Disclaimer: Viacom owns them, not me. No copyright infringement is intended.

Title: Meeting

Series: First in the "Steve's Sacrifice" arc of stories.

Pairing: Jesse/Steve, established relationship.

Rating: PG-13 (Mild homosexual content)

Summary: Steve ponders whether to take his and Jesse's relationship to the next level.

Notes: This is the sequel to Jesse's Journey and picks up the story approximately six months later. Reading the first arc is not essential, however.

Steve's Sacrifice I

Meeting

By NorthernStar

Steve rolled onto his side and admired the smooth, firm back next to him. He smiled, watching Jesse's ribcage rise and fall with even breaths. A finger traced the small indent of his spine, all the way down to the curve of his buttocks.

The body in front of him wiggled, but didn't waken.

Steve replaced his finger with his lips, kissing slowly downwards. When he got the little dimples at the base of Jesse's spine, he tongued them lightly. The younger man was just irresistible, especially when he was annoyed at being woken early for a quickie before work.

His lips strayed lower; deciding it would be a crime to waste Jesse's morning erection. Steve was a very law-abiding citizen.

"Don't even think about it!"

Steve's fun was abruptly spoiled. "You're awake."

"A good thing too."

Jesse turned, and Steve saw a feral glint in his eye that had nothing to do with annoyance. He kissed Steve fiercely, biting almost painfully.

They were both getting thoroughly involved when the alarm rudely interrupted. Jesse flopped back groaning as Steve reached back to hit the off button, before flinging back the covers to get out.

"Why did you buy that thing?"

The doctor shrugged, "same reason you set it last night. My boss is cranky if I'm late."

Steve stood up, "that's my dad you're bad mouthing."

Jesse slapped him on the stomach as he flew past him, beating him to the shower, but consoling him with a nice view of his backside bobbing about. Steve briefly considered joining him, but they really didn't have time for anything other than a quick wash, and the apartment's on again off again heating system really couldn't provide enough hot water for more than that.

Instead, he headed for the tiny kitchen unit and began to make toast and coffee. He was munching on his second slice when Jesse emerged from the bathroom, dripping wet and immodestly covered with a towel.

Steve settled for kissing the young man's lips when his body was telling him to ravish Jesse right then and there on whatever surface they reached first, be it the floor or the kitchen table.

"Toast?" He asked, holding out a plate.

"Thanks."

He left Jesse munching happily away and went into the bathroom to grab the quickest shower he could manage. When he came out, he found Jesse standing stark naked with his head in the closet, rummaging about. Clothes were strewn over everything, the bed, the chair, the floor…

"Jess?"

"This is such a cliché…" The young man sighed. "But I have nothing to wear."

Steve eyed the discarded shirts and jeans.

Jesse frowned. "To work." He clarified. "These are too casual and everything else is at yours."

Steve smiled, "you do practically live there."

"Yeah, I…ah-ha!" Jesse held up a pair of trousers and pulled out the shirt underneath. He flashed a victory grin at Steve.

The detective was too deep in thought, started by his own words. You do practically live there… Not that Jesse noticed; he was too busy hunting up the iron to press his discoveries. Steve's innocent comment brought him a new perspective and unbidden thoughts were following.

And, God, it just felt right…

Jesse dressed in double quick time, oblivious to his lover's sudden quietness. He kissed Steve on the top of the head, said a hurried goodbye and raced out the door.

Steve carried on thinking.

********

Jesse brought his convertible to a stop at the red lights and used the time to reach over to the CD player. He ejected the hideous noise Steve had popped in there the day before and replaced it with something mellower.

A loud squeal of brakes pierced the air, followed by a metallic crunching. Jesse's head snapped up and he saw two cars melded together in the centre of the intersection.

Grabbing his bag from the behind the seat, he flung open the door and raced over to the wreckage.

The driver of the nearest car was unconscious, bleeding profusely from the back of his skull. Jesse was about to begin checking for less obvious injuries when a blonde woman pushed in beside him.

"I'm a nurse!" She said quickly.

"Doctor." He replied and she nodded, deferring to him. "I don't think he's got internal injuries. Stay with him; try to get him conscious. I'll check the other driver."

She nodded crisply and he hurried to the next car.

Two by-standers where trying to open the doors. Jesse put down his bag and touched one of the helpers on the arm. "Keep everyone back. And look out for the ambulance, OK?"

The man nodded and began urging people back to their cars.

Jesse added his weight to the battle of the passenger side door, almost falling on his backside when the twisted metal gave. He crawled into the car and saw something that made his heart lunch sickeningly.

The woman was very pregnant.

He reached out to her neck, pressed down with his fingers. A thready pulse answered him and he quickly checked her airways. They were unblocked and her breathing was even.

Then he pulled a stethoscope from his bag and eased it onto her belly.

Nothing…

Don't worry…

He moved the stethoscope to the other side of her considerable bump.

Still nothing…

"Come on, sweetie, don't be shy." He murmured and moved lower.

Horses hooves greeted him and he smiled. He didn't carry a proper foetal monitor, but that sounded well into the one thirties. A perfectly normal infant heart rate. Jesse checked the old fashioned way, counting for 15 seconds and multiplying just to be sure.

"Your baby's doing fine." He told the unconscious woman, "I'm just going to check you now, OK?"

He kept up a constant stream of chatter as he worked, explaining in hushed tones what he was doing and why. Jesse had once had a patient confirm that hearing was the last sense left during unconsciousness. They had got better solely to have the satisfaction of telling him to shut up.

His fingers brushed a damp patch on her leg. When he checked his hand, he saw bright red femoral blood slicked across his palm. "Damn!" He swore and pulled a tornique from his bag.

"Can I help?" Came a woman's voice beside him.

"Get the scissors and cut through the safety belt." Jesse ordered, glancing up briefly at the nurse. "The other guy?"

"Conscious. And out of the car." She replied, starting to work on the tough fabric. "I think his ankle's broken, but other than that and concussion, he's fine."

The belt came loose and the nurse cleared the obstruction from her chest and lap.

"Here," he tossed her his stethoscope. "Check the baby." And he went back to the haemorrhage he was trying to halt.

The nurse listened, moving around the woman's' bump. "I think it's OK."

"Not if I can't stop the bleeding." He grabbed her hand, placed it on the woman's leg. "Press down!"

He pulled sterile gauze out of his medical kit and pressed it against the bleed. The nurse moved her fingers to accommodate.

Jesse felt wetness on thigh and looked down. "Damn!"

"What?"

"Her waters have broken." He stared at the darkened fluid. "That's meconium. The baby's in distress." And he began feeling the woman's bump. "No contractions yet."

Jesse snatched the stethoscope back and checked the baby's heart. He couldn't hear any change in the horse's hooves, but then he wasn't an OB/GYN.

A wail of ambulances cried in the distance and Jesse allowed himself to feel a shadow of relief. He touched the woman's check and met the nurse's eyes, seeing his own relief reflected in hers. "It's OK, the cavalry's on the way."

********

Steve was half way through a large pizza when his father stepped out onto the decking. Mark looked exhausted, having worked half the night. He was carrying a cup of cocoa in his hand and when he sat down opposite his son, he peered critically at the greasy food on offer.

"Join me?" Steve said, waving an oily hand in invitation.

Mark immediately declined. He would never understand how his son, his own flesh and blood, his very DNA, didn't inherit more exotic tastes in food. Thank God for Jesse and Amanda…

"I had almost forgotten that you lived here." Mark said, sipping his drink.

He hadn't seen Steve in the house for the last week or so; he was staying over at Jesse's while the doctor was working the early morning shift to maximise their time together.

Steve smiled faintly and popped a pizza crust into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully. "Actually, Dad, I've been thinking about that." He looked at his father. "Something Jesse said… How would you feel if Jesse moved in here?"

Mark frowned, unsurprised. In truth, he'd expected this sort of question to have come long ago, and it probably would have, had Jesse not been reserved about his sexuality. Something Mark approved of whole-heartedly, in Steve's blinkered, bigoted profession, it was just what he needed in a partner.

"You know I'd be delighted, Steve. I'm very fond of Jesse."

Steve frowned, knowing his father too well. "But?"

Mark sighed. "I'm concerned about you." He admitted. "If Jesse's here, how will that look from the outside? To your colleagues?"

"It's none of their business."

"I agree."

Steve knew, though, that his father had a very valid point. And he would have been stupid not to consider it, and he had. Life was dangerous enough being a cop, without your colleagues not backing you up because of their ugly prejudices. "Dad, I think most people would assume Jesse was here, temporarily, as your friend. He's stayed over before. My captain, everyone at the precinct… they see Jess more with you than they do with me. And it's a big house." He looked at his father. "I'm willing to except the small risk, if it means sharing my life with the man I love."

Mark nodded. "I know. And I'm happy for you, son."

But in his heart he wondered whether Jesse was just as willing.

******

Jesse followed the woman's stretcher out of the ambulance, running at one side with the blonde nurse at the other. They rushed through the ER doors, and Jesse immediately began barking orders.

"Trauma three." He snapped at the staff. "Type and cross, four units, whole blood, packed cells, Ringers and prep her for an immediate C-section."

The nurse looked expectant at him. "Can I help?"

Jesse looked up from scribbling on the woman's notes. "We've got it covered. You can go home or…"

"Work?" She smiled, and Jesse realised she had a pretty face, and a pretty smile. "Actually, I…um…I work here. In the ER. It's my first day."

Jesse frowned, thinking. "Hilliard…Your Nurse Hilliard?"

The smile widened. "Susan." And she held out her hand to shake.

Jesse took it, smiling. "Jesse…Travis."

******

A nurse was tending the latest rape victim when Steve and Bayder entered the little hospital room. The woman in the bed, Karen Jennings, flinched at their arrival, staring at them as if the pair were sent by the devil himself. Her face and hands were badly burned. She was lucky to have survived. The previous two had not.

"I don't wanna talk!" She gasped all but shrinking back behind the nurse.

Bayder stepped closer. "I'm sorry, but we-"

"NO!" She cried out. "Go, please!"

"Ma'am, we know you've been through-" Began Steve.

Karen grasped the nurse's wrist. "Make them go away." She pleaded. "I can't…please?"

The nurse straightened up, standing in front of them. "I think you'd better leave."

Steve bristled. "Look, I'm Steve Sloan…"

"I don't care who you are. You're upsetting my patient!" She snapped. "The lady wants you to leave. And now I want you to leave!"

Steve glanced at the name badge on her chest, frowning. "Ah…Miss Hilliard, this is a police investigation-"

"And in case you haven't noticed, this is not a police precinct. Go and investigate there."

Bayder sighed. "Miss Jennings has information vital to our investigation. It's imperative we hear it."

"I'm sure, after a night's rest, she'll be ready to talk tomorrow. Until then, I'm asking you to leave."

Neither Steve nor Bayder moved a muscle.

The nurse crossed her arms. "Come on, guys, don't make me call security."

The detectives sighed, but left the room.

Outside, Bayder all but growled with frustration. "Great. Our best witness and she's flaky!"

"No," Steve replied, also frustrated but hiding it better. "I guess she's got a right to be scared after what she went through."

Dylan wasn't ready to give up his annoyance just yet. "We don't know what she's been through. She won't tell us."

"You found the first victim. I'm not anxious to hear the details."

Bayder's mouth pressed into a line. "Neither am I. I just wanna put this bastard away."

"Yeah, I know." Steve said, glancing at his watch. "Me too."

Steve turned to leave, knowing Jesse's shift ended in an hour. "I'll see you later." And he began walking towards the doctor's lounge to wait for Jesse.

******

Night…

Jesse looked down at the tiny life and smiled. At five weeks early, the little boy stood an excellent chance of survival, even after the abrupt and brutal entrance into the world. His mother was in a serious condition, weakened further by the caesarean, but she was expected to make a full recovery too.

Sometimes there were happy endings.

"Ahhh…."

Jesse turned, found himself impaled on a pair of deep blue eyes. The nurse, Susan, smiled in greeting and bent to get a closer look at the baby they had delivered not four hours ago.

"He's gorgeous." She said.

"Yeah…"

She opened the little door on the incubator and reached in stroke the little boy's hand. "Have you got kids?"

"No."

"He's so tiny. Look at his little fingers."

Jesse smiled. "Yeah…" He watched the wistful expression on her face with amusement. "Have you? Got kids, that is."

She shook her head. "No, and not for a while either." She stood up. "A long while. Too much responsibility. I just like window shopping."

Jesse laughed and turned to go. "I'll leave you two alone then."

"Um, Jesse…?"

"Yeah…"

"If, ah, if you've nothing else planned, we could go for a drink. Sort of a wet the baby's head, welcome to the ER…."

Jesse looked down. "I…I can't, sorry."

"Another time maybe?"

"I don't think so."

Susan's smile didn't waver, but her eyes gave away her disappointment. "I guess you're seeing someone?"

He shuffled his feet. "Yeah."

"Lucky girl." She said.

"Yeah…Night, Susan."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

******

Steve sat in the doctor's lounge, sipping cold coffee and staring into space. In his hand was a small house key, identical to one that hung on his own key-ring, but with the addition of a little ribbon tied into a bow around it.

Steve smiled. Jesse was in for a surprise…

~~~ To be continued in "Steve's Sacrifice 2: Question" ~~~~