Time in a Bottle

Time in a Bottle
(a companion piece to Memories II)

Disclaimer: JAG is the property of Donald Belisario, CBS, and Paramount. All other characters are mine and fictional.

* * * * *

If I could save time in a bottle,
The first thing that I'd like to do,
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you. *

1200 HOURS - Friday
Admiral Chegwidden's Cabin
McLean, Virginia

She was breathtaking.

Sarah MacKenzie drifted down the "aisle" on the arm of her best friend, Harmon Rabb to join the love of her life, Admiral AJ Chegwidden.

The day was vibrant with the sights and sounds of summer as the guests took their places in the wooded glade behind AJ's cabin, deep in the sylvan forest-land of McLean, Virginia.

Dress whites were the uniform of the day among the tiny gathering, as everyone turned to watch the bride leave the seclusion of her fiancé's cabin, and glide gracefully across a carpet of wildflowers into the arms of her beloved.

Sarah had chosen an antique, ankle-length gown of ivory eyelet lace, with a princess neckline and ivory seed pearls accentuating the bodice. She had accessorized her gown with matching vintage high-button shoes and a tiny cap made of ivory tea roses and pearls... coordinated with the bouquet she clutched between her diminutive hands.

To the haunting guitar strains of Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle", the loving couple stood before the Naval Chaplin and exchanged the vows that would bind them together until the end of time.

The abbreviated reception, held within the warmly appointed living room of AJ's cabin was, of necessity, brief... and the couple stayed only long enough to change clothing and accept the profuse well-wishes of their friends before hopping into Sarah's Tracker and heading for the Virginia Coastal Reserve of Parramore Island for their secluded two-day honeymoon.

"I don't get it." Bud said to his wife, shaking his head. "There's nothing ON Parramore Island...no town...no roads...no people. The only way in is by private boat...and there isn't even a dock! You have to land on the Beach! Why would they want to go there?"

"Oh, Bud...Have we been married THAT long?" Harriet sighed. "I think it's SO romantic," she cried, sobbing into her handkerchief.

Bud had been staring at the wedding cake for a few moments, when finally the dawn of comprehension crept over his features. "Oh...I get it! You mean...?"

"When we get home, Honey, I'll explain it all to you in detail." Harriet promised.

Harm smiled. They were made for each other. So were AJ and Mac. Maybe some day he'd be as lucky...

1500 HOURS
The Public Dock
Quinby, Virginia

AJ had brought his "day runner", a small sloop fashioned after the ones used to train sailors at Annapolis, to the dock the weekend before. Ready and waiting for their arrival, the "Admiral's Lady" was loaded and prepared for the short sail to the Naval Wave Research cottage on the northernmost beach of the uninhabited nature reserve.

Dressed lightly in swimwear and windbreakers, the newlyweds set sail toward the north for half of an hour, then adopted an easterly tack around the tip of the island toward the area known as "Little Beach".

AJ was an excellent sailor, Sarah thought, as she watched his strong hands maneuver the reefable mainsail. It was hard to recognize the seaman in him, sitting behind the protocol of his position at JAG, but he existed nonetheless. Here, AJ seemed to be in his element, plying the tiller, shifting the boom... the firm muscles of his thighs bracing against the gunnels as he leaned into the wind...

Sarah caught her first glimpse of the cottage as they cleared intercoastal waters and approached the seaward side of the island. Set in a grove of loblolly pines, it stood by itself, overlooking a pristine beach of fine, white sand and sea oats, unmarked by the touch of human passage.

It was an Eden, a paradise set apart...and it was to be theirs alone for two magical days and nights. Their honeymoon would be brief, but it would indeed be memorable.

AJ headed the sloop at right angles to the shoreline, and planted its shallow draft a few yards from the beach. Then, kicking off his deck shoes, and throwing his windbreaker on the deck, he jumped from the side of the boat and landed waist-deep in the surf.

As Sarah watched, he grabbed the towline, and made his way toward landfall. There, amid the profusion of shells and driftwood, he began to draw the small craft ever nearer to the shore.

AJ was a powerful man, she realized. It was something that those who met him frequently overlooked. Though his frame was more on the athletic side, he was solid muscle, and deceptively strong.

She felt the stirrings of passion once more as she watched the play of his body working the prow of the small craft up onto the dry sand, his biceps wet and rippling in the glow of the afternoon sun.

Swinging her legs over the side, Sarah dropped, catlike, to the sand, and began to lift their small cache of luggage and supplies from the sailboat.

"Let me do that, Darlin." he said, making an obvious concession to her maternity status as he approached her from behind, slipping his arms around her waist... caressing the minute fullness that was their child.

"I know you're barely three months along, but lifting heavy gear isn't a great idea. Why don't I grab the food and our packs, and you get the bedding? It's the most crucial part of the weekend, anyway." he smiled wickedly, his lips nuzzling her throat, his hands stoking the embers which he'd ignited within her.

"AJ, if you keep doing that, it'll be time to leave before I ever hit the high water mark." she breathed, her hands cupping his, pressing them into her flesh.

"Then I guess we'd better hurry." he whispered sensuously against the warm fragrance of her skin. "I wouldn't want you to miss anything..."

The cottage proved to be a delight. Purchased at the time the Reserve had been established, it had once belonged to a painter who had lived his life at one with the sea he loved. Now, almost fifty years later, it still sat, preserved, on the unpopulated strip of sand, waiting for their touch to bring it back to life.

New England in style, the cottage was of white clapboard with sea-blue shutters and a full wraparound porch. It was used only briefly each spring by the Naval Wave Research group, who kept it meticulously maintained for their few weeks of residence each year.

The inside was paneled in native red cedar, assailing the senses with its heady aroma. But the "piece de resistance" of the small three-room building was a massive fieldstone fireplace, which dominated the intimate living area.

As AJ went out back to "fire up" the generator, and prime the pump, Sarah began to make up the large four-poster that commanded the main bedroom.

A low rumble filled the air, then settled pleasantly into an innocuous drone as the generator came to life.

Smiling, Sarah stretched a flat king-sized sheet across the soft down of the featherbed, tucking the edges beneath it, hoping the sheet would "stay put".

Then, pleased with the results, she rolled onto her back and followed the pattern of the tongue-and-groove ceiling boards, as their swirls and islands illustrated a story that only nature herself could translate.

She became aware, suddenly, that she was no longer alone. Turning her head, she found AJ staring silently from the doorway.

"You're watching me again, AJ. Aren't you tired of that yet?"

"Darlin', that's not possible." he answered, his voice hushed with emotion. "Every time I look at you, it's like you're a new woman...you just get better and better. The only thing I can't understand is how you ever decided to hitch your wagon to an aging 'seadog' like me."

Sarah looked at him, perpetually amazed at the modesty of this strong and dynamic man.

"Why don't you come a little closer," she suggested, "and we'll see if we can figure it out together?"

AJ grinned, an expression he reserved for her eyes only. "Darlin', I was hoping you'd say that..."

Softly, he lay down beside her, pressing his lips against hers, drawing her sweet breath deeply into his body as his hand explored beneath her windbreaker.

Tilting her head back, she sighed, a low moan rumbling against his lips. "You have incredible hands, my Love." she whispered as he removed her jacket and slide the straps of her one-piece suit across her breasts and down the length of her body. "I had to marry you...you've spoiled me for anyone else."

"No bikini this time, Darlin'?' he questioned, softly.

"Oh, AJ...you don't want to see me in a bikini at this point." she warned, alluding to the changes pregnancy had begun to make in her still voluptuous figure.

"Darlin'," he said, his eyes caressing the fullness of her breasts and the almost indiscernible swell of her abdomen. "You got me there. I'd much rather see you out of it."

Sarah blushed, his words adding impetus to the growing need within her. It always amazed her...just a word from this incredible man, the hint of a touch, and she became consumed with wanting more...wanting it all...wanting him.

AJ stood and began to remove his trunks, his prodigious erection pressing heavily against the fabric, fighting for release.

"Let me." she said softly, sliding to her knees between his feet.

Slowly she grasped the waistband, and began to peel the offending restraint from his firm, taut body... her hands stroking his heated flesh as the sound of his breathing quickened and his muscles tensed.

Sarah closed her eyes. She wanted him there...now...in wild abandon on the rough, braided rug. But the sight of his burgeoning manhood called irresistibly to her, and she felt her hands sliding upward, across the backs of his rock-hard thighs, to clasp the firmness of his buttocks.

Softly, she ran her tongue across the silken smoothness of his engorged sex, feeling it begin to pulse with impatience, tasting the maleness of him on her lips.

"Oh, Darlin'...what you do to me..." he breathed, as she took him fully into the warm wetness of her mouth...touching...teasing...tormenting.

He stood it, until he could stand it no longer, then, overcome, he sank to the carpet before her, imprisoning her between the firmness of his thighs.

AJ held her closely, his lips claiming hers, his tongue exploring the sweet recesses of her mouth. She felt his pulsing erection pressing urgently against her belly as he gently lowered her to the floor and covered her body with his.

"Darlin'," he rasped, fighting for control. "You make me crazy...you make it so hard for me to wait..."

"Then don't..." she pleaded, her legs twining around his hips. "Don't wait...make love to me...now."

Slowly, carefully, he parted her thighs and pressed his straining sex against the moist opening within, feeling her body rise to meet him, the firm grip of her hands pulling him tightly against her. But he had more in mind for her...much more.

Demandingly, he deepened his kiss once again, then lowered his attention to her distended nipples, drawing first one, and then the other between his lips, feeling them grow and harden at his touch.

Again she wrapped her legs around him, seeking the release that only he could give, grinding against his rigid manhood, pleading for completion. But still he hesitated, denying her the union she clamored to achieve.

Then slowly, maddeningly, AJ began to trail his tongue down the rounded contours of her body, tasting her flesh, lowering his lips to the wet, heated juncture of her thighs.

Silently, he pressed his fingers between her moist folds, opening her, exposing her to the assault of his tongue, massaging away the last vestiges of her control.

Intimately, he began to tease the hardened nucleus of her desire as he probed mercilessly with his tongue, performing a mad parody of the act she so desired, feeling her body tense uncontrollably beneath him.

"AJ!" she screamed as her climax stripped her bare before his plundering lips, inundating her dark curls with the uncontrollable flood of her passion "Please! Now!"

Beyond containment, AJ positioned himself between her trembling thighs and plunged deeply within her, thrusting repeatedly into the moist, hot core of her body, listening to her passionate cries rend the stillness of the room.

Together they climbed the highest peaks, over and over again, until finally, at one with the wilderness around them, Sarah gave one last shuddering cry and propelled them both over the edge into a blessed cataclysm of release.

Afterward, they lay limply together, drained of the ability to move or function...complete in each other's arms.

"AJ..." Sarah began.

"What, Darlin'?" he asked, his breath warm against her throat.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me..."

If I could make days last forever,
If words could make wishes come true,
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you. *

1000 HOURS - Saturday
Little Beach Cottage
Parramore Island, Virginia

And so they had passed their first night in Little Beach Cottage, each clinging to the other, woven together by an insatiable love that only the end of time could unravel.

Morning found them nested together in the big featherbed, the sounds of the gulls piercing the stillness of the day. The large flat sheet laying crumpled in a ball in the center of the bed, a victim of the night's unending passion.

They were ravenous.

Together they bustled about the kitchen, scrambling eggs, toasting bagels, preparing juice and coffee. Finally, their feast in place, they went out on the long, sheltered porch to eat and watch the sun lay a lazy path across the sky.

"What would you like to do today, Darlin'?" he asked.

"I think we already did it." she smiled, the memory lingering on her lips.

"We can head back to bed if you'd like." he said, his eyes caressing the contours of her body beneath the white silk of her robe. "What's breakfast without dessert?"

"Oh AJ," she teased, "You are BAD!"

"That's not what you said last night, m'dear." he joked, pressing her palm to his lips.

"I plead insanity...you make me crazy!"

Silently they sat, holding hands like two school kids, watching the waves nudge the shore...at piece and in love.

Life was good.

They spent the day glorying in each other's companionship... swimming... daysailing... strolling the beach hand in hand, and watching the sea birds vie for crabs along the ocean's edge.

For the first time in their relationship, the world of protocol and command agendas was far away and forgotten, carried beyond the rim of existence on the wings of a love so bright it shamed the very sun.

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them.
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with. *

Evening came all too soon, bringing with it the realization that tomorrow they would have to return to the mainland...to the lives they'd left behind, and leave "Paradise" to the bright-eyed plovers who inhabited it.

Together in the dwindling twilight, Sarah and AJ lay on a blanket at the water's edge, watching as the tide crept stealthily along the shore, listening to the beat of their hearts as they lay in a lover's embrace, far from the din of civilization.

Softly, gently, AJ stroked the graceful line of her unfettered breast through the thin gauze of her poet's blouse, marveling again at the beauty and passion that was so much a part of her.

"Let's go inside." she whispered, feeling the chill of the evening stealing over her.

"I like that idea." he agreed, pressing his hardened contours against her body. "Why don't you go on ahead. I need to make sure the boat's secure before we head in for the night."

Silently, he watched her cross the brief expanse of beach until he saw the light flicker on in the cottage, chasing away the darkness.

AJ set to work making sure their craft was "shipshape" for their return in the morning. By the time he had finished putting the sloop "to bed", the lights in the cabin had gone out, plunging the area once again into inky blackness. It wasn't until he was almost through the door that he noticed the brief flicker within, and realized that there was a warm, welcoming blaze burning in the fireplace.

But that wasn't all.

Stunned, AJ paused in the doorway to scan the scene before him. There before the fireplace lay the large featherbed mattress, blanket and all, looking just as it had in the bedroom beyond. The room was filled with softly flickering emergency candles placed in coffee mugs, saucers, and anything else that would hold them. It was a whole other world.

But, Sarah was no where to be seen.

"Darlin'?" he called from among the flickering shadows of the room. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the bedroom, AJ...but don't come in! Make yourself comfortable...I'll be right out."

Smiling, AJ went into the kitchen, pulled off his shirt, and began to wash up.

Whatever Sarah had in mind, it was intriguing.

Finishing his ablutions, AJ grabbed two bottles of flavored mineral water from the 'fridge and headed back into the living room. There he sat on the sofa, staring into the flames until he felt her enter the room.

"Sarah?" he murmured. "Darlin', you take my breath away..."

Silently, she crossed the room toward him, and knelt on the featherbed in front of the flickering blaze.

She was wearing a champagne-colored negligee made of satin and lace, with a low, draped bodice held up by the thinnest of spaghetti straps.

AJ approached her almost reverently, watching the warm glow from the fireplace play across her skin as he dropped to his knees, his thighs embracing hers, his fingers tracing the flimsy straps of her gown.

Then, cradling her chin in his palm he raised her face to meet him, his mouth descending upon her own, his tongue probing hungrily between her lips.

"Oh, Darlin'," he whispered desperately into the sweet scent of her hair. "Let me touch you...all of you..."

Silently, he lowered the straps of her negligee, baring the golden flesh of her shoulders, covering her, inch by inch, with the seductive demands of his lips.

Sarah arched her neck, laying her head back, exposing the softness of her throat to his tender assault.

She felt his warm breath caress her skin as he drew her tightly against his body, greedily claiming the hollows of her throat, the flames of the fire reflected in his eyes.

Then he released her and lowered the bodice of her gown to her waist, exposing her hard, dusky nipples to the ravages of his lips.

She gasped as he claimed first one and then the other, drawing them deeply between his lips, eliciting a warm, wet response between her thighs. His hands stroked the graceful line of her bared back, then dipped below the satin gown to caress the firm swell of her buttocks, pulling her tightly against the hardened thrust of his burgeoning manhood.

Then, gently, he lay her body back against the softness of the featherbed, his eyes dark with passion, the flickering light accentuating the play of his Adam's apple as he caressed her flesh with his heated gaze.

Quickly, AJ rose and rid himself of the last vestiges of his clothing, standing above her in the warm liquid glow of the flames, the light playing sensuously against the rigid surface of his proud erection like the touch of a hungry lover.

Then, gently, he parted her ankles and lowered himself between them.

Sarah forgot to breath.

Slowly her lover began to raise the silken hem of her gown, his hands sensuously stroking her firm calves. Her pulse throbbed loudly, erratically, in her ears... and an invisible cord began to twine and tighten within her body.