Kathleen Klatte
kawklatte@aol.com

Disclaimers: JAG is the property of CBS, Donald Bellisario, et al; this is a recreational endeavor, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Hey, Chris - I thought you’d get a kick out of this!
Spoilers: "Jaggle Bells"

Mac looked at the four, plush, red birds lined up in a neat row on her desk. She’d heard of these silly things, of course, and even seen them in the mall occasionally, but she’d never actually considered owning one. And now she had four. All alike.

The first had arrived in the morning mail. It was from her ‘little sister’ Chloe. The parcel was postmarked from her grandparents’ farm. Her letter spoke excitedly of riding the horses at the farm and meeting her father. She said she hoped Mac would like her Valentine’s Day present - she’d seen it in a store and thought it was cute that the little toy bird was named ‘Mac.’

Mac smiled delightedly at ‘Mac,’ touched that the little girl remembered her. She was about to perch her gift on top of her computer when Harm came in. He wished her a Happy Valentine’s Day and handed her a package. She thanked him and delved into the gift bag, finding a large chocolate heart and a second small toy bird.

Harm grinned and shuffled his feet like a schoolboy, and she was glad that Chloe’s gift was hidden in its package. He’d told her to check the hangtag to see what the cardinal’s name was, and she’d complied, feigning (successfully, she hoped) utter surprise at her discovery. After thanking her partner for his thoughtfulness and accepting his lunch invitation, she’d settled down to open the rest of her mail.

There was a small package from her Uncle Matt. She opened the lovely Valentine card with pleasure.

She’d opened the present and sure enough, there was number three. Number four was a gift from Bud and Harriet. That one was in a little plastic case, and Harriet, the Collectibles Queen, had even put a little heart-shaped plastic cover on the hangtag.

Mac was startled out of her reverie by Clayton Webb’s voice.

"Jeez, Mac, I know this place is for the birds, but don’t you think this is just a little extreme?"

Copyright © 1999 Kathleen Klatte
All Rights Reserved