Chapter Two

"Steve?" Jaime was sure he was home, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was he still napping? She headed down the hall to peek in their bedroom, when Steve emerged, looking pale and shaky, from the guest room across the hall. Jaime jumped with a startled little shriek.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked quietly, his arms reaching out to draw her close.

"Yeah. I...was just startled. Were you sleeping in the guest room?"

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said, bypassing her question. "I'm so sorry." He leaned in to give her a soft, careful kiss. "I really missed you today."

Jaime tightened her arms around his waist, melting into him and returning his gentle kiss with one of passion. "How much did you miss me?" she teased, smiling into his eyes. She was relieved to see color returning to his face as his body came to life.

Afterward, they remained contentedly entwined in each other's arms until long after the sun had gone down. They were mostly silent, having just said everything they needed to say and feeling blissfully happy just to be together. Then Jaime suddenly sat up.

"I still have to make dinner!"

"I'm not hungry," Steve told her, pulling her back down beside him. His need to be close to her was all consuming and besides, he knew they could always order pizza later.

Later, as they lingered over the last of the wine and the decimated remains of a large pepperoni pizza, Jaime knew she had to tell Steve about his appointment. She knew he wouldn't be happy about it, though, and she hated to spoil the glow of the evening. Steve helped her a bit by bringing up the subject himself.

"You never told me how your appointment was," he probed. "Everything check out ok?"

"Yeah."

"You're not...sick, or anything, are you?"

"No; Rudy just likes to practice pre-emptive medicine - you know that. In fact, he wants you to come in tomorrow so you can have the full treatment, too."

"I'm fine," Steve protested. "There's really no need -"

"I know. I'm fine, too, but you know how Rudy is. Besides, you haven't been in to see him since we got out of the hospital."

"Haven't needed to. Still don't."

"Will you go anyway, please?"

"Jaime -"

"For me?"

Steve sighed. "That's not playing fair. You know I'd do anything in the world for you."

"So, you'll go, then?"

"For you, yes."

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Steve wasn't feeling quite as agreeable the next morning. "This is silly. I feel fine."

"He's expecting you, Honey," Jaime said in a firm but gentle voice.

"I hate to leave you here by yourself..."

"I'm a big girl; you know I can take care of myself. It's not like you're leaving for days."

You were snatched from this very house, Jaime, Steve thought to himself. I was only gone a few hours that time, too. "Do me a favor and stay inside, ok?" he requested, caressing her face and hair as if memorizing every detail in case he never saw her again.

"It's so beautiful outside today," she replied. "I thought maybe I'd work in the garden -"

"Can you wait 'til I get home?"

Jaime searched his face, puzzled, certain now that something was wrong - something Steve couldn't yet put into words. She hoped Rudy might be able to get to the root of it.

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Rudy welcomed Steve as he'd welcomed Jaime the previous day: with a warm smile and hot coffee. After Lynda drew the required blood samples and wrote down every vital sign he had, Steve joined the doctor in his office for a talk.

"So, what's the occasion, Doc?" Steve asked, much more casually than he actually felt.

"You and Jaime both went through some pretty rough stuff the last few months -"

"Jaime's ok, isn't she?" Steve asked quickly.

Rudy smiled reassuringly. "She's just fine. I wanted to see each of you to check on how you've recovered so far, to make sure there are no after-effects to your bodies or your psyches."

"Probably a good idea," Steve agreed. "She seems ok to me, I mean, no nightmares or flashbacks, no irrational fears that I can see."

"What about you?" Rudy asked, noting that Steve had conveniently glossed right over his own thoughts and feelings, focusing instead on his wife.

"What about me?"

"Are you sleeping ok? Appetite good?"

"No problems, Doc - honest."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. You know, sometimes things can crop up weeks or even months after a traumatic incident. Might not even seem connected to what you went through. If you or Jaime had any problems of that sort, I hope you both will feel free to come in and talk to me about it at any time. You know, that's what I'm here for."

"Thanks, Rudy. I'll make sure Jaime knows that, too."

Rudy watched his patient leave, then shook his head in frustration. Jaime was right; something was definitely going on with her husband. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but he'd never known Steve to be so rigid, or so closed off, emotionally. The doctor knew these things needed to be identified and dealt with, or they would build and escalate until the pressure became too much to handle. The resulting explosion could potentially lead to disaster.

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