STILL DANCING – Season 1, Episode 7

Chapter One

"So....what's the story with you and Russ?" Jaime probed, re-filling Peggy Callahan's wineglass in the hope it might loosen her friend's tongue.

Peggy giggled...and blushed. "He's so sweet, Jaime!" she gushed. "And so different when he's out of the office – you wouldn't believe it."

"I haven't seen you this excited – ever," Jaime told her. "He must be pretty special. How long have you been seeing him now?"

"Six weeks tomorrow. We're going out to dinner."

"Peggy, you got out to dinner every night," Jaime said, smiling.

"Not every night....sometimes he comes over to my place and I cook...."

Jaime laughed. "I'm so happy for you; you deserve a great guy."

They clinked glasses, and Peggy decided turnabout was fair play. "What about you and Steve?"

"Everything's great..." Jaime said, not-so-convincingly. She stared into her wine, swirling it in the glass and growing wistful as she pictured Steve's face.

"....Jaime...?" Peggy gently touched her arm, urging her to continue.

"Well, ever since we got back from Greece, we've barely seen each other! I mean, we worked the bombing together – but that was work. And since then, it's almost like..." her voice trailed off.

"Like what?"

"Like Oscar's trying to keep us apart."

"Oh, I don't think so," Callahan argued gently. "He's always said how perfect you two are for each other. That's why he gave you that time in Greece -"

"Enough time to fall in love again, but not enough to do anything with it...." Jaime mused.

"Love?" Peggy was gushing again. "That's wonderful! Isn't it....?"

"I just got back from Spain last night," Jaime explained. "And Steve left for God-Knows-Where this morning."

"That's right; he can't even tell you."

Jaime nodded miserably. "If I'm lucky, he might call...."

"But when you are together," Callahan said, trying to cheer her up, "things are good – right?"

Were they? Jaime didn't know quite how to answer that. While she still had no memory of their past together, Jaime and Steve had grown much closer in Greece than either one of them had expected. But even then, was it the adrenaline rush of the danger they'd found themselves in? The camaraderie of working as a team? While they'd been there, Jaime had told Steve she loved him for the first time since her amnesia – and she had absolutely no doubt of his love for her. Still, would it be enough to keep them together in a decidedly non-couple-friendly career?

Steve had to be wondering the same thing, and yet – when they did manage a few precious hours together – they danced around the subject as though touching on it would give it weight that neither of them wanted to face. They both knew that successful relationships where one party was an operative were virtually non-existent and yet....they were still dancing.

- - -

After Callahan was gone, Jaime sat with her scrapbook in her lap. It was finally complete, with nothing from her past held back as potentially harmful. Her life – and Steve's – had been carefully chronicled in photos and newspaper clippings and Jaime ran her fingers over each one in turn, trying mightily to grasp even the smallest wisps of memory.

It seemed like, at every major crossroad and high point of her life, Steve had been there at her side (and vice versa). Jaime felt bitter – she'd been robbed of so much! - and frustrated that all of this was right here, where she could see and touch it....but not feel or really remember a thing.

She stared at the engagement announcement for a very long time, not even noticing the tears streaming down her cheeks. Would they ever be that close again? Would their careers (and the OSI itself) ever allow it?

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