Submerged

by Graysen Morgen

  "I see. Leave it to JAG and NCIS to keep us all in line." He grinned slightly before going back to the stone cold stare he used when they first entered the room. "I have reviewed part of your file and it appears that you've been at sea and assigned to billets in the States most of your service. Maybe that needs to change." He leaned back in his chair. "I'll look over the rest of your file. I may have your assignment submission completed by the end of the week. We will meet again next Monday morning to discuss any questions I come across or listen to further testimony from your squadron." When he finished all three of them snapped to attention and saluted. He stood and returned the salute.

  "You're dismissed."

  ~~~

  Scooter paced the floor in the den. She expected a billet change, she just didn't want one. She liked living in California and enjoyed her commission as the XO on the U.S.S. Lincoln. If her billet changed she could be doing any number of jobs for the Navy and would more than likely lose her commission.

  "Sit down, you're making me nervous," Libby said from the doorway.

  "You weren't even in here," Scooter said as she glared at her sister.

  "No, but you're pacing like a caged animal. Maybe you need to get out of the house."

  "I'm not going to the bar," Scooter said as she sat down on the couch.

  "She hasn't been in there, you know." She walked over and sat next to Scooter. "And if she did show up I'd kick her ass to the door."

  Scooter grinned. "I'm not worried about seeing her. I just don't think I'd be much company to anyone right now."

  "Everything will be okay."

  "I hope you're right. I could end up anywhere. He wasn't lying when he said most of my service has been at sea and on home soil. He can very easily put me on a desk or worse, if there is such a thing, for the next two years and send me to Iceland to live in an igloo."

  Libby silently prayed that her sister didn't get shipped off to god knows where because of this mess. Having her constantly deployed on a submarine was hard enough, but at least she was at home with her when she was in port.

  Libby changed the subject. "I'll be back around midnight, Bridgette is closing tonight. She's been a big help to me over the past month."

  "Give her a raise," Scooter said nonchalantly.

  Libby laughed. "Oh miss high and mighty is now making executive decisions, is she?"

  "I do see the books since I am your silent business partner." She furled her brows, then, smiled. "I don't care what you do honestly, it's your bar. I just hear you talk highly of her often and if she is as deserving as you make her sound, then, maybe she is due for some extra compensation."

  "Hmm…who says I'm not compensating her good enough already?" Libby looked over with a twinkle in her eyes while wiggling her eyebrows.

  Scooter raised an eyebrow and looked at the blonde sitting next to her. "I seriously doubt that. You're about as straight as it gets." She laughed. "I have definitely lost my mind when my straight little sister turns into a lesbian."

  Libby shrugged. "Hey it could happen. The bar seems to be catering to more and more of your kind. Hell, I can't even tell with some of them." She shook her head and laughed. "Okay, you know me too well. I like men too much."

  "Yeah, emphasis on the men," Scooter said with a smirk.

  "Hey!" Libby smacked her arm. "I may not be settled down, but my door doesn't revolve near as much as yours does."

  "Yeah well these last two weeks have probably bolted my door shut. You forget my name and face were plastered all over the five o'clock news for a week."

  Libby shrugged. "That won't stop the women. It may make you even more appealing, if that's possible." She grinned.

  Scooter shook her head. "I'm going to be celibate for the rest of my life."

  Libby laughed so hard she almost had tears coming from her eyes. "Yeah okay, and I thought my turning lesbian was a shocker. You're like a lesbian race horse, hot, fast, and a wild ride." Scooter looked at her with a shocked expression. Libby held her hands up. "At least that's what I've heard from the jockeys that have ridden you." She ducked when Scooter tried to smack her.

  "Go to work," Scooter said. "And get out of my sex life."

  "Touché," Libby said as she stood up and hugged her sister's neck.

  Not long after Libby left, Scooter poured herself a glass of bourbon and laid down on the couch to watch a Flintstones marathon. She wondered if maybe Libby was right. Did she need to get out? Would anonymous sex help get her mind out of the spin cycle it had been in for the past month? Every time she thought about sex, she thought about the most passionate night of her life with a beautiful stranger, then Layne's face would pop up and her mind would go right to the courtroom and the badgering questions that stomped all over her personal life and military career. At that point, she was ready to break the coffee table in two. Thinking about sex was not good for her right now, which meant having meaningless sex probably wasn't either.

  Just after midnight Libby walked into the den. Scooter's single glass of bourbon had turned easily into a half bottle and she was passed out on the couch in front of the cartoon network. Libby smiled.

  "I worried for weeks about you not eating or sleeping and closing yourself up," she said to Scooter's sleeping form. "Now, I have to worry about you sitting around alone and drinking yourself to sleep," she said as she picked up the empty glass and bourbon bottle. "That horrible bitch Stacey Greenfield killed your spirit with the help of Layne Carmichael. If I ever get my hands on either of them so help me God."

  Chapter 16

  Layne closed her laptop and poured another martini from the shaker on the coffee table. Her condo was spotless, almost over clean if that was possibly. She went through the repetitive daily motions of going to work, then coming home, then, going back again the next day for the past two weeks. She had researched the appellate courts and naval jurisdiction until she was blue in the face. Stewart had already filed an appeal in the case against Scooter and he planned to try it himself this time blaming her daily for losing the 'biggest case of her career'. In the beginning, she believed Stacey Greenfield and all of her accusations. She even believed her after she figured out LCDR. Scuttero was Scooter, the stranger who made her feel alive for the first time in her life. It made her sick to think Scooter could do this to someone, but then again she didn't know her, not at all.

  Now, she sat on her couch knowing the truth, based on the evidence and testimony there was no way Stacey Greenfield was telling the truth. She could have easily ruined an innocent woman's life, not to mention her impressive career. This made her sick, so sick in fact, that she had called out two days in a row for the first time in her life. This case had gotten to her personally and that had never happened before in her six years as an attorney. Layne knew there was nothing she could do to help Scooter now. It was over, out of her hands. The defense case was strong enough, and probably would not be picked up in appellate court.

  She almost ignored the ringing of the doorbell, but the insistent knocking was annoying. She snatched the door open without looking through the peephole. Denise and Tabitha were standing in the doorway.

  "Can I help you?" she growled.

  "Put the claws away," Denise said with her hands up in mock defense. "We haven't heard from you in a while and you turn down every offer that we make to get together. What gives?" She said as she followed her inside.

  Layne ran her hand through her hair and blew out a frustrated breath as she flopped down on the couch. "It's been a very long two weeks."

  Tabitha sniffed the shaker sitting on the table. "Looks like it," she said when she caught the strong alcohol odor.

  "Did you lose that big case or something?"

  "Something like that."

  "Wait a second…" Denise said. "I saw something on the news about a case involving a Navy sailor recently that is now being appealed. That wasn't your case was it?"

  Layne's face sagged in defeat. She had forgotten how badly the local news had portrayed
Scooter and the Navy in general during the trial. She didn't need to say anything; her two best friends could read the agony in her face. They both hugged her from each side.

  "I'm sorry, honey," Denise said.

  "It'll be okay. You always say cases come and go. The system isn't perfect." Tabitha sighed. "This must have been a hard one."

  "I know what'll get you out of this funk. Let's go to Frog's."

  "NO!" Layne shouted. "I…I mean no not tonight, maybe another time."

  Tabitha glared at Denise. Frog's was not the answer to every single problem in life. Neither was getting laid for that matter. She had known Layne for the better part of eleven years and she had never seen her like this. She was never depressed over anything, much less a lost case. Layne was a very private person and kept everything locked down deep inside. These were the traits that made her good at her job. Tabitha hoped this time those traits didn't kill the brightly lit spirit of her best friend.

  ~~~

  Layne was fighting one of the worst hangovers of her life. She hadn't really drank that much, maybe a shaker and a half worth of martini's, but mix that with depression and lack of an appetite and you get one hell of a mess the next morning. She should have called in sick again, but three times in two weeks would start to look suspicious and that was the last thing she needed. She didn't bother looking up when Stewart Griffin barged through her office door.

  "You look like shit."

  She raised an eyebrow. "Nice pick up line. Thanks."

  He flopped down in the seat across from her. "I just got off the phone with Senator Hastings. He has some pull with a few of the appellate court judges and he may have found one to take the case."

  She didn't need to ask which one. She knew what this was about. He had blamed her daily for losing the case against LCDR. Scuttero and apparently the hatred towards women in the Navy, even more so lesbians, went well above the mayor's head. At least, she wouldn't be forced into the case this time.

  "Good for you, Stewart," she sighed sarcastically.

  He stood and hovered over her. "You better hope I win this time. The mayor already wants you replaced," he growled.

  "You were in the same courtroom, you heard all of the testimony. There was NO evidence, Stewart!" She yelled. "The woman is innocent and you are wrapped up in some kind witch-hunt that the mayor orchestrated. You better hope you don't get replaced when Navy JAG goes after you."

  His chest rose and fell with every huff and puff, as his face turned impossibly red. "I suggest you take the rest of the day off and decided whether or not you have what it takes to be an Assistant District Attorney, because I am this close…" He put his fingers a quarter of an inch apart and very close to her face. "to firing you and making damn sure you never work in the judicial system again." He slammed the door so hard the wall shook.

  Chapter 17

  Scooter was sitting on the dock watching the seagulls flying overhead zeroing in on that one single crumb an unaware patron will eventually leave behind. The weather was slowly beginning to change from warm afternoon sunshine to cool afternoon breezes. She pulled the gray v-neck sweater on over the black t-shirt she was wearing.

  She was surprised to get the phone call that morning from Marine COL. Diedus. Ike had volunteered Scooter's information after discussing the case with his former client upon Scooter's approval of course. Scooter wasn't sure what the woman looked like. The only thing she knew was she was in her forties and would be on the docks by the pier at a quarter to two.

  "LCDR. Scuttero?" A semi-deep voice called over her shoulder. Scooter turned to see a tall woman with light brown hair cut short up off of her collar, but not quite as high and tight as Scooter's short curls. When Scooter snapped to attention she realized she was five or six inches shorter than the woman standing in front of her.

  "You are every bit the distinguished officer LT. Duncan said you were." She smiled and held her hand out. "At ease sailor, this is a very informal, friendly visit."

  Scooter felt the hard calluses on her strong hand, invaluable proof that she still spent many hours in the field instead of holding up a desk. "Thank you. Ike has told me a little bit about you as well."

  "Not all pomp and circumstance I hope." She grinned. "He gave me a brief description of your case. I have to say I'm not surprised this is once again happening. It's dishonorable to treat any military officer this distastefully, not to mention downright disgusting." She shook her head and leaned back to watch the birds circling. "Did he tell you about my case that he sat in on?"

  "No ma'am. No details, he just stated that you went down a similar road with a separate situation."

  "It wasn't long after 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' resolved. I had a partner during that time and I came out when she and I started talking about getting married. As soon as the Marine Corps got wind of my sexuality I was forced out of combat and permanently stuck on a desk. The general at the base I was assigned tried everything possible to make my life miserable. Up until that point I had been in numerous combat installments. I went to Afghanistan and various other countries fighting on the ground and leading a combat division of Marines into the mouth of hell over and over for this country. I watched men die and even held bloody wounds closed on a few of them in desperate attempts to save their lives. I have more brass on my uniform than most generals." She paused to watch a seagull flying overhead.

  "When I came out, everything was taken away from me. The general and many others tried to force me out of the Marine Corps. When we sent troops to Pakistan I fought hard to go and once again lead my division, but I was told no, never again, a lesbian couldn't be trusted on the battlefront. I was also told I didn't deserve the respect my rank demanded.

  So, I guess to make a long story short, I stirred up more controversy than they had ever seen. NCIS investigated the military code of conduct breach and JAG took my case to the Supreme Court after a year of investigation and deliberation among many top officials. The judge found the Marine Corps in breach of the MCOC and I was re-commissioned to my combat division as the leader. Not long after that, of course, the Marine Corps was pissed and I received a new billet two years early and I was shipped off to a tiny NATO base in Asia."

  Scooter cringed. That was her worst fear.

  COL. Diedus smiled. "That's when I went right back to court with JAG and it was proven that once again the MCOC was breached and my rights were taken away. We won the case and the general that ordered all of this turmoil against me was court-martialed."

  "That's incredible. I can't believe he kept coming after you like that."

  "Commander, homophobia is a very powerful force."

  "The Navy didn't even know I was gay until a subordinate decided to make some twisted story about me raping her."

  "Yes, LT. Duncan told me about all of that. Even after you are proven innocent the Navy is still hanging the black cloud over your head. Fortunately, thanks to my case you have ammo against them changing your commission or your billet. It's been almost five years since my first case and it looks as if the military is still being led by homophobic desk jockeys."

  "I hope I don't have to go through another trial. I never touched that girl and thankfully, my entire crew stood behind me, but I don't want to watch my career get flushed down the toilet over this whole situation." Scooter turned her head away to hide the pain. "I'm actually thinking of retiring."

  "Lieutenant Commander, look at me." COL. Diedus snapped. "Don't you dare give in and let them win. You have worked your ass off and given your life and freedom to the military for what ten years now?"

  "Ten plus four in the academy."

  "So fourteen years you have let them control you while you gave them everything they asked of you. I've seen parts of your file, you are highly decorated and have gone through numerous sacrifices to get where you are. Officers aren't quitters, Commander. Now is the time for you to stand up and show them just exactly how distinguished an officer they made you out to be. You fight, fight for eve
rything that has been taken away from you, fight for everything you want in your future, fight because it's your right to wear that uniform proudly. Demand the respect you deserve for the sacrifices you have given and taken over the last fourteen years."

  ~~~

  Scooter walked into the Rear Admiral's office once again with Ike. CAPT. Undell waited in the hallway for them to come out with LCDR. Scuttero's commission and billet assignment.

  "I'm glad you talked to COL. Diedus about me. She's an amazing inspiration."

  "Yes, she told me she spoke to you. I am prepared to bring her case up today if I need to. She is also prepared to testify on your behalf if we need to fight this. I'm hoping RDML. Muerk is familiar with her case and the MCOC regarding commission and billet changes." Ike seemed slightly nervous, something Scooter never noticed during the trial. She wondered if he was more scared of a Navy Admiral than a Federal Judge.

  They snapped to attention when the Admiral walked into the room. He stood behind his desk and opened the file he was carrying. "At ease," he announced when he sat down. Scooter and Ike sat in the stiff back chairs across from him.

  "LCDR. Scuttero I have spent the last week and a half reviewing your file, the court case, and the military code. I have no other option, but to allow you to continue in your current billet and re-commission you to the U.S.S. Lincoln Attack Submarine S.S.N. 893 as the Executive Officer, effective immediately. Your file is under review with the Department of the Navy until further notice. At this time, we will not be making any adjustments to your file regarding the events of the previous month, except for a restraint from assignment in proximity with PO2 Stacey Greenfield." He closed the file. "You are to report back to the U.S.S. Lincoln Monday morning at 0700 hours. Dismissed."