Chapter Seven

I just want to thank Deangirl93, who I really pester as I bounce all my ideas off her. I guess that is the advantage of having a sister is that she is not afraid to shoot the stupid ones right down…

Sarah could not sit still as she waited in her Jeep for the cargo plane carrying Steve back to her. It had been a hellish couple of days since he had disappeared in North Korea. She did not know the entire story, but he had agreed to go so he could help rescue Jenna's fiancé, but he had been tricked instead and he was in trouble.

She once again, prayed and thanked God, that Steve had such a great team and friends who would risk not only their lives, but also their careers so they could rescue him.

She was lost in her thoughts, but the Jeep started to shake as she watched the huge plain land a fair distance from where she could have stood. The sun had been too strong and she felt faint so she had sat in the car instead. Now, she moved to the standing area, showed her ID to the man standing there, and walked nervously as she wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt.

She had yet to speak to Steve, even though she knew he was fine. When Joe had spoken to her assuring her he was fine, she had almost fainted from relief, but she had lost the signal before he could pass the satellite phone to Steve.

She watched as the door thing at the back of the plane opened, revealing Joe and Chin standing together. But she was blind to them, because just behind them she saw her Steve leaning slightly on Danny for support. The entire party looked the worse for wear, dirty and grimy.

But Steve looked the best. Not because he was clean, in fact he was downright filthy, his face had been cleaned up and patched up with what looked like basic first aid, he was barefoot, his clothes were ripped and filthy. His face was battered and bruised and he walked with a limp, leaning on Danny. He looked good because he was alive.

She saw Danny say something to him, he lifted his head and his blue eyes zoomed in on her. His battered face broke into a wide smile. They had descended from the plane and Steve left Danny's side, started limping to ward her.

She felt a sob leave her as she ran as much as she could with her growing belly. As he got closer, he opened his arms and she launched herself into them, knowing that even though he was hurt, he would catch her.

She felt him groan and flinch as she clashed with his wounds, but when she tried to pull away, he only closed his arms around her and buried his face in her throat.

They didn't speak, only held each other, not worrying who was around them. Danny hovered like a mother hen, making sure to catch Steve if he lost his balance on his injured leg.

All Sarah was aware of was Steve's warm breath on her throat, his lips moving lightly. His arms loosened, but only to bring his right hand between them to touch their baby.

"Take me home, baby" was all he said as he pulled away to give her a hard, rough kiss on the mouth. Sarah reveled in it, everything was amazing as they kissed, tongues caressing, breaths mingling.

They only pulled apart when they heard a throat clearing behind them, when they turned they faced Kono.

"Before all that" she gestured with her finger at them, "you need to go to the hospital".

"No I need to go have a shower first" Steve said.

"Kono's right, you have to go to the hospital. You can barely stand and you have so many cuts on your body, you need to get them cleaned" Sarah said as Joe came over to support Steve so he could limp toward the Jeep.

Sarah turned to watch Danny standing there silently. She walked up to him and hugged him fiercely, feeling his strong arms hug her back just as fiercely.

"Thank you for bringing him back" she whispered as she pulled away, "You risked so much for him, for us, without thinking of yourself or Grace".

Danny had never looked this emotional before, "I was thinking of Grace. I knew that she would have never forgiven me if I had not rescued uncle Steve".

She smiled, kissed his hand in thanks, then turned to where the rest of the group was. She left Danny to go to her Jeep, where Steve was sitting in the passenger side, the seat reclined so he wouldn't have to put pressure on his ribs by sitting upright. He had had a grimace on his face, but as soon as he saw her it disappeared into a smile, albeit a tired one.

"Let's get you all patched up" she leaned over to kiss him before she strapped herself in and drove toward the hospital.

-X-

Steve watched as Sarah sat in a corner of the examination room he was being treated in. She sat in an uncomfortable chair, stroking her belly soothingly, and all the time she did not take her eyes off him.

He noticed how they would cloud over as they roamed over his wounds, and there were many. She asked questions about how to dress them, calmly stating that if he did not get his wounds dressed properly she would reconsider the whole marriage thing.

He only smiled at her indulgently, but he was really worried about how she had been affected by this. Since leaving active duty, he had not faced the kind of danger he had when he was an active SEAL. And he had not been in any serious relationship to consider the woman's feelings on the matter. He had seen many of his fellow SEALs marriages crumble under the pressure. He only hoped that Sarah could cope.

She drove them home and helped him up the stairs to their bedroom. While he rested a little on the bed, she busied herself by taking out fresh towels and sweats for him to wear, so he didn't have to bend when he needed them.

"Go have a shower. I'll have food ready by then" she leaned down and kissed him sweetly on the mouth, "Do you need me to help with the shower, in case your ribs hurt too much".

Steve smiled and winked at her suggestively, "You being my nurse is gonna be a whole lot of fun" he couldn't resist teasing her when she blushed.

She stood with her little fists planted on her hips, stretching the fabric of her striped t – shirt dress over her belly. Even though they had only four months to go before the baby was due, her belly was quite petit, which made him think it may be a girl.

"I did have a sexy nurse outfit for Halloween once but I'll never fit into it now" she said frowning, "You better get your horny butt in the shower so I can start taking care of you sailor" she gave him a saucy grin before sauntering out of the bedroom.

They ate a light brunch out on the lanai; fresh chicken and tuna sandwiches along with fruit juice and mangoes. Steve felt relaxed as he sat beside Sarah on the settee, watching the ocean as he stroked her belly while she fed him bites of sandwich, the radio softly playing "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad The Wet Sprocket.

"How's the baby behaving?" he asked as he felt it kick under his hand. The first time the baby had kicked had been in the middle of the night when they had been sleeping, his back to her front. He had felt a nudging in his back that he had turned and asked if she needed anything, but she had been in such a deep sleep she hadn't even noticed. Suffice it to say neither of them had slept the rest of the night with the excitement of feeling their baby move for the first time.

Sarah fed him another bite then took a bite herself, "Pretty good, but I think it misses daddy". Her belly rippled. That was new and at his shocked expression she added, "That started the day you left. Its as if he is taking laps in a pool".

"You still think it will be a boy?" he asked her as the baby rolled again.

She smiled as she kissed his chin, "I just have this feeling that this one's a boy. A little Steve" then she paled, "Oh God, I hope you were a calm child".

He lifted one eyebrow, "What do you think?"

"I think you were one of those wild children, jumping off cliffs into the sea and riding his bike without a helmet" when he only smiled, she groaned, "Oh God help me, you were!"

"Don't worry, look how responsible I turned out to be" he teased her, but she remained quiet for a time.

"I was so scared when Danny called me. I was in school and I had to take the rest of the day off because I couldn't concentrate" she snuggled closer to him, breathing in his clean fresh-from-the-shower scent.

Steve lifted her face to his, "All I was thinking about was you" he couldn't help but kiss her slightly parted lips. They tasted of the mangoes they had shared. He ran his tongue around her lips then slipped it into her mouth to deepen the kiss.

He was bare waist up save for the pressure bandage he had on to help his cracked and bruised ribs. He felt her small hand exploring his chest, tracing the scars she could feel, both old and new while she held his head with the other as they kissed.

Steve ran his hands up her thighs to push her dress further up, bringing one of her legs up to straddle him, he pulled her onto his lap, wincing as she came in contact with his ribs.

"Maybe we should wait till your ribs have healed" she said as she pulled away from him, panting and still sitting on his lap. Her thick hair flowed around them in the slight sea breeze.

"Oh no my sexy nurse" he wrapped his hands in her hair to bring her face down to his.

"But Steve, you're umph" the rest of her words were muffled by his kiss.