Yes, Ma'am!

As Josh leaned in to kiss her, Holly's eyes got very wide, but she didn't move away. In fact, her eyes closed, and she kissed him back for a good three seconds before Ms. Collins said, "And...wake up!"

Josh's lips had just 'broken contact', but he was still less then six inches from her face as he came out of the hypnotic state to see Holly's smiling face.

"What...what's going on?" he asked as someone hollered out, "Kiss her again!"

It took Josh a couple of seconds to understand before he said, "Oh, no. Please tell me I did not just..."

"Oh, yes you did!" the hypnotist told him. "And you can thank me later!"

She paused then said, "Both of you!" before asking for a round of applause for Josh and Holly, the newest 'couple' in Morehead City.

Ms. Collins then called several other Level 5s up on stage, and within a minute, each of them was air-playing an instrument to a piece of classical music. One of them was a pianist while others 'played' a violin or a cello while Ms. Collins served as the conductor.

Like the others, none of them had any idea what they'd done or why they were on stage when she 'woke them up', but their location and the laughter told them the joke was on them.

This closing act drew huge applause, and she thanked everyone for coming and told them what a great audience they'd been. She bowed out then exited the stage as people stood up and began filing out.

Josh hadn't had a chance to ask what he'd done, and he was almost afraid to find out. But not knowing was killing him so he turned to Holly once she stood up next to him and asked.

"I'll tell you!" Millie said as she stepped in front of her friend.

"Uh-oh," a very-worried Josh replied as he looked at the LtCol who didn't seem upset.

"You proclaimed your love for Holly," she told him with a smile.

"Oh...my...God," Josh said one word a time before looking at his boss again.

"And then you...showed it," a very happy Millie said, omitting the 'how' part.

Holly was smiling, and while that helped, Josh knew she might just be putting on a front while Millie was there.

Josh looked right at the senior officer then said, "Ma'am? I...I don't remember anything. At all. But whatever I said...or did...I am so, so sorry. And embarrassed."

"It's okay, Josh. I wasn't offended," she told him with a warm smile.

"Ma'am?" he asked. "I...I didn't. Please tell me I didn't..."

He couldn't even say the words 'kiss you', but he didn't have to.

"It was actually...very nice," she told him without confirming his suspicions and did so with a look in her eyes he'd never seen before; a look that told him it was possibly even more than okay, and that made no sense to him at all, especially since he had no idea what he'd said or done while he was under.

"Thank you, ma'am, and again, I do apologize. For whatever I said. Or did."

She smiled again, then as she went to step around him said very quietly, "Don't worry, Josh. This will be our little secret, okay?"

"Okay?" he replied, hoping she really wasn't upset.

As Millie walked by, she also whispered something to him.

"She won't admit it, but she likes you, too, Josh. So...ask her again sometime when you're not under hypnosis, okay?"

"Ask her what?" the befuddled Marine said as Millie walked away, feeling even more confused.

By the time he headed toward the exit, the two older women were outside, and Josh nearly ran into Vic and his cute, young co-ed as they were coming inside, talking and laughing as they held hands.

"Dude! Did you see the XO?" Vic said as soon as his roommate recognized him

"The XO?" Josh asked as though he had no idea what his roommate meant even as the thought of Vic having been inside and seen it all hit him and scared the hell out of him.

"Yeah. As in the Group XO."

He also leaned closer to Josh then said, "She is so freakin' hot, man! I mean, those jeans were like..."

"Oh. Yeah. I uh, I guess so," Josh mumbled before Vic could finish his thought.

"Trust me on that, okay?" Vic said before introducing his date then telling her his friend couldn't stay because he had to be in bed by 10 o'clock.

"Why? What happens after that?" the attractive, but not-so-bright college student asked.

Josh was too deep in thought again to even respond to Vic's eye roll. He just wished them both a good evening then walked out to the Jeep where he sat quietly as it warmed up trying to make sense of what had just happened, and more importantly what it might mean for him the following week.

"But what the hell is 'it'?" he asked himself as he sat there staring into the cold, dark night.

Vic went running with his buddy on Sunday afternoon and shared his 'success story' with the pretty co-ed.

"Nice," Josh told him.

"Nice? That's it? Did you hear me say how many ways we did it?"

"Um...yeah. That's...that's amazing," Josh replied, his mind still elsewhere.

"Josh? What's goin' on?" Vic asked and even waved a hand in front of his friend's face as though he might be hypnotized.

"Sorry. Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Okay. Don't tell me. I shared every detail of my romantic escapades, and you give me some BS line about nothing going when something IS going on. Okay. I see how this works."

"I just can't talk about it, okay?"

Vic grabbed his friend's arm and stopped him.

"This sounds serious, bro. Talk to me," Josh's friend said as they caught their breath.

Josh ran a hand through his thick, closely-cropped hair then sighed loudly.

"I got hypnotized last night."

"And?"

"And I don't know. I have no idea what I said or did, but..."

"But what?" Vic demanded.

"It...it involved the XO."

"Whoa. Hold on. You said or did something to LtCol Strader?"

"Yeah. I guess. I don't remember anything, though. Nothing. Not one word."

"Was she pissed?"

"What? No. She was really nice about it. Whatever 'it' was."

"Oh, man. You are in DEEP shit, Captain!" Vic laughed as he slapped his larger friend on the back.

"Yeah, and the worst part is I have no idea what the f...what I said."

He'd never really heard Mille other than the 'ask her again' part, and if he had heard it, it didn't register, so he was telling the truth when he said he didn't know.

"Sucks to be you," Vic quipped.

He took off running again then hollered, "For several reasons! Like how out of shape you are now!"

Josh took off, too, then hollered out, "Watters? You're the perfect example of 'buddy' being only half a word!"

Vic turned around and laughed at the old joke about a friend like Vic being a buddy f-er then took off like a shot.

By Monday morning, Josh was more than a little apprehensive about going to work. But he put on his game face and walked in to see the XO behind her desk.

"Good morning, ma'am," he told her cheerfully.

"Josh. Hi," she said with a smile before going back to the document she was working on.

"Whew," a relieved young captain said to himself as he sat down.

For the first time since being assigned to the Group, he was grateful to have a mountain of folders in his inbox and happily dug into them.

The one bright spot was that the CO was TAD, on temporary additional duty (TDY in the Army and Air Force), and things were remarkably calm and serene around the entire Group for several days. But that ended on Friday when he came back and called a staff meeting as soon as he walked in.

Josh cringed when the Group Commander snapped at the Group S-3 officer when he didn't have an immediate answer to a question. He then laid into the S-4 officer who hadn't yet finished coordinating with another Group in the Wing for an upcoming exercise, and Josh was expecting to get both barrels when it came time for him to report what had happened.

Instead, the CO said, "Shit hot work on the project I assigned you, young man. What else have you got for me?"

Josh muddled through his other notes, stunned by the only words of praise he'd ever received from the Tyrant-in-Chief. But his 'warm, fuzzy' ended a few moments later when the XO was wrapping things up.

From the first moment she opened her mouth, the CO cut her off at the knees.

"Old news. Move on."

She did just that then heard, "That is NOT what said I wanted, and I was very clear about that!"

After a third similar incident, the CO stopped her again and said, "Enough! This meeting is over. XO? See me in my office immediately!"

Everyone snapped to attention as the colonel stood up, and once he was gone there were a lot of 'what the fuck just happened' looks all around the room, but no one said a word. At least not until they were safely alone with someone they trusted.

Josh carefully walked into his office, but he could hear the CO tearing into the XO, and as bad as he felt, there was nothing he could do but cringe.

The last thing he heard was LtCol Strader saying, "Aye, aye, sir," before walking out with several new folders in her hand.

It was very rare for her to close her door, but she shut it after going into her office.

Josh sat there for quite some time and didn't hear any sound whatsoever coming from her office. A good five minutes passed before he got up the nerve to walk over to her door and quietly knock.

"Stand by," he heard her say.

It was obvious to him that she was either crying or close to it, as he stood there for a few moments then gently pushed on the door.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?" he asked, just his face inside the door.

She wasn't sitting behind her desk but rather in one of the chairs in front of it.

She held up a hand but didn't speak, and that's when Josh knew she was fighting back tears.

He stepped inside in spite of her non-verbal cue to stay out then closed the door behind him.

"You...shouldn't be...in here...Josh," she told him as she tried to get control of her breathing.

"It's none of my business, ma'am, but that was completely out of line."

He saw her glance his way but didn't look at him.

"What the Colonel did," he said to make sure he was clear.

"He's...the...CO," she replied, one word at a time, her voice ragged with emotion.

Without asking, Josh sat down next to her then quietly said, "He is. But you're a LtCol with over 20 years in the Marine Corps. CO or not, that's just...wrong."

She had a tissue in her hand, and as she dabbed her eyes, she said, "Believe it or not, this is the first time in all those years I've ever lost it."

She glanced his way again then said, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

"Ma'am?" he said very quietly.

She sat up straight, then almost looked at him as he smiled and said, "As someone I respect very much once told me, you're not just a Marine. You're also a woman."

LtCol Strader finally smiled and even looked at him as she blinked several times.

"That's the third time you've made me feel good, Josh."

"Ma'am?" he replied again, not sure what she meant.

"When you took me home. That was once. Then what you said—and did—when you were hypnotized. That was twice."

She smiled again then told him this was the third.

"Ma'am? Would you mind telling me what I said? When I was hypnotized."

"It doesn't matter. I'm sure you didn't really mean it, anyway," she told him, another brave smile on her face.

"I do remember that same person telling me no one can be made to say or do anything they don't believe or want to do when hypnotized."

"Oh, right. Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" she said, managing a little smile along with the words.

Josh waited for her to tell him, but she only turned his way and asked, "Is there any mascara on my face?"

There was one little streak, and when Josh told her, she reached for the wrong eye.

"Here. Let me get it," he said as he reached out to gently wipe it away.

"Josh? Please don't," she told him as she turned away.

"My apologies, ma'am," he told her as he pulled his arm back.

"No. It's not that," she said. "It's just...I'm afraid that if you touch me again, I won't be able to..."

"Again?" he asked, too afraid to say more.

"I know I shouldn't tell you this, but you...you kissed me. When you were hypnotized."

"No. Please tell me that's not true," he begged more than replied.

"Oh, it's true," she told him as she cleared the mascara then looked at him.

"You also told me how you've wanted to ask me out for the longest time," she said with a very sweet smile.

"I take it you didn't slap my face?" he asked, trying to smile back and for the second time not saying 'ma'am.'

"No. Why would I?" she replied in that same voice.

"I suppose because you didn't want me to say or do either of those things," he told her.

"I was very surprised, Josh, but the truth is, I...I kissed you back."

Josh shook his head a bit then asked, "You...kissed me back?"

Base on the way he responded, for the first time it occurred to her that he might be the one who found that inappropriate. She forgot all about hypnotists not being able to make anyone do something they didn't want to, as she imagined him being disgusted by what she just said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I think I let my feelings for you get out of hand, and if I offended you, please..."

"Offended me? You...you can't be serious. I have a serious..."

The word was so sophomoric he couldn't say it.

"A crush?" she asked with that amazing smile of hers.

"That and more," Josh told her truthfully.

She smiled again then, against her better judgment said, "As long as I'm letting my weaknesses show, I could really use a hug right now. Would you mind holding me for a moment?"

Josh put his arms around her for a few seconds, and just as he was pulling away, the door opened without a knock. Only one person would dare do that, and they tried to separate as fast as possible, but he'd seen them.

"You've gotta be goddamned shittin' me!" Colonel Clarke sneered.

"Sir. This was all my fault. Please don't blame Captain Ken..."

He was clearly agitated by something else, but LtCol Strader knew this just poured gas on the fire.

He glared at both of them then pointed right at his XO and told her, "Pack up your shit."

He looked at his adjutant then said, "Both of you. You're both relieved of duty. Go home and stay there until you here from me."

Both Holly and Josh were now standing there at parade rest, their hands behind their backs as the colonel continued to rant.

"I've got another disloyal little prick on his way up here to accuse me of some bullshit, and his battalion commander is supporting him the lying little cocksucker! Looks like I'll be relieving two more officers before the day is over!"

He spun around and slammed the door on the way out, and Holly began apologizing.

"Hey. Don't," Josh told her. "It's not your fault. He's a prick. And all that matters to me is knowing you're okay. I don't care what he does to me."

"Josh. This is serious. Really, really serious."

"All I did was give you a platonic hug. If that's serious, then screw him and the Marine Corps."

"I know you don't mean that. About the Corps. I won't argue about Colonel Clarke, but it really is his prerogative to relieve us, and we had no business doing that, and I'm at fault for it."

Josh wanted to argue but couldn't because she was right.

They wouldn't be court-martialed. That much was certain. More likely, this behavior would result in something called a Punitive Letter of Reprimand, which was serious, but because she was retiring, it wouldn't hurt Holly one bit. Josh would likely get the same thing, but in his case, it would mean the end of any hope of any future promotion, effectively ending his career. But at that very moment, his career was the last thing on his mind.

"I don't care," Josh told her.

He turned toward then asked, "Are you okay?"

She forced a smile then said, "Yes. I'm fine. And we really do need to grab our things and leave."

"Yes, ma'am," Josh said out of habit.

When he stepped into his office, his former CO, LtCol Armstrong, was sitting there.

"Hey, sir. How are you?" a very-confused Captain Kennedy asked.

"Okay. How about you?"

"Fine, sir. How may I help you?"

"First of all, what the hell is going on? I walked into your office just as the CO slammed his door."

"Oh. That," Josh said just as Lieutenant Negron walked in.

He saw the captain and said, "Good afternoon, sir."

LtCol Armstrong's name was appropriate. He was a huge man who lifted weights. Heavy weights. Josh was happy to bench 225 three times, but this man started with 250 to warm up and worked up from there, easily doing 400lbs on his last rep or two. Josh was a good-sized man, but LtCol Armstrong made him look small by comparison. Ironically, he was a quiet, humble man and by far the finest officer Josh had ever known.

"Well, I need to see the boss," he told the adjutant as he stood up.

"I uh, I don't think I can tell him you're here, sir," Josh said leading the larger man to assume it was due to the Group CO's mood.

"That's okay. I can see myself in," the huge man said as he walked by.

He tapped on the door and pushed it open.

"Sir? Can we talk?" Josh heard him ask.

"Not now, Rich," his boss told him flatly.

"Sir? This can't wait."

Josh heard the phone being hung up before the Group CO said, "Fine. Let's get this nonsense taken care of. I need to brief the CG on the bullshit going on in my own house, but let's clean up this pile of shit first!"

The door closed, and Josh turned to the lieutenant and asked what was going on as he started collecting his things.

When he didn't answer, Josh asked, "Is this about...Bogue Field?

"Yes, sir."

Josh knew better than to say a single word about life at the Group headquarters to a subordinate, but it was all he could do not to at least say, "We all understand."

Instead he asked him to have a seat just when they heard the Group CO thunder, "That's a goddamn lie!"

Neither or them heard the LAAD battalion commander's reply, but they did hear the Group Commander say, "You get that lying little shit in here right now and tell him to report to me!"

The door opened, and Josh heard his former CO say very calmly, "Lieutenant Negron? Report to the Group CO."

A very nervous, 23-year old officer stepped inside and as the door closed, Josh heard, "Sir! Lieutenant Negron reporting as ordered, sir!"

"What in God's name is going on in there?" he heard the XO nearly whisper as she came out of her office. "I was getting my things together when I heard the noise. Who's in the CO's office?"

Josh whispered his answer, and the moment she said Negron's name, she knew.

"The Group Commander is right. Someone else is going to be out of a job before this is over," she said before shaking her head and going back into her office.

Less than two minutes later, the door opened again, and Lieutenant Negron came out with beads of sweat running down his face.

Without being asked, he said, "I just got relieved, and LtCol Armstrong told him if he relieved me, he'd resign the battalion, so I think he's being relieved right now, too."

"What the f..." Josh said, not sure he heard correctly even though he and the XO had already been relieved of duty themselves.

Another minute passed when his former CO stepped out followed by the Group Commander who was frothing at the mouth.

The larger man who stood 6'3 looked down at the senior office who was 5'7" and waited for the rant to end.

When it did he quietly said, "Sir, I no longer work for you. As a courtesy, I'm letting you know I'm taking Lieutenant Negron from here directly to the Wing Headquarters for a meeting with the Commanding General."

He then turned around, grabbed his young officer and headed out as his former boss hollered, "You disloyal bastard! I'll have you court-martialed for this!"

Josh made sure not to look at him, but before he went back into his office, he snapped, "What the hell are YOU looking at and why are you still here?" before slamming the door behind him.