“How appropriate.” Letting Stasi out into the backyard, Meredith pulled on a sports bra, shorts, and a t-shirt in preparation for working out. Socks and shoes quickly followed, and Meredith pulled her hair up into a ponytail so it would stay out of her way.
The house was quiet in the early morning, and if it weren’t for various snores coming from the guest bedrooms, she would have sworn she was alone. A grin crossed her face. It’s good to have people here again.
About 15 minutes into her workout, Kevin and Howie stumbled into the room.
“Morning.” Nods of recognition were her only reply, and she quickly focused her attention back on her arm curls.
Howie stretched out on a mat and watched as Meredith moved efficiently from one exercise to another. He was surprised to see that she was pressing about 100 pounds because she hadn’t looked that strong last night. Looks can certainly be deceiving.
He continued to study her. Now that her hair was freed from the French braid she’d had it in last night, he could tell the auburn curls would hang down to about the middle of her back when not confined. The baggy t-shirt concealed a good bit of her body, but he got an occasional glimpse of pale skin when she did a crunch or bent over to pick up a weight. He knew he was going to be in for a tough time when he saw her start doing full pushups.
“This is going to be hard.” Kevin sat down beside Howie after he finished his workout, and they both watched Meredith stretch.
“You ain’t kiddin’, Train. She’s gonna work our asses off. I think she’s going to be harder than Fatima.”
The three of them headed towards the kitchen and met Nick and Brian coming in from the pool. “Sorry, Meredith, I just couldn’t face the weight room this morning.”
“No problem, Carter. I feel that way a lot, but I know what’ll happen if I don’t, so I make myself do it.” She looked around.
“Where’s McLean?”
“Still sleeping last I saw.” Brian grabbed a bowl, some Rice Chex, and the milk.
“I think it’s time I introduce Mr. McLean to the U.S. Navy.” An evil smile graced Meredith’s face.
“This, I gotta see.” Nick followed her down the hall.
Quietly opening the door, she slipped into the room. Nick stood in the doorway, wanting to stay out of the line of fire. Bending close to AJ’s ear, Meredith took a deep breath.
“ON YOUR FEET, SAILOR.”
AJ leaped up as if stuck with a cattle prod and flattened himself against the wall. He pressed his hand against his chest as Meredith grinned at him. Nick held onto the doorjamb to keep himself from falling because he was laughing so hard.
“Did I wake you?” Meredith’s voice was as pure as an angel.
AJ could only nod.
“Good. You’ve got about 45 minutes to get ready.” Meredith nodded at him, then slid past Nick who was still laughing.
Nick wiped the tears from his eyes as he watched AJ slowly climb out of bed. “Mornin’, Bone.”
“Kiss my ass, Nicky.” AJ stalked past him and headed for the bathroom.
Nick headed back for the kitchen and walked in to find Brian, Kevin, and Howie watching Meredith.
“What’s everybody doing?” He turned to see Meredith building an ice cream sundae. “You’re eating that for breakfast?”
“It’s Friday.” The cryptic reply made him shrug his shoulders.
AJ finally made his appearance after everyone had left to get their own showers. He stared at Meredith as she ate her sundae. Without saying a word, she offered him the bowl. AJ grabbed a spoon from the basket sitting on the counter, and they both worked on the large bowl. Nick came back in to find them spoon fighting for the last bite of hot fudge. Shaking his head, he grabbed a glass and poured himself some milk. Downing it in two gulps, he filled it again.
“I think I’m seriously going to have up my milk allotment.”
“Hey, I’m a growing boy. I need my calcium.” The trademark Carter grin was directed at her, and she raised an eyebrow.
Meredith disappeared into her room and showered quickly, her morning ritual having been pared down over the years. She’d gotten to the point that she could be ready to go in less than 30 minutes. Dressing in cammies and combat boots, she quickly braided her hair and pinned it into a low bun on the back of her head. Stasi came back inside and followed Meredith around her room. She grabbed her jacket, cover, and sunscreen, then made her way towards the living room.
“Time to rock-n-roll, gentlemen.”
Each man was a little surprised at her appearance, wondering what they were in for that day. She filled Stasi’s dishes and gave the dog an affectionate head rub. Each of the guys also gave Stasi a pat, with Nick’s caress lingering the longest---much to Stasi’s delight.
Nervous chatter filled the car as Meredith pointed it towards the base. Passing through the gate, they saw the hustle and bustle of another day in the life of Navy personnel. She parked the Land Cruiser and herded them towards her office so that she could check her e-mail and make any necessary modifications to the profile she’d sent out for today’s training mission.
Becky was pouring coffee as Meredith made her way into the office. “Morning.”
“Morning, Boss. How did it go…” Becky’s question was cut off by the sight of the Backstreet Boys filling the area around her desk.
Meredith disappeared into her office to log in and check up on the day’s activities.
“Guess cute won out after all.” Becky muttered it under her breath, but they all heard it. “Would anyone like some coffee?”
Brian and AJ nodded, and Becky grabbed some cups. “Milk’s in the fridge, sugar’s in this bowl. Help yourself. You’re going to need it.”
“Fuck, fuck, Fuck, FUCK!!!!”
All six of them were startled when Meredith came racing out of her office.
“What’s…” Becky never got to finish her question as Meredith ran past them out the door and down the corridor.
Becky quickly followed, as did the guys. They found her standing in a large room filled with screen displays of maps. Different maps held different things---be it people, equipment, or enemy positions. Meredith grabbed a headset and quickly tuned into a training mission. Listening, she followed the actions of the team on one of the maps in front of her.
“Shit, they’re pinned down.” Glancing quickly through several maps on a table, she found the one she was looking for.
“Bad Karma 1, this is AoD. Fifty feet to your right, follow the rabbit hole.”
The tinny echo of the reply bounced out of the speakers in the room. “Roger that.”
A minute of tense silence followed as Meredith waited to find out if the backup plan she gave them would get them out of the mess they had landed in. Another sixty seconds that felt like sixty years passed until Meredith heard the faint cheers.
“AoD, this is Bad Karma 1. We’re clear.”
“Roger that, Bad Karma 1. First round’s on me.”
Meredith took of her headset and sighed, her eyes closing as she breathed out the tension that had filled her body. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room for the person who’d caused the mess in the first place.
“Oh, shit.” Becky whispered, and Kevin glanced down at her, then looked back at Meredith.
The commander moved quietly over to a young man sitting in a corner who was staring at a computer. “Simpson, my office.”
Ensign Jack Simpson looked up at Meredith before standing. He followed her out of the room. The Backstreet Boys made a move to follow them, but Becky held them back.
“She won’t want you to witness her rip him a new one. She prefers to strip hide in private. Let me show you around a little bit.”
They nodded and followed the young woman out the door and in the opposite direction of Meredith’s office.
By the time Meredith entered her office, she’d calmed down quite a bit, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make sure Jack Simpson knew that he’d made the wrong decision in changing her orders.
Jack stood at attention in front of her desk. Meredith told him to stand at ease. “Do you realize what you did, Simpson? I take a lot of time to carefully plan my profiles, along with backup plans in case something goes wrong.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You weren’t even paying attention to the screen when they got into trouble. If I hadn’t shown up, the team would be gone.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jack looked down as he began to realize exactly what he’d done.
“I know you’re trying to make your bones, and I appreciate the fact that you’re so eager; but you’ve got to pay attention and stay alert. I won’t have you changing my profiles, and I will *not* have you putting my team in danger, do you understand me?”
Jack nodded, the painful lump in his throat making it hard to speak. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re dismissed.”
With a quick salute, Ensign Simpson scampered out of the office, thankful he still had his skin. He met Becky and the guys as he headed out the door and barely acknowledged their presence.
“Boy, he got off lucky.” Becky moved to sit behind her desk as her phone buzzed. She answered it, then grinned.
“Yes, ma’am.” Looking up, she nodded her head. “You’re free to go in.”
“You’ll cover us?” Nick smiled at Becky.
“I got your back.”
The five guys slowly entered Meredith’s office, unsure of how angry she would be. They found her standing at parade rest, staring out the window. Kevin cleared his throat, and she turned around.
“You guys ready to get started?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kevin nodded, as did the others.
“Good. Let’s go find you some gear.”
It was a short walk over to the supply station. Nick was surprised at how quickly Meredith snapped a salute and how she even saw who she was saluting. How does she do that?
The building was cool after the heat of the Virginia summer sun.
“Morning , Commander.”
“Good morning. Mr. Anderson. How are the wife and kids?”
“Good, ma’am. Nicole placed first and second in her heats last Saturday.”
“Excellent. Tell her I’m rooting for her.”
“Will do.” Master Chief Bob Anderson leaned over the return that separated them and stared at the men with Meredith.
“What can I do for you this morning, Commander?”
“I need summer khakis, field and night cammies, field gear, and a choker for each of them.”
“Choker?” “What the hell’s a choker?”
Meredith heard the grumbles behind her, and she was glad that only Anderson could see her grin. “Do you have a problem, gentlemen?”
“No, ma’am.” Five voices answered in unison.
“I didn’t think so.” Focusing her attention back on Anderson, she nodded at him. “I’ll leave you with them. I’ve got to go check on the fruit salad.”
“I’ll have ‘em geared up in 30.”
“I’ll be back in plenty of time.”
She turned around, almost laughing at the confused faces in front of her. “I have to go check on some service ribbons. Mr. Anderson will get you everything you need, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She left five wary men with one smiling supply officer, who grinned at them and cackled madly.
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Meredith stared at Captain Carruthers. “You want them to wear what?”
“Since they don’t have their own ribbons, they’re going to wear replicas of yours.”
Closing her eyes, Meredith sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is going to be exciting, I’m sure.”
Her eyes opened quickly as a thought occurred to her. “This isn’t going to cause any problems, is it?”
“You mean with Watson.” Carruthers leaned back in his chair.
Wisely, she kept her mouth shut and just stared at her CO.
“I’ll take care of it, Davenport.”
Coming to attention, Meredith nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
She left the office and headed back towards supply, anxious to get the ball rolling on the ribbons that would be required for the dress uniforms. When she walked back into the supply building and into the large conference room, she almost started laughing. All five men had their gear strewn about the room and were holding up various items, yelling their questions to Anderson.
“I feel like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentlemen.” Kevin held the white dress uniform jacket against himself.
AJ popped the white hat on his head and tilted it back. “Another hat, just what I need.”
“Cover.” Meredith strolled into the room.
Whipping around, they all stared at her. Kevin was the first to recover. “What?”
“It’s not a hat, it’s a cover.” Reaching over, she sat it squarely on AJ’s head. “And it’s worn like so.”
She stepped back and looked over the clothing that sat in front of them. Reaching out, she stroked the white material as Kevin held it against his chest. “I see you found your chokers.”
“This is a choker?” Howie held his up.
“Yes, it is. I have to get some fruit salad for you, and you’ll be set.”
“Fruit salad?” Brian sat down as he held onto his combat boots, confusion evident in his eyes.
“Ribbons and stuff.” Nick was digging through his bag and pulling things out, turning them over in his hands and studying them before setting them aside.
Brian looked at his friend. “You understood that, Frack?”
Nick looked up. “I wanted to be a Seal when I was a kid, so I read up on stuff. I know that fruit salad means service ribbons and awards. I didn’t know we’d have any though.”
“You’ll be wearing mine.” Meredith cleared a chair and sat down in front of Kevin’s stuff. With practiced ease, she started folding items and stuffing his duffel.
“Why?” Nick watched her for a moment before following her actions. The others tried to follow them.
“Exactly because you don’t have any. You, and the rest of the guys involved in this training exercise, will be wearing the service ribbons and medals of your training officer.” Meredith finished with Kevin’s gear and began working on Howie’s.
“Kewl.” Nick finished and began helping Brain.
“You constantly surprise me, Frack.” Brian stared in wonder at his young friend. A cheesy grin was his reply.
With Nick helping, Meredith finished packing their duffels. As she zipped AJ’s shut, she looked at them. “I expect you to learn how to do that yourselves and in less than 15 minutes.”
Although they grimaced, none of them made a comment.
“Now, I suggest you get changed.” Meredith disappeared outside the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Each man hurriedly changed out of the jeans and t-shirt he’d been wearing into the camouflage outfits that matched Meredith’s. Once they finished, Nick stuck his head outside the door and motioned for Meredith to come in. She looked them over quickly and nodded her head.
“All right, then. Let’s load up and head back to my office. I need to go over the schedule with you, as well as some house rules.”
Slinging their duffels over their shoulders, they followed Meredith out the door.
“Thanks, Anderson. Please let me know when the ribbons come in.” Meredith smiled at the older man.
“Hang on a second, Commander. Their name tags came in while you were talking to them.” Anderson tossed her the bag. “Rates are in there as well.”
“Thanks. I’ll get them assigned.”
Fingering the bag, Meredith held the door open as each man trooped through. Once outside, she showed them how to wear their covers, again making sure they were dressed correctly. The walk over to her building was interrupted by the sight of ‘N Sync trying desperately to follow Watson’s orders about marching in formation. AJ tried not to laugh and quelled his snickers at Meredith’s raised eyebrow.
“You think it’s easy?”
“With all the time we spend working on routines, it should be.”
“Don’t they do that, too?” She nodded towards the other five guys.
“Maybe they’re just not as good as we are.”
“I expect you to live up to that, McLean.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stared into her eyes, confident that they would do better.
“Let’s go, gentlemen. We’ve got hearts to break and lives to take.” Meredith herded them towards her building, leaving the rest of the trainees to sweat and stumble through their exercises.
In the large conference room close to her office, Becky laid out the packets of information Meredith requested. In the folders were abbreviated Navy regulations, the Code of Military Conduct, and duty assignments. She also laid out the name tags and rate insignia for the Boys that had just been handed to her. Becky stared at the rates and shrugged. Should be interesting.
The five guys walked in, found their spots, and sat down. Meredith sat down at the end of the table, with Becky to her right.
“Gentlemen, you’ll find your rate on top of your folder. Please set it aside for now and open up your packet to the first set of papers. These are the Navy regs---learn them, know them, live them. There will be a test later. The next set of documents is the code of conduct. Pay special attention to the sexual harassment section so you understand “yellow light” and “red light”. If I find you’ve crossed the line, your asses will be ground up and left to rot in the sun. Please review both documents this weekend.”
“As of now, you need to lose the rings and earrings while you’re on duty. Howie, you’ll need to make sure to keep your hair neat since you won’t be cutting it.”
The guys stared at each other before removing their rings and earrings.
Meredith stood up. “Okay, on your feet and let’s practice your salutes.”
Becky had to hide a smile as she watched them.
“How do we know who we’re supposed to salute?” Brian rubbed his forehead after he finally got his hand positioned correctly. They’d been practicing for an hour, and he was sure he had an indention in his head from snapping his hand to salute. At least the “parade rest” part had been easy.
Meredith turned to Becky, who grinned at the guys. “If they’re wearing anything on their collars that remotely looks like stars or bars, salute ‘em. At your rate, that’s the easiest way to cover all your bases. If they’re wearing chokers, they’ll have gold on the shoulder boards.”
“Our rate?” Howie looked over to the table at their insignia.
“I suppose I could pin everyone now.” Meredith gathered up the name tags and rate insignia. She stepped up to Kevin and pinned his name tag and bars on his jacket.
“Congratulations, Lieutenant.” She stepped back and surveyed him.
Kevin came to attention and snapped off a perfect salute. Meredith returned it solemnly. She stepped over to Howie and pinned him. He also saluted her, which she returned. Down the line, she pinned each man and returned their salutes.
Her stomach rumbled loudly, and everyone tried not to laugh. “Well, I do believe that it’s lunch time. Shall we go to the O Club?”
“O Club?” Howie fingered the insignia pinned to his collar.
“Officer’s Club.” Nick straightened his jacket.
“Sounds great to me.” AJ bounced on his toes as he stood next to Howie.
“Remember to salute when you are saluted, and don’t forget to salute officers who salute me first ‘cause you’re all pretty much rated below them.” Meredith led the way out of the conference room and down the hall to the exit. Once outside, they carefully set their covers on their heads, and Meredith gave them a nod of approval.
The first test came as a group of young sailors approached. The three young men stopped and saluted, and Meredith watched out of the corner of her eye as her men returned the salutes. She breathed an inward sigh of relief. Continuing towards the club, which was a couple of blocks from her office, Meredith noticed Captain Watson approaching her. Putting her hand behind her back, she signaled to alert the rest of the guys that they needed to pay attention. When he was a few feet away, all of them stopped, snapped to attention, and saluted. Watson was a bit shocked to find Meredith and her group executing perfect salutes.
“At ease.” Watson watched as each of the Boys dropped to parade rest behind Meredith. He looked over at his group and scowled.
“You’re supposed to salute a superior officer.”
“Oh, yeah.” Justin shrugged a bit as each member of ‘N Sync saluted her. Meredith was impressed they managed did such a good job and saluted back. She had a feeling Watson was not instructing them very well and that he’d use whatever opportunities he could find to knock them down.
“Where are you off to, Commander?”
“Lunch at the O Club before I put them through their paces on the obstacle course.”
“Carry on.”
“Yes, sir.” The six of them waited until the others left before resuming their trek.
“I really feel sorry for them.” Meredith smiled at a little girl who was walking by them with her mother.
“Why is that?” AJ skirted the child, but not before he grinned and waved.
“I get the feeling Watson is only giving them the minimum to get by. I don’t think they’re going to get the full benefit of this, and it will backfire.”
They reached the door to the club, and Kevin held it open for Meredith. “Maybe it’ll work out okay.”
“Maybe.”
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Laughter preceded them as they left the O club. Stepping into the sunshine, each of them placed their covers on their head.
“Off to the obstacle course?” Nick looked around at the people rushing about.
“Actually, since you all still look pretty, we’re going to get your ID cards made.” Meredith started walked down the street, the rest of the group falling in behind her.
They were starting to get the hang of recognizing when to salute. Brian usually watched Nick to see when he would move to salute, then follow behind him. AJ and Howie kept an eye on both Nick and Meredith, and Kevin watched Meredith.
Entering another non-descript building, they removed their covers and followed Meredith into an office.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I’m Commander Davenport. I need to get ID cards made for my trainees.”
The young man looked beyond Meredith and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. If you’ll get them started on the paperwork, we can get their pictures.”
She took the forms and pens and passed them out. “Remember, this isn’t a publicity photo, so no cheesy grins. You don’t even have to smile if you don’t want to.”
They grinned at her, and Howie started filling out his form. “I think I’ve filled out more forms since we volunteered to do this than I ever did in business.”
“The wheels of progress grind to a halt because of paperwork.” Meredith sat down next to Brian and waited for them to finish.
When they were done, the young man came forward and collected them, making sure they had been filled in correctly.
“McLean?”
AJ stood up and made his way in front of the camera. He gave a small smile, and Meredith had to grin at the concentration in his eyes to not break into some mugging. He came back and sat down as Kevin was called up. Meredith leaned over towards him.
“That wasn’t too hard, was it?”
AJ turned abruptly, finding himself practically nose to nose with Meredith. “Not too bad.”
The soft exhalation of his words brushed across her lips, and she slowly leaned back. “Good.”
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All five guys collapsed on the ground just past the finish line. Meredith had been working them for about three hours, and they’d all managed to fully complete the obstacle course in the time allotted. She bent over them, breathing hard and staring at each man.
“Littrell, this isn’t going to be a problem for you, is it?”
He rubbed a hand over his face, smearing dirt on it. “No, I can handle it.”
“’Cause if you die on me, I’m gonna find a way to get to heaven and kick your ass for leaving me, got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned at her.
A shower of water fell on them, and they turned in shock to find Lt. Commander Hawkins laughing at them. “You guys look like you needed to cool down.”
“You’d better run now, Hawkins, while you’ve still got the chance.” Meredith started towards him as she wiped the water from her face.
“Gotta go!” Hawkins dropped the hose and ran, not looking back.
Meredith turned towards the others and saw how drenched they were. “Well, at least you’re not sweaty any more. C’mon. By the time we run back to my office, we should be dry.”
“Run?” Nick covered his face and shook his head.
“Yes, Carter, run. Now, move your ass.” Meredith lined them up in some semblance of a formation and started off with a march.
Because of the opening choreography of the Into the Millennium tour, they pretty much had the marching down. There were a few missteps, but they really had the hang of it. It didn’t take long for them to get into the rhythm of running in formation either.
Surprising them, she started a cadence.
Out in the sky in the middle of the night
When we hit the deck we're ready to fight.
Up from a sub 60 feet below.
We scuba to the surface and we're ready to go.
We're gonna back stroke, side stroke, swim to shore.
When we hit the beach, we're ready for war.
Chorus:
Singing Hoo-yah Hoo-ya Hey!
Hoo-yah Running day!
Singing Hoo-Yah Hoo-ya Hey!
Just another PT day
Well Chief caught a round right between the eyes,
And corpsman thought for sure that the Chief would die.
But chief stood up straight as any man
And killed four commies in hand to hand.
Well twenty seconds later there was not a sound,
And fifty dead Commies were lying around.
Chorus
Now Superman may be the man of steel,
But he ain’t no match for a Navy SEAL.
Now Chief and sup they got in a fight.
Chief hit him in the head with some cryptonite.
Sup fell down on his knees in pain.
Now the chief’s dating Lois Lane.
Chorus
Well I've got a dog and his name is blue.
And blue wants to be a SEAL too.
So I bought him a mask and four little fins.
I took him too the ocean and I threw his butt in.
Blue came back to my surprise.
With a shark in his teeth and gleam in his eyes.
Chorus
Becky had to laugh as she watched them running into the parking lot, singing at the top of their lungs. Guess it didn’t turn out too bad after all.
They walked into Meredith’s office and collapsed on any available surface. She sat down behind her desk and checked her e-mails, keeping an eye on the guys out of the corner of her eye. When she finished, she pulled out a notepad and pen.
“I’m going to hit the commissary in the morning. Is there anything special I need to get? Are you allergic to anything?”
“Can’t think of anything. We’ll pretty much eat anything you put in front of us.” Kevin leaned his head back.
“Don’t forget the milk.” Nick was sprawled on the floor in front of Meredith’s desk.
She leaned over it to stare at him. “Not a problem, Carter.”
It took her about twenty minutes to make her list. As she finished it, she looked out the window and stared at the people moving briskly about their business. Meredith sighed. I love this place.
“Okay, guys, I’m about ready to head home. Anyone planning on accompanying me tomorrow?”
“Will we be mobbed?” Howie stood up and stretched.
“Not if you don’t all go. I go about 8, and it’s not very crowded at that time. We should be in and out in an hour.”
“I’ll go.” Brian stood up.
“Count me in.” Kevin stood as well.
“That should be enough to get me through. I’ll wake you up around 7:30 then.”
“You guys are more than welcome to go.” AJ sat up.
“We should probably go over some house rules before we leave the office.” Meredith motioned for them to sit up and assemble at the table in her office.
“First off, no smoking in my house. I used to be slightly allergic, and I hate the smell.” She looked at AJ, and he nodded.
“Second, whoever drives controls the music. Temperature is a democracy, but music is a dictatorship.”
They all nodded.
“Third, no groupies in my house. Family and friends are welcome, but you pick up someone for a night, don’t bring it home.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” Howie folded his hands together and placed them on the table.
“That’s good to hear, but it had to be said so that if you find yourself in the heat of the moment, you won’t be surprised if I toss your ass onto the street if you’re doing something I asked you not to do.” She smiled at him.
They all nodded.
“Fourth, do not mess with any of my weapons if I have them out. They are not toys, and I will not have you hurting yourself or someone else. I’m not sure how much experience you have with weapons, but I don’t want to find out in a trip to the hospital.”
They all nodded, but she knew this would be a very tough rule to follow.
“That’s it for the most part. If any problems arise, we’ll deal with them on a case-by-case basis. Any questions?” Meredith looked around at the five men.
No one spoke.
“Good. Let’s go home, gentlemen.”
Covers firmly seated, they headed out the door.
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