Intervention

Chapter One

Jaime walked out of the cemetery shaking her head in disbelief. Who did Steve think he was? It wasn't the first time Steve had paid her a ' visit' when she put flowers on his grave, but before today he'd always given her loving, supportive messages. This day had been different, though. Steve told her she had to go on with her life, which would've been ok by itself, but he took it much further, way overstepping his bounds. He'd had the nerve to tell her Michael Marchetti would be calling to ask her out and Steve had insisted she say yes. He didn't even stop there! He'd gone on to tell her she would marry Michael and have two kids with him! Jaime thought this new bossy streak was extremely ballsy for a dead man. Well, it would be a long time before she brought flowers for him again!

As for Michael - forget it! She hadn't heard from him since Rudy'd had him transferred, more than three years earlier. They'd come very close to falling in love, but Rudy had nipped it in the bud; a doctor/patient romance was simply unethical. Jaime had trouble believing Michael would call her now, out of the clear blue sky.

Whether Steve could 'see' it or not, there was a man Jaime had her eye on, who she knew (hell - everyone knew) had feelings for her, too. She decided to pay him a visit before picking up her daughter from the sitter.

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"Jaime, hello!" his voice had boomed into the phone. "Actually, I don't have any appointments for the rest of the day. My schedule's clear. Is something wrong?"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to wanna say 'hi'?"

"Of course not; I'd love to see you. Come on over." When he hung up the phone, he pressed the button on his office intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Goldman?" came the crisp, efficient reply.

"Peggy, why don't you go ahead and take the rest of the day off?"

"Sir - it's only 1:30! But...ok. Thank you!"

Oscar put on a fresh pot of coffee, took off his tie, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, then changed his mind and re-buttoned the lower of the two. The Director of the OSI, for the first time in many years, was actually nervous.

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Jaime was humming as she drove. Maybe Steve was partially right. It was time to go on with her life, to let herself be happy. He'd been gone over a year...

Steve, meanwhile, had not stopped watching her, but was completely unable to communicate his thoughts to her, outside the cemetery. Jaime - no! What are you doing? Oscar's one of my favorite people, and yes, he loves you. You could fall hard for him, but this is not your destiny! It would only end badly - in the worst possible way - for both of you. There has to be something I can do...

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"Where's Peggy?" Jaime asked, walking right in since Oscar had left the inner door open.

"She's been working really hard; I gave her the afternoon off. It's great to see you, Babe," he said softly, taking her hand in both of his. "Been awhile - how are you holding up?"

"Ok. Good." Jaime smiled brightly at him. "Better now."

Oscar led her to a chair and gallantly seated her. "Coffee? I've still got your favorite cocoa."

"Thanks."

He brought her a mug and sat down across from her, knee-to-knee. Oscar couldn't stop smiling, but neither could she. "How's semi-retirement treating you?"

"It's boring, Oscar. I wanna work."

"No need to rush it," he told her. In actuality, he couldn't bear the thought of exposing her to even the remotest danger.

"The Secretary's got to be all over you by now."

In fact, the Secretary had gone beyond impatient and progressed to furious, but she didn't need to know that. "You let me worry about the Secretary," he said.

They talked for almost two hours, not as a boss and employee, but as a man and a woman. Neither of them knew it, but Steve hovered just behind Jaime's shoulder, like a guard dog, the whole time. When Jaime stood to leave, Oscar took both of her hands and smiled right into her eyes. "If you aren't busy tomorrow, I'd love to take you to lunch," he told her.

"NO!" Steve's soul screamed. You need to be home when Michael calls!

"I'd really like that," Jaime answered, leaning up to kiss his cheek before she left.

Damn! Ok - time to come up with a plan...