digging into his back with a ferocious response, reveling in his fullness as she gripped him with her body.

He couldn't believe how tight she felt... so snug... so responsive, more so than ever before. Her hips rose to meet each of his strokes, pushing them both faster, more furiously, her long legs wrapped tightly around his back as he imagined they would. It took all his will not to rush, to hold back until he was certain she'd reached another climax.

Then... her orgasm rippled around them both and he took them over the edge as he burst inside her, filling her with his life giving essence... 

**********

The next morning, they left for the Playa Mujeres in Cancun.

**********

Barbara stepped out of the shower and saw her reflection in the room's mirror. She knew he loved her and wished that she had met him at least ten years earlier. 

She saw Garret sitting on the balcony, watching the small waves slowly move up the beach. Barbara turned and looked around the white room and then at the king-sized bed they had spent all yesterday in. They had only rested when room service had brought food or they had sat together in the Jacuzzi, holding each other like they were afraid the other would somehow disappear if they let go.

She touched her ring finger, looking at her wedding ring resting there. She had left her engagement ring with Caitlyn. There was no way she was bringing it to Mexico.

Opening the drawer, she pulled out the small bit of material that was her honeymoon swimsuit. She had bought the suit, after looking at all the styles, some of which had her conservative mind surprised.

The dark brown simple suit had a unique cut that made it stand out from the rest. Her entire back was exposed, as the suit dipped precariously low and then hugged her curves.

Her figure dominated the diving stand. Her long dark hair was skimmed backward with a black band, accenting her face. Her head was erect, lowered only enough so that she could see the end of the board. Frank stood there, his mouth open in amazement. He knew she swam but this was something of a different order.

Her dive was a flowing cascade of effortless grace and then, surfacing, she pulled herself from the pool and walked toward the board again.

Feeling like a voyeur, Garrett watched every move, from her deceptively long legs to the generous cleavage her swimsuit revealed. Water beaded and skimmed over her chocolate skin as she slicked back her hair and his gaze dwelled on the slope of her shoulders and the sweep of her bare back.

She climbed the ladder quickly, legs that stretched from here to the moon, he thought and then executed another dive. He moved to the side of the pool, waiting for her to surface and when her head broke through the water and she reached out to the edge to pull herself up, he grasped her hand as she rose from the pool, the water sluicing off her body, accentuating every curve.

He knew she was beautiful but had thought that was in his mind, pushed there by his love and passion but now realized that she had a body that women would kill for.

He went with her back into the pool and she landed in his arms, giving her a fleeting but intense sensation of heat and muscle. She saw his teasing eyes and then a stronger, more intense emotion. She lingered in the circle of his arms and for a moment, forgot she was in a pool. The sensation of floating was so strong, she couldn't be sure if it was physical or emotional and still she didn't move. She was his.

Their eyes met again and he broke the stillness, edging toward her, his gaze focused on her mouth, his head tilted toward hers...

...and a foolish hotel guest cannon-balled into the water and ruined the moment. Garrett looked at the grinning man, wishing he had his gun with him, knowing he was willing to kill him.

"C'mon," he said, "let's get something to eat." He glared at the young man still swimming in the pool, took his wife's hand and walked away.

**********

They walked together on the white beach, their footprints leaving side-by-side marks only to be swept away by the creamy swash of the water. The distant horizon was marked by a light blue line that met the white of the huge clouds reaching to the sun.

Several hundred feet away, a line of palms met the water, joined by royal-blue chaises, some still available. "Do you want to lie down?" he inquired. "There's some chaises over there."

"No," she said. "I'd rather just walk with you. I love you." She tightened her fingers in his, running one finger over his wedding ring as if to make sure it was real. "I want to take some of this sand back. I can put it into a bag, or something. It'll be a souvenir only you and I will understand."

He stopped and reached down, picking up a handful of the white powder. "I'll find a bag when we get back to the hotel." The sand whispered through his fingers back to the beach.

Garrett led her back to the restaurant and they were given a table near the windows looking back to the beach. Dark tables, dark chairs... elegant in its own way.

He reached out to her right hand, holding it in both of his, seeing her mocha fingers disappear. "I love you," he said, softly. Simple words, yet enough.

They got up and went to get their food.

**********

To be continued...




Semper Fi Pt. 05



Copyright @ calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011


Chapter 24    Love Me To Sleep

Humming, Barbara climbed the stairs to the second floor offices as she finally returned to duty and smiled at everyone she met.

"It's about time you got back," Frank said, smiling.  "Hey, really, though, I've missed you.  Working by myself isn't much fun."

"Thanks, I think."  Barbara put her automatic into her desk drawer and locked it.  "I'm still a little..."  She couldn't express herself, it was still too new and too vivid.

"Yeah, I know... me, too.  Amazing, isn't it?  You can love someone, make love with someone, live with someone... but, when you marry, it's totally different."

For the rest of the morning, Barbara sat there, thinking about what Frank had said.  


That evening, she came home to find the dining room lit with candles, the table set with a lace cloth and their wedding china and the most wonderful smell was coming from the kitchen.

"Honey, I'm home," she called, giggling like the school-girl Garrett made her feel like.  Time and time again she wished she had met him at least ten years earlier.  So much time lost... so much of her life, lost.

From the kitchen came Garrett, a white towel wrapped around his waist, a large wooden spoon in his hand.  "You're just in time.  I've some appetizers coming out of the oven in about ten minutes and baked orange chicken for dinner with salad and for dessert, freshly baked cookies."

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a light, brown shape on the counter.

"Fresh country-style bread... I put it together this morning and just baked it now."

Shocked, she went and washed the day's grime away, slipped on a dress and then returned to the dining table and sitting down, she watched as he put the rest of dinner on the table.  Garrett brought over two glasses and a bottle of Fetzer Gewurztraminer.  When he handed her one of the now filled glasses, she accepted it with a shaking hand.  It was still so new for her, living with him, loving him.

The golden bubbles tickled her nose as she raised her glass in salute, savoring the sparkling taste in her mouth.

"God bless you, Garrett... and, thank you."


"This chicken is delicious, Garrett.  Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Well, when you're a bachelor as long as I was, you learn to cook.  You can't eat out all the time and pizza every night gets old.  Here, try this."

"But, the bread..."  She spread some butter on the bread and took another small bite of the home-baked crust.

"Pretty neat, huh?  When I was in high school, my biology teacher had us each bake a loaf of bread as part of studying fermentation.  He said we couldn't make beer so the bread was the next best thing."  Garrett smiled, remembering the man who had been like a father to him during those hard years he was growing up.

"You have no idea.  When we studied mollusks, he brought in a couple hundred pounds of squid and served up calamari.  We had never had it before but by the end of the day, the whole school had dropped by to get something to eat.  He used to take us out to the desert to see the volcanoes and collect rocks and we even went on a whale watch.  I had the greatest time in that class but he was a tough taskmaster, too.  He always expected the best from each of us.  You should have seen it... on the first day of class he handed out this, must have been fifty page handout with all the assignments for the year... every homework, every test, every lab, every film.  No excuses, he told us."

"So, you really enjoyed high school."

"I really enjoyed that class... some of the other stuff, not so much.  Here... have some more chicken."

"It's unbelievable how good it tastes.  I'll have to thank him if I ever meet him."

"Would you like to go to a reunion?  My twentieth is coming up next year."

"I'd love to.  He sounds like a fun guy."  She smiled, now looking forward to the reunion.

"I want some more of that bread.  You're going to spoil me, Garrett, and make me fat.  You know... after dessert, there's dessert."

"I've always liked chocolate."  He laughed.  "I can't wait."

She spread some more butter on the bread, watching it melt into the heat.  "Mmmmm..."

"There's been a rash of convenience store robberies while we've been gone.  Fortunately, no one got hurt but it seems like it's only a matter of time before it happens."  Garret passed the chicken over.  "More?"

"This economy is killing everyone.  No clues, huh?" she asked.

"No... you'd think those places would have security cameras that actually work.  What'd he look like?  Oh, he was five feet, no six feet, maybe seven feet tall and he was black, Mexican, white, who knows wearing a hoodie, baseball cap.  Damn, you can't get a straight answer from some of these people and I wonder if there really was a robbery in the first place."  Garrett filled his glass, again.

Barbara took another sip.  "You're probably right.  There aren't any robberies, it's just a tax scam."


She got up to help clear the table but he motioned her back.  "I've got it, honey, why don't you relax?"

As he took away the dishes, she went into the living room and turned on the stereo and jacked in her I-pod, bringing up The Temptations' 'My Girl'.  She felt, more than heard, the opening riff... the ascending guitar notes moving from one octave to the next, and as the beat filled the room, she began to sway with the music, left foot forward, the other up and then to the right, then feet together and fingers snapping.

"Dance with me," she said, quietly, and waited until he had returned from the kitchen, then turned and moved smoothly into his open arms.  The first contact with his body was still incredible and she realized she had been waiting for this moment ever since they had returned from Cancun.  

His arms circled her waist and he pulled her close.  She needed little coaxing to tuck her head against his shoulder.  Their bodies swayed together with the rhythm.  Her arms circled his shoulders, her fingers moving into his hair as she breathed in the now familiar scent of him, his warm skin and the smell of his soap.

She felt intoxicated.  Her head spun from his nearness, his firm body moving against her own, the magic of the music and her own powerful longing.

When she felt his mouth moving against the skin of her neck, her head dropped to the side, giving him freer access.

"You taste delicious," he said as his hands moved firmly over her back and hips, molding her slim form under his touch to his body.

Barbara turned her head, seeking and finding his with hers.  She tilted to kiss him fully, conveying the desire she felt more clearly than any words she could possibly say.

"Take me to bed..." she whispered.

She felt his grip on her body tighten as he pressed her closer.  His arousal at her closeness excited her as she felt it push strongly against her.

"I could make love to you, right here on the rug," he admitted in a low voice in her ear, "but I won't.  This is going to be as perfect as I can make it."

She pulled back and stared into his eyes as she lovingly touched his face with her hand, her fingertips tracing the line from his cheek to his jaw.  "If I'm in your arms, I don't know how it could be anything else."

His head dipped toward her full, light-peach lips.  Their mouths met and merged and then he felt her eager response as the kiss quickly deepened to a passionate need.

Finally, he drew away from her, his hands sliding to cup her shoulders to him and he pressed his cheek against her dark curls, caught his breath and inhaled her flowery scent.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and dropped a kiss into her hair as she led him into their bedroom.  Her legs, even after all this time, still felt rubbery when she knew they were going to make love and this time, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to make it all the way to the bed or not.

He went to close the door, knowing that she preferred the small sense of privacy that it afforded, and then he returned closer and her heart pounded wildly.  She moved smoothly back into his embrace, her arms looping around his body, her soft, full breasts pressed to his chest.

His hands moved over the cloth between her thighs to her curly hair, slowly pulled up her dress and felt the tiny frizziness against his palms.  He dug his fingers deeper into her hair; it felt like cotton candy, dropped soft kisses onto her shoulder and lifted her face to his.

He opened his arms to her and she moved into the circle of his strong embrace.  As she settled beside him, he turned toward her and she curled against him.  Barbara dropped her head, and then rested her cheek on his chest.  She felt Garrett's chin graze the top of her head and his hand came up to stroke her curls.

She closed her eyes and savored the moment, utterly at peace and totally complete, here in the dark of the night, listening to his steady heartbeat and slow, deep breaths.  She felt his hand in her hair again and wondered what he was thinking.

They lay together silently for what seemed to her a long time.  She wondered if he was falling asleep yet his hand moved through her hair and down her back.

The warm, steady pressure of his touch was tender and soothing, lulling her into a sleepy state.  This isn't going to do, she thought.  Sleep is the last thing I want right now.

"You make me feel so alive," he finally said.  "I never thought I'd fall in love again.  Before I met you, I was... angry."  He lifted her face to his.  His eyes were bright and full of passion that both thrilled and terrified her.  She ran her hands along his back and tipped her had, unable to stop looking at his face.  He made her feel alive... eager to please him and love him completely.  She was sure he could see it in her eyes, feel it in her touch, taste it in her kiss.

Finally, their mouths met and merged and her hands glided over his chest and shoulders and then to his back again, boldly touching him.  He answered her touch with a sweep of his warm hands down the curves of her body, from her shoulders to her hips and then up again, to gently cup her full breasts.  His warm mouth pressed against the soft curves of her breasts, his fingers circling the hardening nipples.  Her kiss was wild against his mouth for a moment before she softly moaned in pleasure, her body helpless against his as she felt his hand press against her flat stomach, his fingertips touching the edge of her panties.

Barbara's fingers moved restlessly though his hair as his mouth covered one dusky, sensitive nipple and then the other.  She moaned and moved under him, pressing her hips against his, feeling his readiness for her, his throbbing arousal needing to love her.

Her eyes were half-closed, dazed with passion, her face flushed, her dark curls splayed around her head.

She pressed her mouth to his, kissing him, tasting him and felt his body shudder and heard him moan with pleasure as her caresses moved lower, her mouth tenderly exploring his thighs.  She slipped her hand to his erection, stroking him until he groaned.

Garrett raised himself above her, his hand sliding up her smooth, strong leg, his fingertips finding the lacy edge of her panties and his fingers slipped inside, seeking and finding her wet warmth.  Her hips arched into his touch and she knew he could feel she was ready for him.

She gripped his shoulders, her hips thrusting to meet the lovingly slow strokes of his hand.  Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore and trembled and moaned and pressed her face into the hollow between his neck and shoulder.  She took a deep, shuddering breath and pressed herself close to him.

With her hands on his hips, she gently guided his body to cover hers and then his mouth pressed passionately to hers and he shifted his body and settled between her thighs and then, feeling himself at the moist lips between, moved forward and inside.

She drew a sharp and ragged breath; her body tensed and then trembled in his arms.  He held very still, kissing her hair until he felt her relax beneath him and then he began to move slowly inside her and she moaned deep and low at the back of her throat.  He moved deeper, giving her even more.

Their bodies moved as one in an ancient rhythm until he was thrusting faster and deeper and she could barely meet him sigh for sigh, rising to meet him, driving him wild with passion.

She knew she would never love anyone more and never would, no matter how long she lived.  As he brought her to a climax and she felt him reaching his own, she heard his muffled cry and felt him shudder again and again in her arms.  Their mouths merged in a deep, devouring kiss as he moved within her with one last, powerful thrust and he exploded within her, adding to her slickness.

When he made a move to shift away, she held him tightly.  "No... not yet.  I like the way you feel on top of me," she whispered.

He pulled her long leg up to cover his hip and she felt his renewed arousal.  His hand covered her breast and his mouth sought hers again and his slow, deep kisses kindled again her deepest desire.


That night, he lay in bed, his hand touching her waist, thinking.  He recalled the feel of her, the tiny, gutteral sounds she had moaned into his mouth, the way she had fitted to him, tight and satisfying against his arousal, easing the hunger even as she intensified it beyond belief.  She had encircled him tightly as he entered her, her thighs strongly locked around him.  Once she had caught his rhythm, he wasn't gentle and she had matched him thrust for urgent thrust, glorying in the savage wonder of it all.

Thinking of it all, he was hard again and ready for her again.  He lifted his thigh to be more comfortable under the covers and he heard her softly breathing in her sleep.  Before, she had stared him with a sultry, wondering expression that had caused him to lift her up and throw her on her back to satisfy their growing lust.  Once he had put his hands on her, there was nothing that was going to stop him from loving her.

As loud as she was in bed, her ability to resist him was nonexistent.  Her touch aroused him and he knew his kisses made her moan.  With just a few words, she could make him hotly desire her and that knowledge tore through him just as it had the first day he had met her months earlier.

It was love he wanted, not sex... well, not just sex.  He fell asleep.

**********

Frank couldn't stop himself from kissing and holding her tight, from stealing a few moments of paradise in her arms.  His head dropped and their lips met and then he felt Caitlyn relax and melt into his arms.  Her mouth opened under the pressure of his and he heard a small sigh of satisfaction deep in her throat.

Their kiss went on and on as he felt the honeyed sweetness of her soft, warm mouth.  His hands moved up and down her sleek body, stroking her breasts and then down to her hips and gently around her cheeks, pulling her against his growing arousal.

He heard her groan with desire as their bodies pressed tightly together, heat seeking heat.  She was ready and he kissed her deeply, bending her head back as he robbed her of her breath, slipping his hand between her smooth, lean thighs and then touching her moist, intimate place.  Her hips rising to meet his fingers and she shuddered with pleasure in his arms.


Frank woke... he was sure he had heard something and then turned to his side.  He startled fully awake.  Standing there was Kelly, her stuffed bear in the crook of her arm, one hand rubbing her eye.

"Daddy, I'm scared," she cried.  "I heard a noise."

Shit! he thought.  There's something going on.  He picked her up, kissed her and slid her into the bed next to her mother.  "Caitlyn, wake up.  I think there's someone inside."  As quietly as he could, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and pulled out his weapon, put in the magazine from the second drawer and chambered a round.

While the hallway was dark, there was still enough light for him to see and he checked each room in turn.  Nothing... what had he heard?  What had Kelly heard?  

He opened the door to Maria's room and heard her lightly snoring.  Unless someone was hiding under the bed on in the closet, the room was otherwise empty.  Moving carefully, he cleared each room in turn and finally turned on the lights.

"What did you hear?" Caitlyn asked, holding her own weapon pointed at the floor.

"I don't know, but Kelly heard it, too.  Maybe... it must have been outside.  I'll check outside in the morning."


Two hours later, he was dressed and walking around the building, wondering what had happened until he came behind the condo and found a large branch lying on the drive.  He looked up and saw their bedroom window and a long scrape against the paint.

"Well..." he said to himself, "that beats having someone in the place."

**********

Two days later, Barbara and Garrett moved into Unit 223 and after everything had been brought in, they went to Frank and Caitlyn's for a bar-be-que.

While Kelly watched the Muppets, Maria was busy in the kitchen, preparing the pico de gallo, chopping the tomatoes and white onions.  The jalapeños would be next, she thought, along with the lime juice and cilantro.  Frank was outside, grilling the steaks for the fajitas while Caitlyn finished setting the table.

There was a knock on the open door.  "Hello," Garrett said, while Barbara just walked in, carrying a teddy bear which she gave to Kelly.

"Hey!  Where can a girl get something to drink around here?"

"Margaritas are in the fridge and pina coladas... but, you have to wait for those 'till Frank comes back."

"I'm going to check on the steaks," said Garrett, walking out of the condo to see Frank.

Barbara put her purse down on the sofa, thought better of it because of the gun inside and asked Caitlyn to lock it up in her bedroom.  She poured herself a large margarita and went into the living room.

"Thank you, Aunt Barbara," said Kelly, clutching her new bear.  "I'm going to name him Bobo..."

"Bobo, you say."

"Yes, he's funny."

"Well, whatever floats your boat, kid."

"You're silly... I don't have a boat.  Mommy, Aunt Barbara says I should have a boat.  Can I have a boat?"

Barbara took a long sip of her drink.  "Kids..."


"Pass the chips, will you? por favor..." said Frank, moving his pico de gallo over to the side of his plate.  "¿Maria, tiene más fajitas?"

"Sí, Señor Frank, un momento, por favor."  Maria rose from the table, taking several of the empty serving plates with her.

"This has been delicious.  Thank you, so much, Maria, muy delicioso."  Barbara got up and started clearing some of the other dishes.  "I can't let her do all the work.  What?"

Caitlyn laughed, delighted to just sit there and let her do most of the work.  From the kitchen came the sounds of rinsing dishes clattering in the sink and being put into the dishwasher.

"Señor Frank, here are your fajitas.  Anyone else?"

"Oh, no," said Garrett, 'I'm stuffed.  Gracias, Maria."

"De nada, Señor Garrett."  Maria sat down and finished her pina colada.  Someday, she thought, someday she would have a man to love her, she just didn't know when or how.


"Well," said Frank, "that was fun.  But, you know, you spend all day with people and then you spend more afterwards and you end up talking shop.  It's like you never left work."

"Are you saying you don't want to have dinner with them, anymore?"

"Not so much that as... well, maybe not so often, from now on."  How could he explain the mixed feelings he had seeing Barbara with Garrett... feelings he shouldn't have.  He was married to Caitlyn, now and should act accordingly.  Maybe he still was angry about the five years they had lost when she had sent him away, afraid of commitment.  Maybe he should talk to someone and get his feelings straightened out.




Semper Fi Pt. 05



**********

"¿A qué hora estará usted en casa, hoy?"

"A las cuatro por la tarde, Maria..."

Frank picked up Kelly's bucket and plastic shovel and taking her by the hand, headed to the parking lot.  A short time later, they were walking across the sand toward the water and after finding a suitable spot according to his daughter, they sat down and began building a sand castle.  

After an hour, the tide began to roll in and the waves turned the castle into melting sugar.  "It's time to go, honey... and, it's getting cold.  You want a hamburger?"

"Yes, Daddy.  Thank you."

After brushing off the sand from their legs and feet, they got into his car and drove over to Burger King.

"A whopper with everything, a junior whopper and small fries... small coke."


On the ride home, he decided to stop at the toy store in La Jolla and bought Bananagrams, a children's scrabble game, so they could play later and an over-priced Hello, Kitty shoulder pouch.  What a racket, he grumbled, but whenever he looked at his daughter's face, what could he do?

**********

Four days later, there was another "Lonely Hearts Murder" in Carlsbad and Frank and Barbara drove directly there from home.

"I'm telling you, it was the damnedest thing you ever saw.  They were walking across the parking lot and then she went down, without a sound and then a second later, down he went."

Frank looked the two bodies still lying on the asphalt between the yellow tapes.  "Who are we looking at?"

"He's a minister, Peter Smith, at the Good Shepherd Bible Church and she's Mary Steward."

"Married to..."

"A lance corporal over in Guam.  Uh, let's see... John Steward, three years in out of a four year commitment, is scheduled to rotate back next month."

"All right.  So, we eliminate him and that leaves us with..."  Frank was frustrated.

"Nothing.  It's going to be like all the rest.  It'll never stop."

"I know."



Thank you for reading.
calibeachgirl



Semper Fi Pt. 06



Copyright @Calibeachgirl
All rights reserved, 2012



Chapter 25: Bonds can be harder to break than promises.

Two weeks later...

By Friday afternoon, Frank was exhausted. It had been a long week of paperwork and following dead-end leads for no purpose. Between the continuing cheating wives murders and a suspected gun theft ring at Pendleton, the hours seemed to stretch from midnight to midnight with no relief in sight. Today was the first time in days that he was able to take a rest and after opening a Coors, he took a long, cold drink.

He slouched down onto his couch, his feet up on the coffee table, his beer in his hand and carefully looked at Barbara, his partner at NCIS. Her light-chocolate face stared back, wondering what was the cause of his interest. He wondered what might have been if their affair had fully blossomed into marriage, he had been that... what? infatuated? enamored? obsessed? with her.

His problem was the simple question: was he still? 

It was too late now, he realized, still casting a furtive glance in her direction. He had married Caitlyn, a given once he had discovered he was the father of Kelly. He did love Caitlyn, there was no doubt about that in his mind but the five years lost still bothered him, lurking in the back of his mind like a hungry spider waiting to pounce whenever circumstances were ripe. Those five years had became a series of furtive wanderings around the American naval bases of the Pacific searching for a peace that never came, no matter how hard he tried to put the past behind him.

"You know," Barbara said, looking at him, "we need to take a break." She stood near the windows, the detritus of numerous beach-combing trips littering the windowsills: shells, bits of twisted and polished driftwood, colored glass floats washed ashore after decades at sea.  A grin spread across her face. "I'm for going to Solvang for the weekend," she said, now looking at Caitlyn, "and you're coming with me." She put Kelly down onto the floor and wiped the melted ice cream from her blouse. "This 'auntie' business is messy work. God, I need a break, I'm so sick of all this death."

"I don't know," answered Caitlyn. "There's still..." She looked at her friend who was already starting to close windows, forgetting for a moment that Frank was still in the condo.

"You know as well as I do," she continued, "that this case is just spinning its wheels unless we can come up with some new angle. That goddamn colonel over at Pendleton practically dared us to try and prove it and we all know he's... ah, screw that asshole. Look, we take a short ride up the coast, get some Danish, buy some junk, maybe spend the night or so and then come back and we attack this thing refreshed."

"I still..." Caitlyn looked at her friend who was now heading into the kitchen.

"Then, it's settled. We're going. You pack up what you need for the kid... Maria, pack us a few snacks for the road and we're off. The boys can 'bach' it for the weekend."

..........

A half-hour later, the four were heading north along the 5 toward Los Angeles and were making good time until reaching the 5-405 split near El Toro. 

"God, I hate this damn freeway!!!" Barbara said, smacking the steering wheel and honking the horn. Embarrassed, she turned down the radio, not wanting to wake Kelly, now sound asleep in the back seat next to Maria.

Caitlyn put down her paperback and looked at her friend. "Oh, you just get too excited. We'll be there soon enough. Just keep your eyes on the road." Caitlyn gazed back toward her daughter, sound asleep, wondering if driving up the coast was such a good idea, after all.

They slowed to forty miles per hour all the way to the South Bay curve, slowing even further until they passed the Rosecrans exit and almost came to a halt. Barbara looked toward the houses beyond the west side of the freeway as their car slowly crept forward. Maria was staring out the window, quietly listening to her I-pod. 

"What?" asked Caitlyn, looking up from her book and wondering what had captured her friend's attention from the highway.

"I used to know someone that lived here..." 

Barbara's mind filled with visions of what had been... that first time they had met. It had been a quiet afternoon as she sat on the park bench, finishing her lunch when he had walked up.


Twelve years earlier...

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he had asked, his voice softly belying his handsome features and build, his face in shadow from the sun behind his head.

"No, I'd like the company," she had answered, shyly grateful that there was someone to talk to on such an almost empty day. She scooted over a little, giving him space. She put her small lunch cooler on the ground.

"Hi," he had said, "I'm Jim. Would you like some candy?" Laughing, he had pulled out a bar of Ghirardelli chocolate and passed it to her. "Here," he said, pulling out another, "I've two."

"Thank you, you're very kind," she had said, glad for the attention. Her college studies had taken most of her time and her family the rest.

Before the afternoon had ended, they were sitting closer together, talking about what they did... he was in the Air Force, riding what he called the 'back seat' of an F-15 and she was finishing at UCLA with a degree in criminal justice.

"That must be very interesting," they both said at the same time. They laughed.

"I understand that means good luck..." he said.

"What?"

"When two people say the same thing, you know, at the same time. Good luck. Old Chinese proverb or something...."

"You're making that up, aren't you?" She laughed, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, again.

"Hide your beautiful face behind your hand when you laugh. You have the most wonderful smile and you shouldn't hide it... especially from me." He put his finger to her lips, touching her gently, her tongue touching him.

"Please kiss me now," she had said and his tongue slid between her full lips as his pale hands caressed her darker face.

Before the afternoon had ended, they were walking together, holding hands like it was the most natural thing to do and as they approached the park's small lake, she stopped him. "Is this something special?"

"Like nothing else," he answered.

Before the afternoon had ended, they were falling in love for he had said he was struck by her beautiful mind and quick laughter and she by his pure affection for life and her.

That night, they took a long walk on the beach, occasionally withstanding a less-than-approving glance from someone along the way. He laughed as they passed, wishing them a pleasant evening. He said a man who flies in fighter planes for a living had no fear from some small-minded fools at the shore. He was more afraid of the seagulls flying low nearby determined to ruin their clothes.

The next day, they went to Bob's Big Boy for lunch, all thoughts of going to class lost for the moment, ordering hamburgers and shakes and ice cream sundaes and talking like two teenagers about life and love and happiness and silliness and then more seriously, the future as one hand reached across the table to the other and fingers touched and palms touched and then both hands joined heatedly, friendship and trust and love moving from skin to skin and back again.

He took her to the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance Airport and introduced her to his world, showing her the exotic Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II, now looking like something from Star Wars and sitting on the ground, so far from its natural home in the skies high above.

And the day after that, they saw a revival of 'Casablanca' at a theater in Westwood and then went for New York pizza next door and he had laughed as the cheese stringed from her slice to her smiling mouth and she had laughed when the waitress asked if they wanted a box to take home and he said they were going to finish it there, thank you.

And she couldn't understand how she had ever lived without his smile and he wondered where in his life he would be without her laughing eyes and vowed to never be without her again.

Before the week was over, they had been a couple in love, walking hand in hand everywhere they went, kissing, hugging, touching. Their passion had burned so brightly, so quickly, so passionately. Even now, the memory made her blush so many years later.

Before the month was over, she wanted to make love to him and had thought, "Make love to me now before I have a reason not to," and then realized she had said those words aloud. "Dear God, what have I said?" she blushingly asked.

His hands felt strong and insistent as they drew her to him, though his mouth was surprisingly soft and supple, pliant lips shaping themselves over hers, imparting a taste of their own, mixing with hers into something she hadn't ever tasted before but somehow knew from forever.

The power of his embrace chased off any lingering hesitation she might have had and knew she'd never have a night like this again, for it would be her first time.

When he finally lifted his mouth from hers, her blood simmered, obliterating whatever reason she had... all that was left was a burning desire.

"I have a confession to make," she had said. "I was hoping that this would happen... with you."

She noticed the hesitation she had seen earlier when she had invited him into her apartment, so late at night. And then he kissed her a second time, his hand moved downward and with his other hand, he cupped the back of her head and her then curly hair fell down around her shoulders. She let her head drop back while he kissed her throat, his lips following the circle formed by the necklace he had given her. She felt dizzy and forced her eyes open.

"I bought these... for tonight," she said, pulling from her nightstand drawer a small plastic packet, her face blushing darkly.

"I love you, Barbara, and I always will," he had whispered and peeled her dress from her arms.

Barbara reached down and a few moments later his clothes lay in a heap on the floor along with her dress. She stood there only wearing her panty hose and a tiny silk slip she had saved for just this evening. She tugged down the hose and gave him a bashful smile. She laughed nervously, filled with need and threw aside the panty hose.

Jim trailed a finger downward from her throat to her cleavage, finally disappearing into the bodice of her slip, skimming across the tops of her breasts and then over, flicking aside the thin satin strap. She nearly gasped aloud but bit her lip instead, hoping he would guess just how badly she wanted him.

"I love you," he said again and then he said no more, lowering his head to put his mouth where his hand had been.

She closed her eyes and tried to inhale. "This is heaven," she had thought, a moment of heaven right in the middle of her bedroom. She combed her fingers through his hair and down his back and together they sank down onto the bed. He was something that she had only dreamed about all those years.

She ran her hands up his back again. She had never touched a man, a rarity in a modern woman's life, and savored the shape and texture of him, his long muscular limbs and soft hair on his chest. She wondered how she had lived so long without this and realized that there had never been the right man before.

He pulled off her slip and lifted her so that her breasts brushed his chest and pure instinct took over, her hips undulating against his, rising for their coming together.

An urgent wildness built inside her and she clutched at Jim, her hands and mouth and body begging for him more shamelessly than any words she could ever tell him. He entered her rapidly, recklessly and she cried out with the force and the glory of it and felt the long, rolling waves begin immediately. He brought her to a crest of sensation where she was afraid to move, to breathe, to blink, but just when she thought she couldn't bear to hover there, he took her higher still.

It was unbelievable, almost frightening, the level of pleasure he brought to her. She'd had no idea... then she had no thought at all as she tumbled with a cry into ecstatic nothingness, holding him so close against her that she could feel the rhythm of his heart and each ripple of his climax as he erupted within her.

It had been a long time before she could speak, before she could even form a coherent thought. The long, mindless moments had a hazy, surreal quality and finally, she moved, propping one hand on his chest so that she could look into his face.

He had his fingers deeply tangled in her curly hair. Unhurriedly, he freed his hand and let it slide downward over her shoulder, back, hips, thighs, making a silent, wicked suggestion at her most vulnerable spot.

She had flushed, she remembered, and felt a new wave of desire even before the last one had fully ebbed away.

Shyly, she said, "I've got one condom left."

"Oh, baby," he answered, pulling a whole chain of them from his pants pocket. "We've got a few more than that."

Present day...

A single tear formed and quietly flowed down her mocha-colored cheek. It had been her first true romance and their love had reached for the sky like a rocket, only to explode in grief when he was killed. She had known what had happened before the two men in uniform reached her door and she collapsed on the floor after she had opened it, knowing the grief was real and true and would never leave, no matter how long she lived.

"...he was a good man who gave everything for his country... and... died a hero." She thought back to that one night, that one magical kiss that they had shared before that last fateful flight. "...and left me alone," she cried.

Bonds can be harder to break than promises. "I love you," she thought, "I'll always love you." He was the only man she had ever loved... until Frank... and that had taken more than ten years to come about.

Barbara looked at Caitlyn sitting next to her. If not for Caitlyn, Barbara knew in her heart Frank would have married her and as much as she was friends with the woman, she still always had that last one deep feeling that never went away, of how she had lost another love. What would happen with Garrett? Was she doomed to endure another heartbreaking loss? Were the ghosts of her love affairs to follow her forever? Why wasn't she in love with Garrett as deeply as she should be?

By the time her tear had dried, they were well past his old neighborhood where they were going to live and finally approaching the Santa Monica Freeway. As a child, she had found out crying never solved anything. She touched a finger to her face, tracing where he had kissed her that last time.

Deciding a drink of water might help, she reached for her sports bottle and gulped down the water, trying hard to calm her heart, still beating hard. "It's still early," she said, eager to change the subject floating in her subconscious. "I'm going to take the Coast Highway. Besides, it's more scenic."

..........

"Mommmmmeeeeee..." came the plaintive wail from the back seat.

"All right, Kelly, we'll stop as soon as we can."

Barbara looked in the mirror as she pulled into Burger King's parking lot. "I'll get some drinks, you can get Kelly to the bathroom and then we can eat some of those snacks."

While Caitlyn took her daughter to the restroom, Barbara bought drinks and Maria opened up the cooler filled with the food prepared for the trip. The women hungrily ate their way through the Italian sandwiches, crunching through the crusty bread into the provolone and cold cuts within.


"I figure," Barbara said, "we've got about another two hours and then we can get a place to stay and then walk around. I can't wait for those Danish cookies."

"All this talk of food is going to make me fat," said Maria, patting her stomach. "At this rate, I'll never get married."

"There's nothing wrong with you," said Caitlyn. "Any man would be happy to marry you. You've just..." She suddenly realized that taking care of Kelly was keeping Maria from finding a love of her own. Embarrassed, she quietly looked out her window at the passing coastal mountains as they headed toward Ventura, wondering what she would do now.

..........

Caitlyn found herself breathing deeply the scent of the ocean, her long hair unkempt, as though ruffled by the wind that blew in the window from the Pacific. For a moment, the seemingly limitless expanse of the sea daunted her. What to do about Maria still eluded her.

By the time they reached Solvang north of Santa Barbara, it was getting toward early evening and Barbara turned into the first motel they saw after driving into Solvang on Mission Drive and went in.

She glanced at her watch, remembering the White Rabbit's mad refrain, "I'm late, I'm late..."

"OK, we're lucky," she said as she returned to the car, "I've got us a double room with two king sized beds. We're all set. I guess I probably should have called first but we're good. Now, lets' get something to eat and then we can walk around a little. I really want to get to that candy store that sells that homemade fudge. I'm bringing about ten pounds back for Garrett. That should take some of the sting off of having to stay by himself this weekend." Not a day went by that she didn't think of him and how he had come into her life when she had been feeling so down. Was he a rebound love? she wondered... but, in the end, did it really matter?

"Well, then, I guess I better buy something for Frank or I'll never hear the end of it." Caitlyn laughed, knowing full well that Frank would only eat a few of the cookies from the small Danish town. His desire to exercise had overtaken his desire to eat the calorie rich foods that he had once enjoyed.

Even though it was getting late, the day still retained its California inland heat. The women slowly walked up the street's blistering sidewalk, Caitlyn holding Kelly tightly by the hand, the small girl wearing a horned helmet, and headed to the Red Viking Inn for dinner, the smells of cooking surrounding them as they approached. The smorgasbord had been a favorite destination before Frank had returned to Caitlyn's life and when Barbara insisted on the day trip, it was the beckoning memory of the restaurant that made her accept the idea.


"My God, this is SO good," Maria said, lifting another forkful of red cabbage. "I'm going to have to learn how to cook some of this stuff. I'm sure there's a cookbook around this town, somewhere." 

"I saw a giftshop just down the street. We can stop there tomorrow. Right now, I want to eat and eat and eat." Barbara buttered a piece of rye bread and passed it to Kelly. "Here, baby girl, try this."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" asked Caitlyn, wondering if that was why Barbara was acting so differently. They were all under the same stress.

"Oh, no, of course not, I'm just hungry, is all. Admit it; we needed to get away from all that stuff we were dealing with back in San Diego. It's just too damn..."

"I thought we weren't going to obsess about it. C'mon, let's just have fun." Caitlyn put out her hand. "Pass that ham over here, will you?"

That night, as the four lay sleeping in their beds, Barbara's mind wandered, wondering if she was indeed pregnant, trying to count the days. Would Garrett even want a child? She tried to see the years ahead, having a child now would make them... oh, God, she'd be in her fifties and he'd be even older when a child would be entering college. What about all the plans they had to travel? Taking care of Kelly was a full-time job and that was with a nanny.

Barbara had hoped she would just sink into sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow but it eluded her. 

She thought of Jim, once again and now it was keeping her awake... mere sexual attraction had not been enough for her. He had been the person she could trust with her life because they had shared their true feelings with one another. She remembered what she had longed for her entire life... to feel the strength of his body pressed against hers, to taste him again in the sweetest of kisses, to feel the softness of his hair in her fingers.




Semper Fi Pt. 06



'When I come back,' he had said, 'when I come back, we'll be married," slipping the ring onto her finger... the diamond she still wore on her right hand, never telling anyone where it came from, never taking it off.

She melted into his embrace as he held her tightly to him. 'I can't wait,' she had answered. 'Mom is so excited; she can't wait to meet you.'

'I'm glad... I was afraid that...'

'Just because you're white? Those days are gone... well, almost. Besides, what do we care what people say as long as we have each other?'

'Just say that you love me.' He had kissed her... that one last time.

Barbara finally drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of that first night, once again lost in the arms of her lost love.

..........

"Here's one..." said Caitlyn, holding out a white-covered book. "'Cooking Danish' by the Viking Chef... 'authentic Danish cooking Old World recipes including aebleskivers, smørrebrød and more'... just what you need. Might as well buy this one."

Maria took the proffered book and walked to the cash register; after paying, she met the others outside, took a handful of cookies from the box Caitlyn was now carrying and popped two into her mouth. "My God, these are so good." She reached for two more.

Caitlyn laughed. "So, I guess this means that we'll be having a plateful of Danish cooking in a couple of weeks?"

Maria blushed, nodding her head. 

"I'm sorry, I was only playing... but, you're going to learn how to bake these cookies, right?"

..........

The long ride back south took half the day after they decided to stop in Carpinteria and let Kelly play along the beach.

"Well, that was over way too soon," said Caitlyn, "and our problem is still waiting for us." She looked at Barbara, quietly sitting on the sand, seemingly staring out to sea, looking at everything and seeing nothing. Something had changed with her friend during the night, something she felt she should understand but couldn't begin to fathom what happened. She endeavored to find out, somehow. Their friendship was too valuable to leave her friend hurting by herself.

"Yes," Barbara finally said, "that's true but at least we got a break from it. Now, I was thinking. You know that bullet we pulled out of that cave? It's worthless. All these murders have been up close and personal. Remember, one guy took two to the chest and then she took one heading up the stairs. That means it had to be a handgun with a silencer... so, the rifle's out... no wonder that damn colonel was so confident."

Caitlyn was surprised that was what Barbara was saying. She was sure whatever was creeping around her friend's mind would eventually come out and it wouldn't be about the murders. She just had to be there to pick up the pieces and help her put them back together. Could there be trouble with Garrett? with her marriage? could that be possible? 

Oh, God, she hoped not, for both Barbara and for Garrett. How would he react to another marriage on the rocks? She hoped it wouldn't be too late, whatever the problem was.

She thought of her own marriage with Frank. Strangely, the last few days, he had seemed distant, as if battling his own demons. Could there be something there? something with Barbara? how was that even possible? They spent more time together than she did with Garrett. Caitlyn looked at Barbara, searching for some clue but seeing nothing that could help her. Barbara didn't look self-conscious when they spoke... no, it had to be something else. If she only could discover what it was.

These damned murders were taking their toll on the four of them and it was affecting their personal lives she was sure, but didn't know how to fix the problem... the only way was to catch the killers and that seemed as distant a possibility as going to the moon.

..........

Frank had been listening to the Temptations and snapping his fingers to "My Girl," when he realized he had a greater problem that he once thought. He still was thinking of Barbara instead of his wife, Caitlyn. He stopped moving and looked out the window toward the sea, hoping for some clue as to what to do.

'I've got all the riches, baby...'

He stared out the window and sighed.

'My girl, my girl...'

He wasn't a bad husband, he finally realized, but he wasn't as committed to the relationship as he should be. When he had asked Caitlyn to marry him, it was more to gain his daughter back than being madly in love with the woman he had once worshipped and who had forced him to travel alone around the Pacific to escape what she had done. 'Now what?' he asked himself. 'What can I do?'

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and walked over to the computer, calling up 'yahoo' to find the answer he was looking for. A minute later, he was calling. "Hello, yes, I'd like..."

..........

Kelly rushed into his arms, almost knocking him over. "We're home, Daddy!" Frank swept her up into the air and swung her around as she squealed in delight.

"How's my girl? Did you have fun?" He looked at his daughter and all that she meant to him. His daughter... he looked at Caitlyn. His wife... yes, he thought, his wife.

'Daddy! Mommy bought me a horny hat and now I'm a Viking."

"Going to play football?" he asked, laughing at his own joke, knowing it was lost on the child.

"No, you're silly. I'm going to sail the ocean and look for pirates."

Frank put down his daughter and went to hug his wife. "I've missed you," he said, realizing that it was now truer than earlier. He kissed her deeply, searching for that special feeling he knew he should have. "I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it?" Caitlyn asked, searching his face, looking for something she hoped would be there in his eyes, his smile.

"If I tell you, then it's not a surprise!" Frank turned. "Hello, Barbara, did you have a nice trip?" It was then he knew his feelings for the woman were put away, locked into memories.

Barbara was quiet, her fingers twisting the diamond ring on her right hand. "It... was fun. Kelly had a good time and we brought you boys some cookies from Birkholm's."

"That's great. Next time, we'll all have to go." Frank moved closer to his wife and put his arm around her waist. "I love you... and I missed you. I'm glad you're back. I... I worried about you, is all."

Caitlyn looked at her husband and saw the tears start to water in his eyes. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine... now. I came to the realization that... oh, never mind. I'm just glad that you're back, safe and sound. I missed you more than I..." He stopped speaking and hugged her tighter. 

Barbara looked down at her hand, her fingers still twisting the ring around and around. Slowly, the ring was working itself toward her fingertip and suddenly she realized that the ring was off, the first time since she had moved it from her left hand to her right. The ring sat in her left hand, its shining light a symbol of what might have been.

She silently put it deeply into her pocket. "Have you heard from Garrett?" she asked, unaware of what she 'til that moment subconsciously had done.

"No, he's said he was going to get some sleep. I can call him, if you want."

"No, that's OK, I'll just walk over. Thanks for going with me, Caitlyn, Maria. I just had to get away."

Barbara picked up her overnight bag and left.

...........

From somewhere nearby, a bird called out and another one answered. The man and woman locked into each other's arms were oblivious to everything except themselves. A soft ocean breeze rippled through the leaves of the palms outside and brought the fragrance of flowers into the bedroom. Frank and Barbara lay on the bed, their bodies slick with sweat, their breathing labored.

The world had narrowed to this time and place as they lost themselves in the renewed wonder of each other and the all consuming desire that drove her to make love with her husband.

Each time he thought she was satisfied, he found a newer, sharper hunger that demanded to be fed and so he gave and took and gave, feeling the desire grow and grow until it threatened to explode once again.

His lungs were burning with every breath as he pushed into her almost savagely and heard her gasp.

Though he was half-mad with desire, he became very still. "I'm sorry, Baby, I didn't want to hurt..."

"Shh," she whispered. Barbara wrapped herself around him, all hot flesh and eager mouth; her fingers dug into his back, her nails scraping skin as she began to move with him, climbing to that explosion once again. "Do me," she said, "do me."

He couldn't stop now if he tried. His breathing was so labored he feared his lungs would surely burst. All he could see as he looked down at her were warm eyes locked onto his. In those eyes he saw his own reflection. All he could hear was her almost feral voice whispering his name.

For a moment he trembled on the very brink, hoping to draw out the moment of love. Then he was moving with her, climbing once again, unable to stop the roller coaster ride that had their hearts pumping, their blood rushing through their veins as they shattered into a million tiny pieces.


Barbara's eyes fluttered open and she found Garrett staring down at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so rough." He touched a hand to her cheek.

"I'm fine, it was something that I needed. Really." She could see a slight doubt in his eyes and closed a hand over his.

"Yes, you are." He leaned down to brush a kiss over her lips. "You're better than fine. You're absolutely incredible."

"You're pretty incredible yourself. That was..." She shook her head from side to side, as though unable to believe what she had just shared with him. "...amazing."

"Am I too heavy?" Frank asked, worrying.

Barbara shook her head. "No. You're fine. I love the feel of you."

He rolled to one side, drawing her into the circle of his arms. "Are you cold?"

"After that? I may never cool off."

He glanced at their clothes, strewn around them in the bedroom like discarded rags. "One touch of you and I lost my mind."

Her finger went to her right ring finger, the missing ring causing a funny feeling that now seemed so right.

He was fascinated how the late afternoon light came through her curly hair that framed her face. He twirled a strand around and around his finger while staring into those big dark eyes. "As a matter of fact, I have a reputation of being cool under stress."

He drew her close and covered her lips with his, lingering over her mouth until they were both sighing and when they finally came up for air, he ran a finger down the length of her throat to her breast. "Are you in a hurry to do anything?"

"Not especially. Why?"

He lowered his head, circling his tongue around one breast, then the other until she moaned with pleasure. Against her warm flesh he murmured, "I can't let you go. I want you again, Barb."

She tried to hide her smile. "Can we? Again?"

"I can if you can... I'm not that old... yet."

She arched herself over him, needing the feel of his body with hers. "Why, Darling, you're full of surprises."

"You want surprises?" He laughed, sending a series of tremors along her spine. "I haven't even begun yet."

In his arms, she forgot the past, the pain, the loneliness. She finally admitted to herself she had closed the door to the past. They ought to be all wrong for each other. He was who he was and she was who she was, so different and yet so much alike. There was no denying it... when she had left she had been under a dark cloud of frustration and still lingering grief. Now she was back and felt unbelievably, gloriously happy, content with her life for the first time in a long time.

She looked at him, almost asleep.

He awoke. "Is something wrong?"

"No... I..." She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her lips to his back. "Tonight has been wonderful."

He closed his hands over hers and continued to stare out into the darkness of the room, unable to believe the eagerness she had given him.

"I was thinking of about all the twists and turn my life has taken," she said, quietly.

"Regrets?" He held his breath, waiting for her reply.

"A few. I don't think it's possible to live without some loss. Usually, we don't get the chance to do something over."

He looked at the missing ring. "And are you..." he swallowed, wondering if it was the right thing to say, "...ready to move on now?"

"At one time, I didn't have any answers. I felt I was at a crossroad in my life." She lifted her head, trying to see his eyes in the darkness.

"I don't understand," he said, understanding completely.

"I'm not sure. My whole life had been defined by Jim's death. At that moment, everything had changed."

"And now?" He held his breath, frightened even though he had noticed the missing ring. He knew she had made her choice, he just needed to hear her say it.

"You've helped me by just loving me, by listening and understanding. Thank you." She laid back, her head onto the pillow, staring at the dark ceiling. "At times, I thought it would destroy what we have and you'd leave me."

"I'd never do that." He pressed his lips to her throat and ran a trail of soft kisses to her shoulder. She found his mouth on hers. "I couldn't if I wanted to. You're some kind of witch; ever since I met you, I've been under your spell."

She poured herself into the kiss, her soul and her heart. 

"You make me weak, Barb," he said, rolling onto her and then there were no more words.


To be continued...




Semper Fi Pt. 07



Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2012

Thank you for reading. A special thanks to Bill, Michael, Lewis, Cassandra and Elliot for editing, reading and commenting to make this tale that much better.

Chapter 26: A minor inconvenience

Three weeks after Solvang...

Diego Gonzalez casually strolled down the hallway, a bag of chips in one hand and a soda in the other, slowly twisting his head to watch the three cheerleaders sway by. Although he had only three minutes left to get to class, he was in no hurry to get to the other end of the building. He upended the bag of chips, caught several in his mouth and started to chew them. He turned around for one last look at the girls.

He had taken a more circuitous route, avoiding the football players that had lay in wait to take away his food. Of course, Diego knew there'd never be a teacher in sight to help him. For that matter, he was sure the teachers didn't like him very much, either.

He finally arrived at his geometry class and took his seat near the back. Borrowing a piece of paper from the girl in the next desk over, he patted his pocket for a pen and finding none, also borrowed one from her. He set about drawing his version of a KISS poster.

In the front of the room, the woman put down her blue marker, turned and looked directly at him. "Mr. Gonzalez, will you kindly pay attention!"

Diego hated Mrs. Smith, the harbinger of low grades his entire year. "So what," he said under his breath, "who cares about an obtuse angle, anyway? God, I hate this class."

"All right, turn to page 148 and we'll go over obtuse angles once again for the benefit of Mr. Gonzalez who seems a little obtuse himself this morning."

A loud collective groan rose from the rest of the students, for they had gone over everything at least twice, every time Diego refused to pay attention. Several football players were convinced that another meeting after school might be just the thing that Diego needed to study harder. They needed to finish the course to keep their grades up and be eligible to play.

Diego nervously looked at his classmates, all of whom had turned and were now watching his every move. He was a victim of 'no child left behind.' He already had two study halls in his schedule and they wouldn't let him take another. He preferred summer school with girls wearing shorter skirts and tighter blouses. Besides, he thought, they always had cigarettes and were willing to share.

"Sorry, Mrs. Smith..." his voice dropped off as he realized no one cared for his insincere apologies. One football player was already catching his eye, one fist hitting his palm, his stare drilling a hole in Diego's head. Diego put his head into the book, trying to block out the view of the larger boy watching him. He watched the clock... only three more minutes until the end of class. If only he could survive 'til the bell rang.

The evening heat hung heavily over the neighborhood even though it was less than a mile from the beach. Diego watched as the pretty woman in the next house finally came home. He spent most of the afternoon waiting for her, hoping that she would once again forget to close the bedroom blinds. Too shy to speak to her, never-the-less he had fallen in love with the wife of Sergeant William Smith, USMC, currently on patrol in Afghanistan. The fact that she was married only seemed a minor inconvenience to Diego as each night he watched what he could through the windows. A minor inconvenience, he reasoned, since it didn't seem to stop her from dating two different men instead of dutifully waiting for her husband to return from the war. And, he reasoned, if she was able to date two men, what was one more? All he had to do was convince her he was worthy of her attentions.

Of course, the fact that he was only fifteen never entered his mind as a major inconvenience. He'd find a way to convince her, it was just a matter of time, just a minor inconvenience. His mouth dried. Wiping his moist hands on his pants, he started out of his room and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water.

Not satisfied with watching from his own bedroom window, Diego had found that he could stand outside her bedroom window and see everything that transpired inside much better. This night, he had brought his cell phone along, determined to gather enough memories to satisfy himself on the rare nights that she stayed at home alone.

She had brought home a new date this time. Diego waited a few minutes before leaving by his back door and then quietly skulking around the fence and up the driveway. Finding his place among the shrubbery outside her bedroom window, he brought his camera up to the glass and prepared to enjoy himself for as long as the private show should last and capture the action for future enjoyment. What he saw, though, caused him to drop the phone into the soft dirt next to the house and run down the street as fast as he could, screaming like the young fool that he was.

..........

Frank opened the refrigerator and peered in. "Oh, well," he said to himself, "time for a pizza... or maybe I'll just take her out to eat. Going out to eat... I'll just say I want to treat her." He heard the key unlocking the door and went into the living room to greet his wife who, to his surprise, was moving much slower than her usual quick pace.

"All I need is a stiff drink," Caitlyn said, raising her arm and groaning. "Damn, my shoulder feels like it's been used for target practice."

"Let's see." Frank led her to the bathroom, turned her toward the mirror over the sink and slid her loose-fitting green sweater over her shoulder so that both the line of her throat and the swell of her breast were visible.

A dark purple bruise had appeared beneath her collarbone but she suddenly lost interest in it. Her attention was on their reflection in the mirror and to the way his gaze slid over her body like a warm summer breeze. Gone was the easy-going, lighthearted man she loved. In his place was a hard-edged man, a dangerous man set on revenge. It was a good thing the molester was already dead. Garrett had seen to that. She wouldn't have given his life a chance, either in jail or out.

The sight of Caitlyn with her oversized sweater down one shoulder... he brushed one finger over her collarbone, lifting her hair away. "If something happened to you, I would have killed him," he said, all interest in going out to eat gone.

"He's already dead. Garrett shot him. Is it bad?"

As he pulled the sweater lower in the back, he tried to control his anger. "Yes."

"No bullet holes, though... right?" She tried to relieve his fears, her voice soft, husky. Her skin was hot and he could feel the desire between them like steam in a sauna.

"No, no bullet holes." The urge to bury himself in her warm and willing body was evident, his erection pushing against her. He met her eyes in their mirrored reflection and found a loving temptation that overcame his fear and anger.

Waves of desire flowed through her body and she swayed lightly, her hardened nipples brushing against the palms of his hands. He brought his mouth to hers, tracing the outline of her lips with the tip of his tongue until she moaned.

"Let me kiss it and make it all better," he said.

Though Caitlyn responded slowly, Frank held her closer, coaxing her mouth open so he could deepen the kiss, awakening and intensifying her desire. Her thoughts fragmented into wisps and floated away like a meteor breaking up high in the sky. She could no longer think of anything but him and what he was doing.

His hands slipped under her T-shirt and she heard him draw in a shaky breath that blended with her own moan when he cupped her naked breasts. She couldn't blame it on anything except the love that had grown each day for him and when he pulled her sweater and T-shirt over her head and off, she reached for his, needing to feel her breasts against his naked chest and the smooth skin of his back under her hands.

"Sweetheart," he said as she moaned once again.

He frantically pulled off the rest of his clothes and then pulled her close again, kissing her mouth, her throat, pausing at her breasts just long enough to taste first one and then the other, driving her wild. Her full lips parted to let him come in and ravish her tongue. He was already aroused. She could feel his erection pressing hard against her and she snuggled closer, feeling her own need grow and then explode within her.

His fingers disappeared between her thighs as his mouth left hers to kiss his way to her ear. He knew she was more than ready for him and he wanted to take forever but he knew that was impossible and then he was inside her, wrapped in her moist warmth and she moved with him in perfect rhythm as they showed each other the way to make love.

.........

"Well, this is interesting," said Garrett. "We might have a witness to the festivities, so to speak. Seems the boy next door was doing some investigating of his own with his cell phone and once our techs go over the video, we might have a photo of our killer."

"That would be a big break," said Caitlyn, "if it's true. It might be THE break we've been waiting for. It's about time. I guess we better call Barbara and Frank." She pulled out her cell phone and made the call, hoping that maybe, just maybe, once and for all, they had caught a break.

A little less than an hour later, all four were watching the teenager in the interrogation room.

"He looks nervous, wouldn't you say?" asked Caitlyn, smiling. "Maybe this is it. The woman's no help; she's still in the hospital. She might be able to speak to us later, the doctors aren't sure."

"God, I hope so. Between his testimony and what we're going to pull off from his phone, we've got a good chance to catch this guy. Let's let him sweat a little bit more and then scare the hell out of him. Has he asked for a lawyer?" Garrett pulled out a Snickers.

Barbara looked at the candy bar in her husband's hand. "I thought you gave those things up. No, but I think we should wait for his parents. Last thing I want is for this to go south, no matter what happens."

"Parents are divorced; probably why there's no strong male presence in his life. He looks like he could use a good swift kick in the ass." Garrett looked like he wanted to be the one to do it.

Later that morning, the boy's mother arrived. It had taken two uniformed officers to convince her grocery store manager where she was working to let her go and not lose her job. Frank was afraid she might be illegal and so did his best to be friendly.

"Mrs. Gonzalez, thank you for coming. This is a very delicate situation and it's important that we explain what we need before we speak to your son. Now, first I want to say that he's in no..."

Frank pushed two color photos across the table to Diego. "Is this what you saw?"

"Yes, I didn't mean to... you know, but she's so... she's so pretty, you know and I didn't see any harm to it. Am I in trouble?"

"Look, if this was just a simple situation, I'm not going to lie to you, you'd probably be looking at community service, maybe more but what you saw overrides that. You understand?""

"Yeah, I get it. Yeah, that's what I saw. But, you got it all wrong. It wasn't a guy, it was a girl."

"A girl?" Frank pulled one photo back and looked closely. "You're kidding!"

"Nah, look, I could tell because her cap fell off and her hair fell down when she saw me and ran."

"How'd we miss that?" Frank looked at the photos once more. "Don't we have anything better than these two?"

"I'll call down and see what else they've done." Caitlyn left the room and walked over to her desk.

"Let's get a sketch artist up here. All right, Diego, here's your chance to be a hero."

..........

Later that evening...

"...tonight's news starts with a lead on the Lonely Hearts Murder cases. This woman is a person of interest. If you know this person, you should call NCIS as soon as possible..."

The television was on at Murphy's and as the woman's sketched face flashed onto the screen, Johnny Trittle spewed his beer out onto the bar top. "Holy shit!" He reached into his pocket for his cell phone and quickly called the number on the television.

"Hello? Listen, I think I know who that woman is. Yeah, she's one of those Marines over at Pendleton. Her name? Yeah, right. It's Maribelle Sampson. Swear to God. Hey, is there a reward or something?"

..........

Two o'clock in the morning...

"Well, Corporal, it seems like you have explaining to do."

The woman sat there, silently glowering at the four, her eyes looking around the room like a cornered rodent. "I got nothing to say."

Frank put his hands down on the table and gave her a killing stare. "Well, that's too damn bad because there's a cell at Gitmo with your goddamn name on it if you don't start talking. We'll find a way to make this into a terrorist act. You're a disgrace to the uniform."

"And those women were a disgrace to their marriage vows..." Sampson quickly stopped speaking, wondering if her outburst was enough to hang herself. "Ah, fuck it. What do you want to know?"

"Why don't you just start at the beginning..." Frank was surprised it was going to be this easy. Maybe, he thought, his empty threat worked, after all.

"Well, this has been going on long before I ever joined up." The woman squirmed on her chair, looking around the room at the two people staring back.

"We know that," Barbara said. "Just start with your participation. Take your time and don't leave anything out. Spell out the names when you need to."

"You're going to take this into consideration, right? I mean, I never got around to actually killing anybody."

'Yeah, just talk."

"It all started when..."

.........

Even though the corporal had eventually told them the name of the sergeant who brought her into the clique, that was as far as she would go. Frank thought she really didn't know anyone farther up in the group. After all, something like this would only work if there was secrecy with all concerned.

The sergeant was arrested and brought in for questioning. Barbara could only guess how many would go unpunished; so many years had gone by. Even killings only a year old were unlikely to be solved since so many had been transferred in and out. From what they could discern, each person was assigned several targets, five at the most... and all had been originally the angry victim of a cheating spouse. What greater motivation, Barbara thought, could there be?

..........

Two weeks later...

Ever since her trip to Solvang, Barbara had been more intense, more alive, more loving. Garrett had never felt so good in his life and while he wondered what had happened, he decided to just enjoy the result. He did notice her right hand diamond ring was gone and wondered if she'd tell him why.

"I've never seen you this excited before," he said.

"I don't think I ever have been," she answered, grinning as he stood behind her, holding her by the waist.

They were a set, he thought, her dark features in sharp contrast to his, as if they were always meant to be together. Tilting her head back, she looked at his face.

"My," she said, "how dark it's gotten. Look at the sunset."

"The darkness makes me think of something else."

He began with her lips, sweet, seductive and incredibly responsive under his. Slowly, tenderly, he kissed his way along her throat and lower until he touched the soft mounds of her breasts. He caressed one, then the other with his lips and tongue until she began to moan, then continued his journey farther down.

When he reached that moist warmth, he gently urged her legs apart until they opened, offering him access to his quest. Hot and throbbing though he was, he refused to hurry. Placing his hands under the enticing curves of her buttocks and raising her, he took his time as he pleasured her.

Unable to speak, she made a sound in the back of her throat that sounded like a contented cat. What was driving her? Was he the reason or her own need to recommit herself to him? To banish the ghost that had ridden north with her and back again?

Her incoherence mixed with gasps not only told him she was on the edge but fired his own need to an almost unbearable pitch. When she cried out, he lost the ability to prolong his wait and rose above her, plunging into her moist and welcoming warmth, feeling her draw him deeper and deeper.

She called his name until it dissolved into nothingness as her voice rose in volume to a near scream. She wanted to tell him, needed to tell him... but it was too late for words. She couldn't speak, she could only cry out as she had done, joining him as they both reached a peak and then broke through it.

Only when she returned to awareness and eased from him onto her side, then pulling him into her arms, did she realize she had to tell him.

"I'm pregnant."

.........

Six months later...

"How does that feel?"

"Wonderful." Barbara looked down at her husband as he rubbed her foot, pressing his thumbs into the arch with gentle, circular motions. She moaned as he found a particularly sensitive spot and her head dropped back onto the pillow.

"You shouldn't have walked so much today," he muttered. "We don't have to do everything in one day. You're not in any condition to be so active."

"Nonsense." Barbara patted her round stomach. "The doctor says I'm disgustingly healthy. He doesn't suggest running a marathon but normal exercise is fine. Besides, I love being here. You're not going to make me miss everything, hear?"

"I hear."

Garrett kissed the curves of his wife's foot and continued his massage. It didn't matter how many times the doctor said she was fine, he couldn't help worrying. But so far her pregnancy was progressing smoothly.

"You worry too much. I'm surprised the doctor hasn't started charging for those phone calls in the middle of the night."

Garrett smiled.

They'd stolen a few minutes to be alone, leaving Frank and Caitlyn on their own at the resort. Easing his hands up Barbara's legs, he touched her stomach and kissed it.

"You still don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" she asked.

"Nope. I like surprises. The doctor can look at the sonograms but I want to do this in the traditional way, as a surprise. We'll find out when the baby is born."

He began to stroke her breasts with a touch that was less soothing, more arousing. Barbara quivered, responding instantly to the caresses she'd come to know so well.

"I don't think we've enough... oh!"

Garrett pulled the extra pillows from beneath her shoulders and lay beside her, scattering kisses across her throat and neck. The more he made love to his wife, the more he needed her. Whatever happened in Solvang seemed to light a fire in her soul.

"What do you want? Diamonds? Emeralds? How about a sports car?"

"How about just you?"

He smiled and untied the shoulder ribbons of her maternity dress. "You have me."

"That's all I want."

Garrett tugged the fabric away, freeing her breasts, now rounder with pregnancy, her nipples even darker than before... and, so sensitive. She was so generous, so responsive... nothing was held back.

Gently he brushed the darkly crowned center of her breasts with the back of his hand and she moaned.

"This isn't fair. There's people walking around outside. They'll hear us. We can't make love now."

"Oh, yes, we can," he said tracing the valley between her breasts.

"Caitlyn or Frank are going to bang on the door, wondering what we're doing."

"Shhh... the door's locked and if they can't figure out what we're doing, then shame on them," he whispered, throwing her dress onto the floor. He peeled his shirt off and shoved his pants down his legs. "They can come back later."

"Oh." She shivered in delight. It seemed so wicked to make love, knowing everyone was walking past their room in the hallway.




Semper Fi Pt. 07



"Besides, if Frank and Caitlyn can get away with it, then we can."

"We have to make love. It's the anniversary of our first kiss."

"I see," she whispered back, "maybe, if we're real fast."

"Baby, the way I'm feeling, fast is the only way it'll happen."

..........

The next afternoon...

"Good evening and our lead story tonight is about the shocking details surrounding the 'Lonely Hearts' murders that have rocked the San Diego area. The Pentagon today, in a terse statement, admitted that a cadre of Marine officers and enlisted personnel had been court-martialed over the course of the five to six months in what looks to be the worst scandal in the history of the service. Among those taken into custody were two majors and several lieutenants that had been returned from Afghanistan. The break in the case, which both local police and NCIS agents have been pursuing for more than five years, came when an eyewitness came forth with damning evidence leading to the arrests.

"We'll be right back with news of the Chargers' new quarterback..."

Barbara turned off the television and looked at her husband. The desire streaming through her body turned into a fiery blaze. Pregnant, she wasn't as supple as usual but it seemed to satisfy him. His fingers were everywhere and his mouth, easing and tempting and finally tipping her over the edge into a wild and powerful orgasm.

A long time later she came back into herself, gradually becoming aware of the sounds outside their room. Garrett was spooning her against his chest, his hand once more stroking her body.

"I hate to admit this, but I'm hungry. We better get dressed." She kissed his shoulder and slid out of bed.

After washing to erase the obvious evidence of their lovemaking, they headed toward the restaurant although she was certain she still had an indecent smile on her face and that Caitlyn would know right away.

After being seated, they were looking at the menu when Frank and Caitlyn arrived, laughing loudly enough to wake the dead.

"Hi. Did you have a pleasant... nap?" Caitlyn asked looking at her friend. "You've got a lovely glow about you." She sat down, motioning Frank to take the other chair. "Oh, by the way, make sure the connecting door is closed next time, will you?"

In response, the baby kicked and Barbara put her hand on her stomach. She loved being pregnant and hoped they would have at least one more if they could. Caitlyn had confided to her that she and Frank were going to try and have another child.

Garrett slid his arm around Barbara and she smiled, leaning against him. She knew there would be more bad times along with the good but every minute was precious.

"Happy?" he whispered.

"Delirious," she said. "How about you?"

"I'm in heaven." And he kissed her just to prove it.