<Damn! Here comes Mr. Webb. The Admiral's already in a bad mood. The morning was crap. Doesn't look like the afternoon's going to get any better.> Petty Officer Tiner rushed to let his C.O. know that Special Agent Clayton Webb was crossing the bullpen now.

"Admiral, Mr. Webb doesn't have an appointment. He..."

AJ looked up just as Webb stormed in, looking for all the world like the cat that ate the God damned canary. He knew that look. It didn't bode well. <Uh-oh,> AJ thought. <Incoming!>

"What do you want, Webb?"

Smirking, Webb dropped a large manila envelope on AJ's desk. "Good afternoon to you, too. I think this will be of interest to you, Admiral. It certainly piqued my interest when it fell into my hands."

AJ warily reached for the envelope but before he could open it, Webb leaned over the desk and placed his hand on it. "Before you jump to any conclusions, let me say this. "I'm the only one who has seen these...photos and they're probably 6-8 years old... before you knew her." 

He let that tantalizing and very disturbing thought linger in the air a moment. <I love busting his balls,> Webb smirked to himself. "And, in answer to the questions you're going to have, they were found in an old file cabinet that belonged to the son of a very rich French scumbag we shot in a drug cartel bust a few months back. File cabinet was on a yacht in Turkish waters. Beloved son was killed in the Gulf War. Don't know anything else. Don't call. I'm on my way out of the country." And he was out the door before AJ could utter a reply.

<Photos? Six to eight years before I knew her?>

"Tiner," he buzzed his yeoman. "Hold my calls." AJ leaned back in his leather chair, took a sip of his cold coffee and fingered the envelope Webb had unceremoniously dropped on his desk. <Why do I have a bad feeling about this?> Taking a deep breath, he opened the envelope flap and took out a stack of 8"x10" color photos. There was a cover sheet with a note in Webb's handwriting.

"AJ, I covered the heads on all the photos. Enjoy the pictures first. Then, take the sticky tabs off the faces. If you see who it is right away, you won't enjoy looking at all the pretty pictures, and they are pretty."

<Sick bastard. What's he up to now?>

The first was the photo of a very voluptuous nude woman. Flipping through them quickly, he saw they were all nude photos of the same woman. He started to remove the sticky tab from the woman's face and something stilled his hand. He decided to look at the photos first.

Turning back to the first photo, he looked at it closely and admired what he saw. She had a beautiful body. It was a back view. She was turned slightly to the side but one nice sized round breast with a dusky pink nipple was clearly in view. There was no way to discern her height, but she had a lovely back, trim waist, deliciously round hips, and shapely thighs and legs. 

"Very nice. Please don't be my daughter," he muttered under his breath.

Her pose in the second photo had her on her back with her arms behind her head. One leg was straight - the other bent. There was nothing left to the imagination. Her breasts remained perky, round and upright - the nipples taut. Her stomach had a sweet hint of roundness and the mass of tight blonde curls at her mound made him pause a moment. <Blonde? Who do I know that's...? No, she would never...can't be her.>

He held the photo up to take a closer look. Her inner thighs looked like silk and her soft folds were clearly defined - pink and full. "Mmmm," he groaned. "Jesus, that's nice," he murmured. 

<No obvious markings on her that I can readily identify. Mmmm, those thighs...> The next photo was the same as the last only this time she was cupping her breasts as if offering them to the person taking the picture. <God! I hope the photographer was a man - at least give me that much. I couldn't take knowing she did this for a... didn't Webb say the photos belonged to the son of a... yeah, he did... mmmm, beautiful breasts.>

The next photo showed her sitting on her thighs with just a hint of the promise between her legs teasing the photographer <...and me.> She was leaning back and those lovely breasts were jutting forward. AJ had to jerk his hand back to keep his fingers from circling the pretty pink nipples begging for kisses. <Damn! She's luscious.> He felt the unmistakable tightening in his groin.

The remaining photos were the same. He got very clear views of every inch of her: top, bottom, front, back, and knew she was soft and undoubtedly sweet and extraordinarily desirable. He knew he hadn't known her carnally. He would certainly have remembered *that* body. He had to restrain himself from satisfying the ache in his groin. <I probably don't know her at all,> he thought. <I'll bet it's one of Webb's sick jokes.>

He spread all the photos out on his desk. Finally, he lifted the tab covering her face. "Shit!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" In sudden fury, he ripped the tabs off all the other photos. "Shit!" 

He leaned his elbows on the desk, clasped his hands together and took several deep breaths. <There's probably a reasonable explanation for this.> "Hell and damnation," he yelled in frustration. <Reasonable explanation? For posing naked?> "Shit! What the hell was she thinking? I should haul her right over my knee and blister her..." He looked at one of the photos again and lowered his voice considerably. "...and blister that beautiful ass of hers."

He looked at all the photos once again. Now that he knew who it was, the body didn't seem that luscious any more. <Who the hell are you kidding, Chegwidden? She's still lovely and if you didn't know who she was, you'd be looking for her company on a snowy night... any night, actually. And if you keep looking at these photos and do something about that hard-on between your legs, it will be... incestuous...> 

"Tiner," he slammed the button on the intercom. "Tell Lieutenant Sims to get her butt in here ASAP!"
 

1600 Hours 
JAG Headquarters 
Falls Church, Virginia

Everyone in the bullpen heard the admiral yell when he told Tiner to summon Lt. Sims to his office. They couldn't believe their ears. The admiral yelling and using Harriet's name in the same breath just didn't mesh. They knew it had to be something catastrophic and could only get worse. Harriet was assisting her husband, Lt. Roberts, in court today. The admiral had to wait until the hearing was over.

Before she was halfway across the bullpen, Harriet knew something was wrong. Everyone was staring at her. "What in the world?" Tiner had slipped her a note saying the admiral wanted to see her when court was concluded for the day. She didn't have any reason to be alarmed. They often discussed her various duties. Looking at everyone's faces, she felt her heart accelerate somewhat. <Have to bite the bullet, sometime.>

She knocked on the admiral's door, hoping he didn't have bad news about her father. <Daddy hasn't been feeling all that well. I hope he didn't have a heart attack!> 

"Enter."

She nervously closed the door behind her and came to attention. "Lt. Sims, reporting as ordered, sir."

AJ got up and moved around to the front of his desk. He leaned against it, folded his arms across his chest and just stared at her.

Harriet knew something had to be drastically wrong. The admiral had left her at attention instead of inviting her to sit down. <Why is he staring at me?> She was feeling very uncomfortable and felt the first drops of perspiration slide down her back.

AJ finally stood and walked over to her. He looked directly at her - saying nothing. She could feel his breath on her forehead and knew he was very angry. She wished he'd say whatever it was he was going to say. This silent treatment was hell. 

With his arms folded, he slowly walked around her twice, ending up behind her and wondered what the hell he was going to say to her. He admitted to himself that he had a soft spot for her and he was clearly unhappy he made her so nervous. <But damn it, she...> "At ease, Lieutenant."

Harriet changed her stance but had a feeling he was just being lenient for the moment. She still had no idea what was going on. <Well, it's definitely not Daddy's health,> she thought with some relief - relief that was short-lived. 

AJ moved to stand by the window, his arms folded, his gaze focused on the nude pictures of her flashing in NEON strobe lights in his head. He could clearly see every detail of her body in his mind. He sighed deeply thinking of her lovely curves and... wondering why the hell he hadn't chewed her ass out yet. 

<Don't go there, Chegwidden. Get her ass... and every other part of her anatomy out of your mind. Oh yeah! That's gonna' be easy,> he thought sarcastically. 

<She's not your daughter, AJ. Don't treat her like one,> his conscience reminded him. <She's a junior officer. Remember that.>

<A junior officer whose baby I delivered,> he retorted. <A junior officer who posed nude - and showed off that gorgeous body of hers to... who knows who!>

<Posed nude before she entered the Navy, you ass. It was her own business, not yours.>

<Doesn't matter. Shouldn't have those photos lying around somewhere for that slithering spy to find. He saw them. I saw them. Who else saw what none of us should have seen? God! *I* never should have seen...> A vision of her naked breasts and thighs popped up in his head again. He barely stopped himself from sighing out loud. <Shit! I'm horny.>

<You've lost it, Chegwidden. Why don't you admit you liked what you saw - it's unattainable for too many reasons. Just get an explanation and get her the hell out of your office so you can burn those photos and... She's young enough to be your daughter, for God's sake!>

<Well, that definitely puts it in perspective. Now, every time I see her I'll remember those pictures and my thoughts will be incestuous as well.>

"Sit down, Lieutenant," he said a little gruffly.

She sat - on the very edge of the seat - her palms sweating and her body tensed as if he were going to strike a blow. AJ looked at her uneasy pose. She had a fine film of moisture on her upper lip and he hoped she wasn't going to cry. He hated when she did that. Made him feel like the bogey man parents threaten their kids with if they didn't behave. 

He took the stack of photos and hoped his hand didn't shake when he handed them to her. "Tell me about these, Harriet," he said quietly.

With great trepidation, Harriet took the photos. AJ returned to his chair, folded his arms across his chest and silently watched her. Then, he leaned back in his chair with one hand cupping his chin so it could keep his mouth from yelling at her for putting him in this position. While she looked at the photos and formulated her thoughts, he was desperately trying to visualize her with clothes covering her body. He wasn't having a great deal of success. As he looked at her, all he could see was her beautiful unclad body. <Round breasts - dusky nipples - thighs like silk - Sweet Mary, my pants are getting tight!>
 

8 Years Earlier 
Harriet Beaumont Sim's apartment 
University Township 

"You sure you want to do this, Harriet? You don't have to. I'm willing to lend you some money till you make peace with your mom." Her friend, Paul, was a little nervous about taking nude photos of Harriet. He was a little in love with her but knew she only gave him the time of day because she was too sweet to ignore him. That's just how she was. 

He knew he could sell these pics for a lot of dough. He also knew he never would. But he wasn't going to tell her that or she'd just find someone else to take them. 

"I'm sure, Paul," Harriet affirmed, breaking his reverie. "My mother thinks I can't live without an allowance and expects me to call begging for help. Over my dead body! I'm more a Sims than a Beaumont any day!"

"Are you sure you can't get a hold of your dad and get some money from him?"

"I'm sure. He's on one of his 'impossible to reach while I'm on safari' trips and I just can't wait much longer to pay the rent and utilities and I do like to eat every day."

"Maybe you and your mom will make up sooner than you think," he said hopefully.

"No! We've been through this before - it's not going to happen. Every time she gets mad at me, she stops making deposits to my checking account. If I had kept a closer eye on the balance, I would have been prepared. But I didn't. Now, just take the pictures and give me the money. I only need enough to live on for about a month." She started disrobing before he could come up with another reason why she shouldn't be doing this.

He shot several rolls of film, posing her every which way. Coy - shy - enticing - alluring - beckoning - smiling seductively - giggling - sexy - wanton - sexy - adorable - sexy. 
 

1445 Hours 
JAG Headquarters 
Falls Church, Virginia

Harriet blushed furiously when she recognized the photos taken eight years ago. But when she remembered the details... her fight with her mother... her need for immediate cash... she regained her composure. Yes, it was embarrassing that the Admiral had seen her naked. <Well, he didn't really see me naked. He saw pictures of me naked. He...is looking at me very strangely...> She decided to bluff it out. She sat back and looked at him, a decidedly different pose for her to take - especially with the admiral whom she admired, and the one person she did not want to ever disappoint.

"I'm waiting, Harriet," AJ said softly. 

"Sir?"

"For an explanation, Harriet."

"An explanation, sir?"

"Do I have to make it an order?"

"An order, sir?"

"Lieutenant," he said sharply.

Harriet sat up straighter. "Yes, sir?"

"If these photos surfaced in the wrong place, your naval career would end. You owe me an explanation. You will tell me how these photos came to be," he said sternly. "And, you will tell me why. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"Perfectly clear, sir."

"Well?"

"Well, uh...sir. That is definitely my face but... what makes you think that's my body, sir? I mean, you've never actually seen me in the nu...without clothes... I mean, you did deliver little AJ, but..." She knew her face was pink and she suddenly had difficulty looking at him and rushed her words. "Photos are easily doctored, sir. And..." 

He noted the flush rising on her face and knew she was lying - something she didn't do very well. "And, were these doctored, Lieutenant?" AJ knew damn well they weren't but if she couldn't admit it and said they were, he would have accepted her lie. Then, he would have apologized for the misunderstanding, briefly discussed who could possibly have altered the photos, and for what purpose, and dismissed her. <Then, I can hold onto the memory of her sweet body in my mind but with somebody else's face. God, make her lie.>

Harriet wished he called her by her first name. It sounded worse when he called her Lieutenant. She thought about lying. But this was the admiral. She had already disappointed him; she didn't want to do it again. And, her son was named for him, and... <He looked at these photos? These photos of me naked...? With everything showing...? I mean, *everything*! Please God! This is your cue. Harriet Beaumont Sims, here. Make a large hole for me to fall into. Now!>

"Sir, about eight years ago, when I was in college, I had a big fight with my mother. You've met her; you can understand that I..."

AJ had met Harriet's mother. He didn't want to ever meet her again. He understood.

She took a deep breath and told him the details about needing money and how the photos came to be taken.

In the middle of her explanation, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Lt. Bud Roberts was wondering why his wife had been called on the carpet. She had been in the admiral's office a long time and scuttlebutt criss-crossing the bullpen was that he was angry when he called for her. Ignoring the fear-generated heartbeat in his chest, he bravely knocked on the admiral's door.

"Admiral?"

"Yes, Mr. Roberts?" AJ asked dryly.

"Uh, sir. Is Harriet? I mean, Lt. Sims... is she...?" He turned toward Harriet. "Are you...?"

AJ rose to his full height making Bud even more nervous than he already was. "Your presence is not required at this time, Mr. Roberts. Dismissed." 

"Aye-aye, sir." 

AJ allowed himself a small smile and sat down. "Continue, Harriet."

Harriet breathed a sigh of relief. He had called her by her first name. Things were looking better.

When she finished her explanation, she waited quietly for his response. She didn't think he was going to yell at her again. 

AJ reached for the photos, which she shyly returned to him. "You want these, sir?" He nodded. He turned them upside down on his desktop and thought about what she said. He thought a long time.

"Sir?" Harriet squeaked when the silence was about to kill her. "I wasn't in the Navy at the time, you know. I wish you wouldn't take it personally." <Now, why did I say that? Of course, he's taking it personally. He's the admiral.>

AJ looked at her. "There wasn't any other way to get some immediate cash? This Paul fellow did offer a loan." He put his hands up to stop further comments from her. "Navy or not, why would you do such a thing? Did it never occur to you that this would come back one day and bite you on the ass?" His voice was getting sterner as he lectured her. "What prompted you to do such a foolhardy thing? I expected better of you!"

She rushed to interrupt him. "Sir, how did you come by these pictures?"

AJ sat back and pursed his lips - not a good sign for a subordinate under fire. It meant he was thinking and when the admiral was staring at you and thinking, it usually meant bad news, unpleasantness, ugly consequences or worse, you were about to get your ass chewed out. Harriet knew there was a good possibility she wasn't going to be able to hold her tears in much longer.

AJ thought she might cry. "I got the photos from Clayton Webb."

"Clayton Webb? He saw my pictures, sir?" Her bottom lip was quivering and AJ automatically reached into a drawer and handed her a box of tissues. Big fat tears were flowing down her cheeks. AJ caved. He couldn't stand to see her cry.

He got up and walked around to the front of his desk motioning her out of her chair. She rose and stood at attention. "For God's sake, Harriet. Calm down. I'm not going to yell at you." He gently pulled her into his arms and comforted her in a very fatherly way - patting her back while she cried and sniffled all over his navy blue jacket. He hoped it was a fatherly hug but if she pressed her soft body into him any further she would undoubtedly notice there was nothing soft between his legs. <Sweet Jesus! This just keeps getting worse,> he thought.

"We will keep this between us, Harriet," he quietly assured her, still rubbing her back and but suddenly realized that he was feeling her breasts pressing into his chest and he knew what they looked like. A very fine film of moisture was developing on his upper lip.

 "There will be no further discussion about this matter. And, as for Webb, I'll take care of him. But you'll have to come up with an explanation for Bud as to why you were in here. Think of something clever."

<Bud?!? Oh right. Bud,> she remembered. <Think of something clever. Ok. I can do that.>

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." 

He wiped a tear away with his thumb and tilting her chin, he smiled at her and then, thinking better of it, gave her a very serious look. "No more photos, Harriet. Is that understood?"

"Aye-aye, sir."

"And, if you're ever in some kind of financial bind and you need money, you're to come to me. Only me? Understood?" <Damn! That sure didn't come out right.>

"Aye-aye, sir. And, thank you, sir." <You can count on that, sir! I'll... do that, sir. You're very sweet sir... and time to leave, Harriet.> Her conscience propelled her out of his embrace and through the door with just a little skip in her step. 

After Harriet left, AJ let out a long, deep breath, rubbed his crotch and groaned out loud. He spread the photos across his desk one more time. <Sweet Jesus! She looks good.> And then he groaned again. Holding onto the memory of her softness when she was in his arms just a few short moments ago, his hungry eyes strayed to the nude photo of her charms displayed in full glory and knew he was going to have to burn them.

"Mmmm."
 

End