Title: The Night Before
By: Bree (virtualjag@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: I'm king of the world!! Okay, not really. The included characters belong to Bellisario and his minions.
Notes: Oddly, I have nothing to say here.

Mac sat on the edge of the tub and looked at the image staring back. The ceramic was cold against her legs. She leaned down and picked the pack of cigarettes by her feet. She shook the last one out of the pack and put it between her lips. As she slid the lighter off the counter opposite her she noticed the chipped paint on her nails. It would have to go before tomorrow. She had been in D.C. for only a few hours but she had to meet her new CO at 0800 tomorrow morning. She lit the cigarette and took a long drag. Smoking slowly she filled the small bathroom with a fog of smoke. Looking at herself through the haze she made a decision. Her waist length hair had to go. This was a new billet and she was going to make it a whole new start.

She stood up, put the cigarette out in the sink and wandered into the living room. Digging through several boxes she found what she was looking for. Straightening up she held the scissors up in victory. Making her way back to the bathroom she knocked over an already open box. A bottle of Jack tumbled out. She bent down and picked it up. She turned it over in her hands and watched the amber liquid try to get out. Tonight would be a good night for a drink. The pressure of moving and getting ready to deal with strangers and a strange city could have easily gotten to her. This bottle had been with her a long time. She had taken her last drink from this particular bottle. To bring it with her she had had to chip it out of the bottom of the freezer.

She picked her way back across the apartment and into the kitchen. She gave the Jack one last 'slosh' before putting in the freezer. She smiled as the memory of Uncle Matt and how he had told her to remember that Jack Daniels was made in a dry county and if an entire county could go without buying Jack so could she. Recalling why she had left the bathroom in the first place she headed back.

She was just at the kitchen door when the doorbell rang. She didn't know anyone in the D.C. area yet. Maybe it was a neighbor coming over to introduce himself. She looked down at the T-shirt and underwear she had on. Not exactly what you meet new neighbors wearing. The bell rang again. She imagined that it was more insistent this time. She went and looked through the peephole. She saw the distorted image of an absolute stranger. She noticed he was a handsome man despite the distortion. He was wearing a dark suit with a blue shirt and a tie of the same blue. She didn't open the door.

"Who are you," she asked through the door. She saw him smile. It was a nice smile.

"Admiral A.J. Chegwidden." She inhaled sharply. She needed pants was her first thought. Her new CO was standing outside her apartment and she was staring at him through the peephole. She opened the door and stuck her head around its edge keeping her body safely out of site.

The admiral studied the face in front of him. The major had opened the door only slightly. He tried not to laugh at the fact she had stuck her head out and an angle that it put it almost parallel to the floor. He noticed her big brown eyes and the long dark hair she kept trying to push out of the way.

"I'm sorry to drop by unannounced Major but I needed to give you a message and I didn't know your phone number. Your file was in my car and it gave this as your new address and I thought that since I was in Georgetown I would stop by." His drawl was nearly intoxicating. She momentarily wondered if everyone at JAG HQ was this beautiful.

"No problem, Admiral. What did you need to tell me?" He seemed a bit flustered.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that instead of being at the office at 0800 you needed to be at the White House by 1000."

"The White House?" He could have easily melted into her eyes.

"Yes, when you give your name they'll direct you to where you need to be. Good evening, Major."

"Good evening, sir." With that he turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall. She closed the door slowly. She leaned against it. She, Maj. Sarah Mackenzie, was going to the White House tomorrow. Unbelievable. She bent over to pick up the scissors where she had dropped them. Her hair fell across her face. It had to go.

She went into the bathroom and pulled out a comb and an empty water bottle from one of the many boxes. Filling the water bottle she studied her hair and face. She knew what she was going to do. She parted her hair just right of center. She sprayed a section and combed it smooth. Without a second thought she began cutting. By the time she finished the sink was full of hair. There was probably enough for another person. She looked at the new her. She fluffed her hair with her fingers. She was happy. There was a whole new energy about her. This was going to be a good time for her she could feel it.

It was late but she was too wired to go to bed. Luckily she had hooked up the TV earlier. It was still on the floor but that was better than sitting in silence. Heaven only knew where her box of books was. She shoved boxes aside and sprawled out on the floor.

She woke suddenly. She had fallen asleep during some silly middle-of-the-night-B-movie. Checking her internal clock she realized she had plenty of time. Getting up she set about getting ready. The admiral hadn't said anything about what uniform to wear she would just have to guess and hope she got it right. She left early because she wasn't sure how long it would take her to get to the White House. She had left late enough to miss most of the morning traffic. At the gate a gentleman instructed her where to park and how to find the Rose Garden. She quickly parked her car and recalling the directions she had been given made her way to the garden. She quickly found Admiral Chegwidden. She could clearly see the surprise in his eyes but he said nothing about her now missing hair. He wanted to introduce her to the man she would be partnered with. She fell into step with the admiral as they made their way across the garden. He introduced her to an exquisite looking young man. One look into this man's eyes and she knew she was where she belonged. Swimming in the blue pools she knew she had found a man to trust always.

Back to the fanfic.