Offensive Action - 164

Commander Beth O'Neil was charged w/ sexual harassment by Lt. Cursey who she had given a poor fitness report. H & Manetti defend but differ in their assessment of O'Neil. Manetti believed she was innocent, H that she was hiding something. Cursey claimed that she had called him into her BOQ in the evening, commented on his girlfriend, and paused before she signed his report. He believed she was waiting for him to offer sexual favors and she wouldn't sign it although she never actually said anything of the kind. He told M "I don't know how to say this w/o being vain but I've been approached by women before, a lot." He never actually warned O'Neil before filing charges. During the case others testified that O'Neil had seemed inappropriate to them referring to male personnel. Lt. Murtaugh wanted to testify that she "danced with him." Lt Cdr Nancy Yorkin said O'Neil asked if she had ever fantasized about sleeping with Cursey. Manetti pursued the answer until Yorkin admitted "yes" but never acted on it- then understood that O'Neil probably never acted either. O'Neil said that she only talked about Cursey costing 14hrs of flying time and missing a Japanese sub by carelessly deploying sonar buoys. She paused to see if he had understood and he just glared back. She said this one was too important to let go.

M asked O'Neil if she had had any sexual encounters in 3 years since her divorce over Hs objections. O'Neil said no and M badgered her until the judge had to back her down. When both Manetti and H said they didn't believe her, O'Neil admitted that she was gay and had probably overcompensated in front of female personnel. M offered another deal to H which he couldn't take. In their discussions he told M that O'Neil was innocent (but of course he couldn't reveal how he knew). M said case was pure and simple; but, H replied that "the truth is rarely pure and never simple, Mac." Manetti gave H a ring from a cigar and explained that when young she would give the ring's from her daddy's cigars to her friends. H asked if she considered him a friend and she said she would "when you learn to trust me." He said that she should learn to trust him- they were both right: O'Neil was innocent and she was hiding something. H showed that Cursey was still making mistakes under his new commander and suggested that "perhaps you are so used to being defined by your looks" that he had overlooked the real story. He asked him if it was possible he had misunderstood and Cursey finally admitted that it was possible. The judge dismissed the charges. T & M argued: T- that Cursey was mistaken, M- that H had snowed Cursey into thinking he was mistaken. M asked "what was she hiding" and both H & Manetti answered at once: "don't ask."

Ht pulls away from intimacy with B. B walks out on Styles in a bar when Styles went to pick up a woman with his prosthetic showing. B apparently seemed to think that Styles wasn't sufficiently ashamed of not being whole. He then started malingering in his rehab. Finally Styles came to confront B with hurting his feelings and B surprised to see that Melissa had actually found Styles interesting.

C sent Meredith flowers and she responded with an embarrassing videotape. H complained to C that Meredith had been leaving messages on his answering machine but C wouldn't give him any suggestions on what to tell her. She cooked fish for C leaving a bone which he choked on. She gave him at least 2 heimlick's and had a fire in the kitchen. Then she forced a back massage on him, called herself a "professional" and broke his rib.

Defending His Honor - 156

[Interesting story, tantalizing back-story about Webb and Terrorists, annoying soapbox opera between Bud and Harriet] The substitute ranking officer, Singer, welcomed Chegwidden back from his absence with a list of her "make work" accomplishments which made Harriet tell him that everyone is "extremely" grateful that he was back. Singer then, intentionally fomented discord between them by telling Harriet about Coates being on the ship with Bud -- and B about Hts buying a new house; neither of who had told the other. Singer's intent was that she might get Bs billet if he decided to come home. Turner volunteered to 2nd chair Mac against Harm's defense of Judge, Capt Seibring (Sb), for the involuntary manslaughter of Jennifer Wilson's baby, Ruby, during some of his "road rage." Sb refused to plea bargain with M on his principles saying that he didn't do it. Chegwidden testified that Sb had the patience of a saint so M went after a time when Sb's son had run away from drug rehab and Sb used "tough love" by throwing him out of the house. Sb told H to "drop it" when H tried to explain it away in redirect. Then, when H went ahead anyway, Judge Helfman had to gavel Sb down when he "lost it." A disgruntled nurse, Fran Masters, came forward to give M an answering machine tape where she was chastised by Sb after she had left her job at his house early, leaving his seriously ill wife alone. He had fired Masters. Although M told H that the plea bargain was still on the table but H declined and went to see Nora Moran, a close friend of Wilson. She gave H information that Wilson had seen a doctor for depression. H re-cross examined Wilson who lied about not being depressed, then that the anti-depressant pills were from "after" the accident, then that the pharmacist had mistakenly identified her, then that the lab had mixed up her post accident blood test with someone else. H skillfully pushed her not only into the lies but breaking down and confessing that she had decided to commit suicide and take the baby with her. She had intentionally run off the road herself. The charges were dismissed.

H connected Webb with Alexi (of the KGB who had helped prevent the assassination of Putin with him) when Webb wanted to track Kabir Atef. Captain Mikael Yerastov was seen accepting a gift from Kabir aboard his ship in Murmansk by another captain who had been approached earlier to help in an action against the US. Yerastov was described as a legend, the last cold warrior, who taught strategy and tactics at the Kuznetsov Naval Academy. When they went to find Yerastov they found that they he had disappeared. Later Kabir and Yerastov were shown in a convoy of three jeeps on the border of Iran and Afghanistan. Kabir gave Yerastov a satchel of money and left the jeeps saying that he would meet Yerastov in Bander Abbas. Kabir is a blue and brown eyed Iranian.