Authors:
Rising Sun [jagrslc@yahoo.com]
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Rated: PG-13
Classification:
Agnst
Summary: Until Jingo is found there’ll be no Christmas at
the Chedwiggen house this year!
Disclaimer: JAG
characters portrayed belong to JAG, CBS and Paramount Television. No copyright
infringement intended. All other
characters depicted are purely fictional and any similarities to actual people
are purely coincidental.
Performing in this
saga:
The Christmas Song
(Merry Christmas to you) is sung by "Nat King Cole"
Feedback: Would be
nice.
Story Written
October 2001
****************************************************************************
Tiny tots with their eyes
all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.
They know that Santa's on his way -
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And ev'rymother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.
DECEMBER 25, 2014
0211 LOCAL
CHEDWIGGEN
RESIDENCE
The silence that
descends upon a household as it sleeps peacefully was shattered by an anguished
scream.
Mac and AJ had an
instant and instinctive reaction born out of years of military training and
instinctive response from being parents.
They fell out of bed and hit the floor running, following the sound from
hell.
“It’s Cathy” Mac
said as she took the stairs by twos.
AJ was grim as he
slid down the banister. The stairs were too slow to get him to his
daughter. They rounded the corner and
entered the living room. There under
the massive Christmas tree were the four Rabb children. Cathy was bawling like a banshee, while the
twins clung to each other as they alternately cried and comforted each other
and David watched his siblings through his own tears.
“What
happened!?” Mac ran to her eldest. David continued to cry, mute.
“Cathy?” AJ stooped
next to his only daughter “…tell daddy what happened why are you all down
here?”
“We wanted to see
Santa!” She screeched.
“… and he stole
Jingo!” The twins finished in a wail.
Mac looked at AJ
stunned. A quick look around confirmed the claim. The four-month-old German Shepard was indeed missing. There was no way that any one member of the
family would be up and about and the pup would not be in attendance… they
should have called him Shadow instead of honoring her dead mutt Jingo.
Mac stood from her
crouching position near David and felt her heart drop.
AJ’s sister Adele
had given the dog to the children when it was five weeks old and in that short
space of time the dog had wormed it’s way into everyone’s heart. She felt as if one of her children had been
lost. She closed her eyes to keep her
warring emotions under control and felt the tears roll down her cheeks. The Marine in her struggled for control, she
focused on what she had to say “AJ … call the police.” It had taken all her self-will to keep her
voice steady for she wanted to do was join Cathy in the howling.
AJ gave a grim nod
and headed for the kitchen away from the tempest raging under the tree.
Mac had resigned
herself through her trickle of tears that were threatening to become a flood,
never to see that dog again. Her request for AJ to call the Police was
more as a comfort as she realized the difficulty of actually finding
Jingo.
When he returned
the uproar had calmed down. Mac was on
the sofa with Cathy in her lap, David at her feet and James and Elliott on
either side of her. He handed her a box
of tissue and gathered David off her.
She turned to James and cleaned up his tear stained face. “Blow!” She commanded. He did as
instructed. He watched as his mother
then turned to his twin, Elliott and repeated the process.
Finally they nodded
off to sleep.
AJ indicated to Mac
to join him in the kitchen. She was
worn out. “AJ why? How?” she couldn’t
complete the questions.
“The Police have
little hope of getting him back. As to
the why? I figure money. Jingo is a
pure breed and worth much. How? Through there.” He pointed to the dog flap in the kitchen door. “He had to have been lured out through
there.”
Her elbows on the
kitchen counter, Mac covered her face with her hands and sobbed. AJ handed her a tissue. She gave him a rueful smile and dried her
tears as she said, “I hope he gets as loving a family as us.” Her voice
trembled and she broke down again.
AJ was never
comfortable when his tower of strength showed her vulnerable side. He had seen Mac shed tears and when JR had
died he had not been there to help her grieve.
This side of his wife was a revelation!
As the adrenaline
rush began to ebb it finally registered on their mode of dress. As usual they shared his pajamas he had the
bottom and she the top. “It getting nippy. I’ll go get our robes.”
“…and our
slippers.” She added.
“Sure.”
==================================
DECEMBER 25, 2014
0316 LOCAL
CHEDWIGGEN
RESIDENCE
The Chedwiggen adults sat
drinking coffee and wondering at how the Christmas would be salvaged. This day had to be a new low in life. There was a tap on the door.
“Who the hell could
that be!” AJ growled as he moved to
open the door.
“Yes?”
“May I come in?”
AJ stepped aside to
allow the policeman and his partner to enter. In his arms was a German Shepard
pup.
Mac stared. “Jingo?”
The dog didn’t
reply. In fact it looked a mess, its fur was ruffled and dull and it was
foaming at the mouth. The Officer
placed the dog on the kitchen floor – it trembled. “Mr. Chedwiggen … I’m Officer
Clarke my partner Officer Harris. We
had a call regarding your dog and we came across this perp with a dog. We approached him – he dropped the dog and
took off. We wondered if you belong to
this mutt.”
Mac moved to the
floor opposite the pup. “Jingo?” he raised his brown eyes to her. She stroked him and felt his heart bound
with fear. “Oh Jingo.” She wailed and
hugged the dog despite its state. She wiped his mouth.
“I take that as
yes.” Harris whispered.
“Yes.” AJ breathed.
Jingo finally gave
a slight move of his tail in recognition.
Mac chuckled with pure pleasure as the dog pushed his nose under her robe
and up her legs. Having confirmed her
scent to his content he emerged and threw himself at her, his tail wagging with
a vengeance. Mac was in heaven.
“We’ll take our
leave now.” Officer Clarke said.
“Thank you so
much!” Mac called gleefully.
AJ let the officers
out and held out his hand to Mac.
“Let’s go get the kids.”
With Jingo secured
in her arms she leaned over Cathy.
Jingo sniffed the little girl then licked her face. “Jingo stop it.” She giggled, and then
realized what she had said. “JINGO!” she screamed and woke her brothers.
“Jingo!” she repeated.
The four children
gathered round their mother. Mac put the pup down and it instantly disappeared
under the pile of arms, legs and shrieks of delight.
AJ gently pulled
Mac out of the way. The reunion of the
dog and the children was not a safe place for a Marine – Colonel or not.
“Merry Christmas.”
AJ said.
“Amen to that.” She
sighed “Merry Christmas.” She kissed him.
“Woof!” Jingo
endorsed.
THE END