THE EARTH MOVED

(A/N:This story is being written for NaNoWriMo, and, as such, is much longer than usual fanfiction. For this reason, and because it is still a work-in-progress, I will be partial-posting it in several installments.)

Chapter One

Steve was supposed to be fixing the barn roof. He knew he should be laying out the lumber and patching the holes so they could bring the horses home again, but there was Jaime, picking flowers over in the meadow. She looked so beautiful, so tempting, that Steve realized he'd just spent the last fifteen minutes sitting on the eaves, watching her. The horses were fine, staying at Jim and Helen's ranch, and while he did miss them, he wanted her. Now.

It still amazed him that Jaime was here at all, alive, happy...and finally his. They'd married in the hospital chapel several weeks after Chris Williams' and Michael Marchetti's attempt on her life had nearly taken Jaime from him forever. It seemed they'd been granted two miracles: Jaime's memory had finally returned and she had survived her horrific ordeal (involving torture with live wires) with no permanent damage to her heart. Now that she was finally home again – theirhome, no less – Steve found he couldn't keep his eyes (or his hands) off of her.

Giving in to the irresistible force, he slid down from the roof and ambled over to the field. "Well, hello there, Pretty Lady," he said in his best Southern drawl while tipping an imaginary hat, "fancy meetin' you 'round these parts."

Jaime smiled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her husband. "I heard there was a handsome Colonel nearby who just might sweep me off my feet and carry me away."

"He might do a whole lot more than that, if you're not careful..."

"I'll take my chances," Jaime said lightly, circling her hands on the muscles that rippled across his bare chest and then squealing happily as he lifted her off the ground and cradled her close to his body for a long, sensual kiss.

Maintaining deep lip and eye contact the whole way, Steve carried Jaime into the house and set her down gently on the bed. He had no sooner begun working the buttons of her camisole when the emergency warning radio on the dresser began to squall.

They were already rather pre-occupied and managed to give the announcement about ten percent of their attention. There were so many of them lately it was hard to take it too seriously.

"Earthquake advisories have been issued for all of Southern California and Northern California up to and including the Sacramento area," the announcer was droning. "Measurable activity has occurred within the last twenty-four hours in the areas surrounding San Bernardino, Barstow and Joshua Tree National Park. All residents are urged to remain alert for possible further seismic activity..."

Jaime rolled her eyes, conditioned to these warnings from having spent most of her life in California. "I thought the Earth was supposed to move after," she joked, "not when we're just getting started."

Steve chuckled and, since it didn't sound too serious, reached over and turned off the radio. Jaime's camisole hit the floor, and soon they were both too blissfully occupied to give the warning another thought.

Hours later, they stretched out in each other's arms, happy, satiated and too relaxed to move. "I suppose we could turn that box back on now," Jaime said as she traced soft patterns on Steve's chest with her fingertip.

"You keep doing that, and you'll be turning something else back on," Steve told her, grinning.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

- - - - - -

Jaime and Steve meandered into the kitchen for a late-night supper just before midnight, and there were no further transmissions from the weather radios. (They had a second unit in the living room, just to be safe.) They polished off the last of a pizza and a bottle of wine in front of the fireplace, reveling in the sheer joy of simply being together. No words were necessary; their eyes spoke volumes about the depth of their love for each other and the strength of the bond they'd always shared. In one way or another, they'd been connected since the day they'd first met, more than a quarter-decade earlier. At times, one of them had to carry the torch alone when the other wasn't able, but the flame of their united spirits had never flickered or gone out.

Jaime's amnesia had, for a time, seemed that it would ultimately bring "Steve and Jaime" to an end, but Fate was unwilling to allow that and miraculously, Jaime's memory had returned after the doctors had given up all hope of helping her. She was torn with opposing thoughts on what to do about that, believing it wouldn't be fair to Steve to expect him to jump right back into things when he'd been trying so hard to live without her.

She'd tried to write a letter and only succeeded in overflowing her wastebasket with crumpled wads of paper; nothing sounded right. Just when she was ready to either burst into tears or put a fist through the wall, her doorbell rang. Steve had flown clear across the country with a vague but very strong sense that Jaime needed him. He'd believed she was sick or in trouble but one look into her eyes told him all he'd needed to know; his Jaime had finally returned.

Now, sitting in front of the fire with her, Steve still marveled at his good fortune. She was the only woman he'd ever truly loved, and even after several recent (very serious) attempts on their lives, they were not only safe and well – they were together. Their eyes met, touching each other as intensely as if they were making love.

They leaned toward each other at the same moment, still without needing to speak, and Steve tenderly claimed Jaime's mouth with his own, pulling her onto his lap and taking in every detail as he savored the taste of her lips. The sudden trembling he felt didn't come from their bodies, though; it was somewhere beneath them and merely a slight distraction.

"You feel that?" he asked softly. Already, it was gone.

"I wanna feel a lot more of that," Jaime whispered, kissing him more deeply as she eased his open shirt backwards off his shoulders and pulled her husband down onto the furry rug beside the fire.

- - - - - -

When they were finally in bed and beginning to get sleepy, Steve propped himself up on one elbow and grinned. "When we go for our physicals tomorrow, I'm gonna tell Rudy we've already had our workout..."

"Steven Austin! You will do no such thing!"

"Is that a dare?"

"NO!"

"Alright, ok, I'll be good," he laughed as Jaime bopped him on the head with her pillow. Once she was lying down again with an I won smile on her face, Steve couldn't resist adding "Probably," just before turning off the light.

- - - - - -