“Time for the meeting.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Petty Officer Becky Sanderson giggled as she crossed the carpet towards her boss’ desk.
“C’mon, it could be fun.”
“Babysitting a bunch of egotistical stars is not my idea of a good time.”
“Maybe it’ll be somebody cute…” Becky shut up as Meredith glared at her. “…or not.”
Standing, Meredith straightened her uniform. “Wish me luck.”
“Luck.”
Meredith was tempted to stick her tongue out at Becky, but refrained. She was almost afraid she’d be reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer.
Striding down the hall towards the conference room, she nodded to several people as they passed. A number of appreciate glances followed her, but she either ignored them or didn’t notice. Although the uniform did nothing to detract from Meredith, it did nothing to enhance the 5’9” frame, the bright blue eyes, or auburn curls. Brown khaki covered a woman’s curves, but didn’t quite hide her femininity.
The room was open, and she stepped in to find Captain Steve Watson sitting in a chair.
“You get dragged into this, too?”
Meredith sat down. “Yes, sir.”
Captain Michael Carruthers strode into the room and dropped into the chair at the head of the table, motioning for them to sit back down after they rose at his entrance. “I guess you know why you’re here.”
Watson spoke up. “Babysitting a bunch of sillies is not my idea of a good time.”
Meredith had to hide a smile at the almost word-for-word replication of her statement to Becky. Biting her lip, she turned back towards Carruthers.
“Well, we’ve had two last-minute additions. You guys are free, so you’re up.”
Meredith glanced at the list Carruthers laid on the table in front of them. She could hear Watson grumbling.
“Buncha fucking, pansy-ass whiners if you ask me. The shit I have to put up with.”
Meredith looked up at both men, knowing she had to save them. “I’ll take the Backstreet Boys.”
She sat back in her chair and watched her CO. He nodded at her, a slight grin on his face. “Watson, that leaves you with the group called ‘N Sync.”
Huffing as he sat there, Watson looked over the profile of the group. “I can’t believe I have to do this.”
Captain Carruthers smiled. “Enjoy yourselves, people. Your men are waiting for you in Conference Room 2.”
Both officers stood as Carruthers left the room.
Meredith appraised the man in front of her and worried about his charges. They’re in for a lot of fun.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**
Stepping into the conference room, Meredith surveyed the young men sitting in front of her. At times like this, she really felt old. Mentally smacking herself on the head, she moved to the front of the room and waited for Captain Watson.
Watson looked at the men in front of him and snorted. “All right, listen up. I want the guys from ‘N Sync front and center.”
The five guys moved to the front of the room and waited.
“I’m Captain Watson, the CAG from the Yorktown, she’s the carrier sitting out at the docks right now. I’ll be your training officer. You’re going to live, eat, sleep, and breathe airplanes for the next five weeks. Got it?”
A chorus of “yeahs” wafted through the room.
Watson shook his head and herded the guys out the door. As Justin passed Meredith, he heard a man in the hall ask her if she’d be supplying them next week. Meredith grinned at him and nodded. The man smiled broadly as he left.
Justin hurried to catch up to his bandmates. “Guess what, guys. Backstreet got stuck with supply. I’m guessin’ Kevin’s pretty pissed right now.”
The rest of the men looked at the woman standing in front of them.
“Gentlemen.” She nodded at them.
They stood up and approached her. “We’re the Backstreet Boys.” Brian smiled at her and held out his hand.
“I’m familiar with your group, Mr. Littrell.”
Her handshake was firm, and he admired the way she looked him in the eye.
“I’m Commander Meredith Davenport, and I’ll be your training officer. We’ll…” Meredith’s pager buzzed. “Please excuse me for a moment.”
She moved to the phone and dialed a number. “Davenport.”
Nodding her head as she listened, Meredith suddenly frowned. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Turning back, she looked at the guys. “We need to get you over to the BOQ and get you settled in. Please follow me.”
Heading out the door, she didn’t bother to check to see if they were following---she could hear the footsteps and the rustling of their clothes as they walked. Again, she was greeted by several people as they made their way out of the building. Once outside, Meredith placed her cover on her head and headed down the stairs. Each of the guys watched as she returned the salutes of the people who stopped as she passed.
Kevin admired the way she stood tall and snapped a return salute as salutes were presented to her. Howie admired the way she smiled at people she passed, no matter their rank. AJ admired the way she observed everything going on around her. Brian admired her calmness and the way she answered questions efficiently. Nick admired the way she moved confidently down the sidewalk.
They all admired the curve of her ass as she walked in front of them, the black pumps giving her hips a nice sway. When they reached the BOQ, they all trooped inside to see where they would be staying during their training. Meredith disappeared into an office after letting Captain Watson leave. Watson looked at his group and tossed three keys at them.
“You guys are sharing these rooms. Figure out who’s solo. I’ll be back in the morning at 0600, so you’d better be up and ready.”
The members of ‘N Sync stared after Watson as he left, wondering what they’d gotten into. Justin nudged Chris and smiled at Kevin.
“Hey, guess we got lucky, huh? Sorry, Kevin.”
Kevin stared at the young man. “I’m sorry?”
“We’re gonna work with planes, y’all got stuck with supply.”
“Supply?” AJ leaned over and put himself in the conversation.
Justin laughed. “Yeah, I heard that woman say she was going to be supplying somebody some stuff next week. Guess that’ll mean y’all will be counting pencils and passing out toilet paper.”
“Shit.” Nick leaned against a wall as he contemplated the next five weeks. When they’d all “volunteered” for this, he’d been excited about the Navy because he thought he might get a chance to talk to some Seals about what they went through in their jobs. Now, it looked like he’d be stuck in some supply room.
Meredith stepped back out of the office and immediately felt the tension from her group. She looked over at the members of ‘N Sync and noticed that Justin looked especially smug. Sighing, she turned to face her group.
“Any of you guys allergic to dogs?”
AJ snorted. “Not likely. Why?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Looks like Watson got the last of the available rooms here. There’s been an influx of officers for training, and they don’t have any room left. I guess you guys are coming home with me.”
Meredith ignored the sniggers behind her. Kevin raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have enough room?”
She grinned. “I’ve got 6 extra bedrooms, not counting the pool house.”
“Pool?” Nick straightened at the sound of water fun.
“Yes, Mr. Carter, I have a pool. And the reason I asked about dogs is that I have a German Shepherd named Stasi, short for Anastasia.”
“So we won’t be staying here at all.” AJ stroked his goatee.
“Nope.” She turned and headed towards the door. “It could be worse, you could be stuck in an 8’ by 6’ room with a roommate and sharing a shower with 20 guys.”
Meredith nodded to Justin as she passed ‘N Sync. “Enjoy your stay in the BOQ, gentlemen.”
AJ mock saluted the other guys with a two-fingered salute as they made their way outside. The group started walking across the commons toward the parking lot. Each of them carried a large duffle bag that contained what little personal effects they chose to bring. The next morning, Meredith would be bringing them back to the base to get uniforms and give them a basic overview of what they could expect during their training.
A bugle began to play Taps as they approached the center of the grassy area, and Meredith immediately stopped, stood at attention, and saluted as the flag was lowered to rest. AJ, Nick, Brian, Kevin, and Howie stood behind her until she lowered her hand.
Turning to face them, she nodded. “Are you guys hungry? I’m afraid I don’t have much at home, so we’ll need to hit a drive-thru for dinner. I’m not up to shopping tonight.”
“That’ll be fine. Any place in particular you’d like?” Kevin spoke up for the group.
“McDonald’s.” AJ and Nick were quick to offer opinions.
Meredith laughed. “There’s a McD’s close to the house.”
She resumed walking towards the parking lot. As she approached, she turned off the alarm system on her Land Cruiser and gestured towards the large white SUV. “Bags in the back, you’ll have to choose the seats, but I won’t tolerate any bickering.”
When all was settled, Howie and Brian were in the very back row, AJ and Kevin on the next row, and Nick riding shotgun. She made sure everyone was wearing a seatbelt as she started the vehicle, explaining the stiff penalty for being caught without one on a military base. Before they pulled out, Meredith reached over and removed a pad and pen from the glove compartment and handed it to Nick. He looked at her, a question in his eyes.
“One of the perks of riding shotgun, you get to take food orders.”
Nick laughed. “You don’t know us very well, do you?”
Shaking her head, Meredith pulled out into the street and headed for the gate. “I’m a fan, but not *that* much of a fan. If you know what everyone wants, just write it down, and that’ll make it easy when we get to the window.”
With the press of a button, music filled the vehicle. Hootch echoed from the speakers, and Meredith quietly sang along, fingers tapping on the wheel and body moving to the beat. Nick stared at her, slightly surprised at her lack of awkwardness at singing in front of them. She pulled into the drive-thru and took the slip of paper, quickly reading off their orders.
“I also need a plain cheeseburger, plain hamburger, and a large French fry.”
“Your total is $27.82. Please pull to the second window.”
“Thank you.”
When they reached the second window, Meredith handed the girl thirty dollars. “Hi, Janie. How’s school going?”
Janie laughed as she handed back the change. “Great. I aced my AP classes, so I’m headed for Annapolis in two weeks for plebe summer. I couldn’t have done it without you, Commander. Mom and Dad said to tell you thanks.”
“Tell them that I was delighted to help. Oh, wait a minute.”
Meredith turned around in her seat. “Mr. Dorough, could you pass that gift up here?”
The brightly wrapped box made its way to the front. Meredith took it and handed it over to Janie. “Happy Graduation.”
Janie took the box and clutched it to her chest. “You didn’t have to do this, Commander.”
“I know, but you’re going to need it this summer.”
Janie’s eyes welled up. “Thanks again.”
Meredith just smiled. When their order was up, Janie began to pass it over to Meredith. As Nick reached over to help with the drinks, Janie got a good look at the man in the seat next to Meredith. Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed an “o” in surprise.
“Shhhh.” Meredith put her finger to her lips.
Janie nodded, still in shock. “Bye, Commander. I hope Stasi enjoys her burger.”
“See you later, Janie.”
The group drove off and finished their trek to Meredith’s house. When they pulled into the driveway, all of the boys stared in surprise at the sprawling house that lay in front of them. The curved driveway was lined with flowers and trees, framing the brick rancher. When she parked in front of the door, they got out and gathered their bags.
Meredith held up her hand. “Before we go in, I have to warn you. Stasi is an extremely affectionate dog, but she’s also a guard dog. So, no sudden moves until I introduce you to her. She’ll put out her paw to shake, then she’ll sniff you to imprint you as a friend. When she finishes with all of you, then you can start moving around. Please don’t move until she’s finished.”
“Why, will she bite us?” Nick smirked as he tossed bag over his shoulder.
“More like take you to the ground and pin you there. She’s a highly trained animal, and she’s very good at what she does.” Meredith stared up into Nick’s eyes, a serious look on her face.
When she thought that he truly understood she wasn’t kidding, she turned around and unlocked the door, turning off the security system. Stasi came bounding up and stood next to Meredith, ready to attack if the need arose. She placed the drinks and bags of food on the hallway table until the introductions were complete.
Placing a hand on her dog’s head, she leaned closed. “Friend.”
Stasi held out her paw and Kevin took it, careful not to make any sudden moves. The large dog sniffed Kevin’s hand, then wagged her tail. Meredith proceeded down the line until she reached Nick.
“Friend.”
Nick took Stasi’s paw. Stasi again wagged her tail after sniffing Nick’s hand, but then she added a lick to the hand that held her paw. Meredith was a little surprised and looked over at Nick.
“She really likes you.”
Nick shrugged and kneeled down to scratch behind Stasi’s ears. The dog was ecstatic and proceeded to lick Nick’s face several times before he could move away from her tongue. Everyone laughed as he wiped dog spit off his cheek.
“Oh, yeah, she likes you.” AJ slapped Nick on the back.
Meredith led them into the kitchen and set up their dinner on the large table next to the bay window. “Anybody need anything out of the fridge?”
“More ketchup.” Brian opened up his burger and arranged his fries, as did the other guys.
She grabbed the ketchup and a bottle of water, then sat down at the head of the table. She bowed her head and said a quick prayer of thanks. When she looked up, she noticed Brian staring at her. They grinned at each other before digging in. Opening up her bag, Meredith removed her cheeseburger and fries, then took the plain hamburger out of its wrapper. Tearing it up into small pieces, she placed the wrapper on the floor, dropping a few fries there as well. Nick laughed as Stasi carefully ate her treat.
“She doesn’t get that often, does she?” He reached out a hand and scratched Stasi’s head. Stasi’s tongue lolled in ecstasy as she leaned against him.
“Nope, she doesn’t, so she knows it’s a special occasion.”
When they finished, they gathered their garbage and tossed it into the garbage can. Meredith tied off the bag and directed Howie into the utility room to remove it from temptation.
After she wiped down the counter and table, she laid the rag on the kitchen faucet and wiped her hands on a dish towel. Grinning at the guys, she held out her hand in invitation.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you your rooms and let you get settled. After that, I’ll give you a tour so you don’t stumble around too much in the dark.”
As she proceeded down the hall, Meredith pointed out a bedroom and called out a name. She waited in the hall while each of them set their bags down and came back out.
“Okay, on this hall, there are two full baths. Mr. Dorough, the room you have has its own bath.” Gesturing down the hall, Meredith pointed out the bathrooms.
Moving a few feet down, she opened up another room. “This is my exercise room, so feel free to use it anytime.”
They followed her back towards the main hall. “Here’s the dining room, den, and living room.”
They looked at each of the rooms and realized that they all felt very comfortable in this house. A hall off the living room led to another part of the house.
“Down here you’ll find my office and my bedroom.” Both rooms were tucked away from the rest of the house by the long corridor.
As they moved down the hall, Nick noticed the many pictures that graced the wall. “Who’s this?”
Meredith stepped back to look at the picture. “That’s Andy, my husband.”
Kevin piped up from the back of the group. “Won’t he mind us being here?”
Shaking her head, Meredith resumed her walk towards her room. “He passed away three years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” Kevin’s voice reflected his sincerity.
“Thank you, Mr. Richardson. I appreciate that.”
Meredith opened the door and showed off her room. “My bedroom, office is next door. It’s got a computer with an ISDN line, if you need to check e-mail or anything. I can also set up a guest account on my ISP if you need one.”
AJ was amazed at her bedroom. The walls were painted the blue of a spring sky, and clouds had been painted on the ceiling to give the feeling of being in the air. A queen-size bed sat against one wall, covered in white. An overstuffed chair and ottoman sat in one corner. A large walk-in closet could be seen next to what he presumed was the bathroom door. French doors led out to the patio, and Nick made his way over to them.
“Wow.”
The rest of the guys came over to look in wonder at the backyard and pool area. Landscaping made the pool appear as if it rested in a jungle.
“Let me finish showing you the rest of the house, then you can do whatever you want.”
Leading them back out to the main hall, Meredith pointed out the game room and utility room near the back door. Peeking into the game room, Brian was delighted to find a pool table.
“All right, now I can challenge you to that rematch, Bone.”
AJ studied the room, complete with bar and arcade games. “Bring it on, B-rok.”
“Well, that pretty much completes the tour of the house. Feel free to check out the kitchen and its limited supplies for snacks later on.”
“That reminds me…” Kevin pulled out his wallet and tried to pay for dinner.
Meredith held up a hand. “Don’t worry, it’s on me. Besides, maybe you’ll think of me fondly when I’m dragging your butts through the mud in the coming weeks.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure, Mr. Richardson, but thank you for the offer. Now, I’m going to hit the pool, so you guys do what you want or need to do to get settled in.”
Meredith headed back towards her room as the five guys headed to theirs. They all decided that a swim would relax them and disappeared to change into suits. Gathering in the hall, Kevin studied the art adorning the walls.
“Train?”
“Hmm?” Kevin looked over at Brian.
“Whatcha thinking about?”
“How does she afford all of this on a commander’s salary?”
Howie came up at the end of Kevin’s question. “Maybe it belonged to her husband.”
“Yeah, could be. You guys ready?”
Kevin snapped his fingers as they walked out the back door. “Damn, forgot the towels.”
“I didn’t.” Meredith appeared next to them carrying a large stack of towels. “Follow me, gentlemen.”
Heading down the steps, they appreciated the lush foliage that surrounded the pool. To their delight, they found a hot tub sitting off to the side. When she saw their glances, she chuckled. “You’re going to be very glad I have that in the coming weeks.”
“I don’t understand why we’re going to need it. How hard can supply be?”
Meredith stared at them. “Supply?”
Nick nodded at her. “Justin said you were in supply. How hard can it be?”
A full-blown laugh echoed around the pool, and each man felt the brush of her voice against their skin. “I’m not in supply.”
Kevin knitted his forehead. “Justin said he heard you said you’d be supplying something next week.”
The grin still covered Meredith’s face. “Yeah, I’ll be supplying mission profiles for the SEAL training missions next week.”
“Mission profiles?” “Seals?”
Kevin and Nick spoke at the same time.
“I apologize. I never explained to you what I do.” Meredith handed out towels as she talked. “I’m with ONI---Office of Naval Intelligence. You’re going to learn about profiling missions and running covert operations. When I get through with you, you’re going to be lean, mean fighting machines.”
Both men stared at her. “Covert operations?”
“Yep. It’ll be fun. I’m also going to have a SEAL team working with us during your training. That’s why you’ll be very thankful for the hot tub.”
“Still, I wish I could have worked with the planes. Justin and the guys will be working on them, no offense.”
“None taken, but they’ll be lucky if they get to touch one, to be honest.”
By this time, Nick and the others had jumped into the pool. Kevin and Meredith sat on the side and swirled their legs in the water.
“What do you mean?”
“CAG is very particular about his planes. The only reason he has a crew is because he can’t fly them simultaneously. It’s very hard to get onto his crew, even harder to stay on from what I hear. He’ll have them running drills and simulations, and maybe, maybe, they’ll get to sit in a cockpit. I don’t see him taking them up in an F-18. Maybe on a C-130.”
“CAG?” Kevin looked at her, not sure of the acronym.
“Commander of the Air Group.” She smiled.
“Guess we lucked out after all, huh?” AJ had swum over to them and listened as Meredith explained what ‘N Sync would be doing.
Nick, Brian, and Howie made their way over as well.
“Can’t wait to tell them they were wrong.” AJ sank lower in the water.
“You might want to wait on that.”
Nick stared at her. “Why?”
“There’s going to be a tame version of war games when this is over. If they don’t know what you’ve been doing, that’s an advantage to you. They might find out, especially if Watson tells them, but no use volunteering any information you don’t have to.”
At their nods, Meredith slipped into the pool and swam a few laps. When she finished, she climbed out of the pool and headed for a lounge chair. AJ watched her and wondered why she kept the t-shirt on over her swimsuit. Curioser and curioser.
Dusk began to fall, and one by one, twinkling lights lit the darkness of the foliage surrounding them.
Nick got out of the pool and sat down next to Meredith as he toweled off. “Why do you call us Mister?”
“Starting tomorrow, it’ll probably just be your last name. I’m trying to ease you into this.”
“What are we supposed to call you?”
“Commander or ma’am. Here at home, you can call me Meredith, but you’ll have to make sure you don’t do it while we’re on duty, ‘kay?”
He nodded, then grinned. “So, tell me about the Seals we’ll be working with.”
Meredith laughed as she thought of the guys. “They work hard and play even harder. They’re going to work your asses off, believe me. But if you make it, you’ll know there’s *nothing* you can’t accomplish.”
“Sounds like the voice of experience.” Kevin joined their group, sitting in the chair on the other side of Meredith.
“It is. Trust me when I say this experience will show you a side of yourself you’ve never seen. After five weeks, touring should never be a problem again.”
The rest of the guys wandered over as Kevin, Nick, and Meredith talked. Kevin looked back at the house before glancing at Meredith.
“Do you live here all alone? It’s such a big place for one person.”
She smiled, a little sadness tingeing the edges. “It really is, but I haven’t been able to let it go since it belonged to Andy’s family. He inherited it when his parents passed away, then we lived here when we got married. They had the extra rooms because there was always something going on while Andy was growing up---parties, family events, meetings because of Andy’s dad’s business. He was a corporate lawyer, and he often had clients over for brainstorming sessions. The big house made a lot of sense to them. Then, when they died in the car crash, Andy inherited it and couldn’t let go of the place where he’d spent so much time enjoying life. He kept saying he wanted to fill it with family, too.”
She stopped for a moment and stared at the house. “He told me we were going to put a kid in each of those rooms. But we didn’t get the chance.”
They saw the pain in her eyes, and each man felt sad for her, Kevin especially since he’d brought up the memories. Meredith shook herself a little and looked around at the group. Realizing that they felt bad, she smiled at them.
“Enough sad memories. I tend to remember the joyful times more than anything.” She looked at Nick.
“Tell me how you ended up under my command.”
She didn’t miss the fact that the other four men turned to stare at their younger “brother.” Nick flushed as he looked at his friends, then Meredith.
“I was talking to Nick.”
At her confused glance, he shrugged. “Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees.”
At her nod, he continued. “He told me that they’d been approached to help kick off a new recruiting drive in the military, and that they were going to join the Navy for five weeks. I thought it sounded cool, so I called our management and found out they’d been approached on our behalf. I found out the details, called the guys, and suggested we do it.”
“Suggested? More like whined until we agreed.” AJ snorted from his chair.
Meredith laughed. “I’m not going to have to correct this whining problem, am I, Mr. Carter?”
Nick flushed again and sent a scowl towards AJ. “I just thought it would be a good thing. National defense is very important, and we should do what we can to encourage people to step up and take a stand.”
She couldn’t help grinning at him, he sounded like she did when she joined. “Are you going to be on a recruiting poster?”
The blush covered his entire face this time, and Meredith laughed loudly. “Well, I can see that the female ratio will definitely increase when they walk by the recruiting office and see you grinning at them.”
Kevin sat up and looked at Meredith. “Is it that bad?”
She shrugged. “It’s gotten pretty low. We’re missing out on a lot of quality applicants because they’re being lured by big bucks in corporate America. Not that we’re getting the dregs or anything, but it takes a certain type of person to be an officer or a missile technician or a pilot. I think each of the branches is hoping that by having the celebrities endorse them, they’ll draw in a wider variety of recruits to fill out the ranks.”
“So what are we going to do?” Brian stretched toward the sky, twisting his back to crack it, and several of them winced at the sound.
“Sorry.” He grinned at them, not sorry at all.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to have you do specifically. I’ll have to watch you to figure out where your strengths lie.” Meredith gazed at the five faces looking at her for guidance.
They chatted for a few more minutes before she stood up. “Gentlemen, I’m heading off to bed. Remember, we have to leave here at 0700 in the morning. Don’t make me haul your asses out of bed, or I’ll add more pushups to your training.”
AJ made a face at the thought of calisthenics. Meredith just laughed.
“I usually work out around 0530 if anyone wants to join me.”
“In the morning?” Howie was aghast at the idea of being awake that early, much less working out.
“Sometimes earlier, it just depends. Goodnight, gentlemen.”
A chorus of “good nights” followed her and Stasi into her room. Closing the patio door and locking it, she pulled off her t-shirt and swimsuit and made her way into the bathroom. Staring at her body in the mirror, Meredith slowly pirouetted. Wonder what they’ll think when they see this.
A quick shower relaxed her, and she crawled into bed, leaving Stasi at the foot of her bed to protect her.
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