Steve and Jo both had fitful, sleepless nights, and when they met up at the hospital the following morning they were both fearful of what they might find.
When they arrived Jesse was dozing in the chair. Steve put a hand on his shoulder and he stirred. "Hey, Steve."
"Any change, Jess?"
"No, nothing, nothing at all. But could you come out into the hallway for a minute?" They walked out of Rae's room together and then Jesse turned to them. "This came." He held out an envelope, and Steve could see that he had put a pair of latex gloves on.
"It's from him, isn't it?" Steve didn't really need to ask. Jesse just nodded, and Steve pulled an evidence bag out of his pocket. "I don't know that we can do much about it, but we need to make sure that Rae doesn't know he is doing this."
"I know, that's why we are outside the door. I wouldn't have known it was from him if I hadn't been opening all her cards. When she comes round this could have a devastating effect on her." Jesse looked worried.
"Between us we will keep it from her. I can get a court order so that her mail is delivered to the station, or to your apartment, so she won't know he is doing this. If he sends any more maybe we can get him for harassment." Steve slid the evidence bag in his pocket; he had no interest in seeing what it said right now.
"Honey, would one of you like to tell me what is goin' on here?" Jo looked at the two friends, she could see that they were both extremely concerned about something, but she had no idea what.
"I'll tell her, Jess, you go back in." Steve sat Jo down on the chair by the door and as Jesse sat back next to Rae he could see them deep in conversation.
"Hi, honey, I'm back, I'm sorry I had to just pop out for a minute." He stroked her hand and tried to get the picture of Phil Levington out of his mind.
Through the day Jesse was joined by Mark, Alex and Jan, they all helped him as he sat there watching the woman he loved, they knew they couldn't say or do anything, but by rallying round, and being with him they let him know he wasn't alone.
Jesse went for a couple of hours in the sleep room just after six, but he was back with her by eight thirty. He had sent everybody else home, and he made himself comfortable for a long night.
Jesse was still sitting with Rae the next morning as Steve and Jo arrived back at the hospital. As they knocked on the door, Steve looked into the room, he was sure that some of the machines had gone, and to his relief he could see that Rae was no longer on the ventilator. They could hear Jesse talking to her. He turned and smiled at them.
"Hi, come in. I'm glad to see you. I'm running out of things to talk about."
"You, Jess? I didn't think you would ever run out of things to say!" Steve cuffed his friend on the shoulder; most of the worry lines seemed to have disappeared from his face since he had seen him last night.
Rae must have heard the new voice in the room, because she began to stir in the bed as Steve spoke. Jesse felt her hand move underneath his and turned back to her.
"Rae, honey, we have visitors, Steve and Jo are here."
Slowly Rae opened her eyes, and this time she kept them open. Jesse beamed. She had done it for him about an hour ago, and had spoken to him. He had told Mark and Alex, but nobody else.
"Steve…? I'm… sorry." Rae spoke slowly and faintly.
"Rae? Oh, honey, I'm so pleased to hear your voice." Steve moved towards her, he couldn't believe how relieved he was to hear her. He hadn't realised how much truth had been in his words when he had told Jo that too many people loved and needed her for her not to recover.
"What… hap… pened?" Rae looked at Steve and her face was troubled.
"It doesn't really matter right now, you just have to rest and get better. When you are a little stronger we can talk about it, ok, partner?" Steve was gently stroking her hand as he talked and Rae smiled slightly at him.
"If… you… say… so… par… par… part… Steve."
For a minute Steve went cold. Rae couldn't say what she wanted to. He knew she would have problems, but he was trying to hide away from that. "I do. Now, I am gonna take Jesse for a cup of coffee and some food, because I'll bet he hasn't eaten in hours, and Jo is gonna stay and talk to you, ok?"
Rae looked puzzled as she spoke to Steve. "Ok." and shut her eyes again.
Steve turned to Jo. "Is that alright?"
"Of course, you go an' get some food, an' I'll still be here when you get back." Jo smiled at the two friends, and then took her place by the bed. She had seen the puzzled look on Rae's face, and she had a feeling she knew why she looked like that.
"Rae, honey, do you know who I am?"
Rae opened her eyes. "I'm… not… sure…Steve?"
"Yep, that's right, I'm Steve's girlfriend an' your friend. But we only just met a little while ago, I guess that's why you don't remember."
Rae smiled again, and looked at Jo. "Texas… Sleepy."
"You sleep then, honey, an' Texas is right here. You do remember me."
Steve and Jesse returned about half an hour later. Rae was still asleep, but they could all see that she was different from how she had been the day before. Jesse wanted to wake her, just to see if he could, but he knew that Mark would be in later, and he would do it for him. Steve and Jo stayed with Jesse for most of the morning, so that he had some company and someone to share his hopes and fears with. They sat just outside the door in the hallway so that they could talk quietly without disturbing Rae.
"Jess, Jo and I are gonna head off now, if you need anything just call. We're gonna go and pick up Rae's kitten and Jo will keep it at her place for a while, even calling in to feed her the other night had me sneezing, rubbing my eyes and needing my tablets."
"I never gave that a thought, thanks, Steve. Jo, there is kitten food under the sink, and all the kitty litter is in the box behind the bin. The travel cage is what she uses as her house so that is out in the living area."
"Jesse, don't you worry none. I'll sort it all out an' the little gal will be fine with me. See ya tomorrow."
They walked hand in hand down the hallway and Jesse watched them go. Then he went back into Rae's room and sat next to her.
Steve and Jo headed over to Rae's apartment and opened the door. As soon as he entered the room Steve began to sneeze. "Atishoo, Jo, honey, I'll have to Atishoo, have to wait outside." He backed out of the room and waited in the hallway. Five minutes later Jo came out with the kitten in her travel cage and a bag containing the food.
"Steve, could you go in now an' get the kitty litter tray an' the stuff to put in it?" Steve nodded and went back into the room. Almost instantly Jo could hear him sneeze. "Honey, you are gonna have to pick me up an' drop me off at the bottom of my driveway until Rae can reclaim her kitty. I'll go an' wait in my car, then you won't get too near her."
After Jo had dropped the kitten and all her stuff off at her house, while Steve sat watching from the road they drove out towards the beach house. They both pulled in outside the house and Jo got out of her car. "Wow, so this is where a cop lives in Malibu. Very nice."
"Thank you. Come on then, let's go and sit on the beach for a while. It's just after three, I will even cook you dinner, if you like. I know Dad will want to stay with Rae for as long as he can, so it will be just the two of us."
Jo took Steve's hand, and they headed down to the sand. Five minutes later they were watching the waves break gently onto the shore.
"You know Jesse and Rae had their first date on this beach. Sometimes it seems so long ago, and other times just yesterday." Steve looked at Jo. "I'm glad you're here with me." He put his hand up to her face and slowly he began to kiss her. Jo leant over him and he lay back in the sand. Her hair was soft and bouncy between his fingers, and her scent was wonderful. After a while he moved away from her. "Jo, honey, I need to talk to you."
"What do you need to say?" Jo looked at him perceptively.
"I know you told me that you didn't know what was going on at Worthington Laboratories, but I just need to know that you have told me everything that you do know about the place, so that I can forget all about it and concentrate on us."
"Shhh. I have told you everythin' that I can think of. If there is anythin' else, then I don't know I know it, ok?"
"Yeah, ok. Sorry, cop's nature coming out."
"I know, now quit talkin' I have other things on my mind."
Steve waved Jo off at ten that evening. He had cooked her a simple pasta dish and they had eaten it out on the deck and talked about a hundred different things. He knew more about her now, and she him. He liked what he knew and had arranged to meet with her the next day when he finished work.
The phone rang as Steve walked back into the house. "Sloan here… Dad, hi…No, Jo was here, but she just left… Oh, that's great…Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed now, I'll see you in the morning… Give her a kiss from me… Goodnight dad." Steve walked down towards his own apartment with a smile on his face. Life had improved no end today. All he needed now was a break in the Worthington case and he would be a happy man.
Mark headed back into the ER after speaking to his son. He had a big grin on his face.
"You're looking happy, Doctor Sloan."
Mark looked at the young intern who had spoken to him. "Yeah, I'm good." And so is she. Jo Walters is very good for my son.
Rae improved enormously over the next few days, and by the Sunday she was sitting up and waiting for Jesse to come and visit with her. She was having serious problems with her speech and although she understood most things that were said to her, it took her a while to process the meanings of the words and then reply, so conversations took a long time. Mark had said that she probably would be this way for quite a long time, but everything else seemed to be ok. She was on medication and Mark had told her that she would almost certainly get some headaches and mood swings, which would be more severe when she came off it, but she knew she was lucky to be alive and she thought she could cope with that.
Jesse came into the room with a smile on his face. "Hi, beautiful, how are you this morning?"
"Fine…thank… you." Rae smiled. Each word was an effort, but she knew she would get a little quicker. She still couldn't remember what had happened to her, and Jesse had said that she might never remember.
"I… want to… get up." Rae looked at him.
"I know, and Mark said that you could this morning. So, shall we give it a try? Slowly, you might feel dizzy, or a bit weird."
"Ok." Rae pushed the sheets back and looked at Jesse. All of a sudden she was afraid.
"You… will… help?"
"Of course. Now, give me your hands and slowly get to your feet." Jesse put out his hands and Rae took them. Then she gradually stood up.
For a moment the room swam and Rae swayed slightly. Jesse sat her back on the bed and waited for her to recover her senses. Then slowly he pulled her to her feet once more. "Jesse." Rae smiled and moved one foot slightly forward. Then she moved the other one, wobbled a bit and grinned. "Good?"
"Very good. Shall we try for the chair?" Jesse let go with one hand and put it around the back of her and took her arm. That way Rae could see the chair she was aiming for.
Rae took four slow steps and then stopped. "Turn round."
"Ok, you wanna get technical, huh? Here we go."
Between them, they got Rae's feet to do what she wanted them to and she sank into the chair. Her face was full of delight. "I … did… it."
Mark came into the room. "You certainly did, and I watched all of it. Well done."
Jesse turned round. "Mark, could you stay with her just for a little while?"
"Sure, Jess, are you all right?"
"Yeah fine, Mark." Jesse fled the room and headed for Amanda's lab.
Amanda was just finishing up the report on an autopsy that had taken her all morning. There was a bug at a neighbouring old people's home, and she had been asked to make sure that the suspicions of the local health officer that it was salmonella were right. Amanda agreed with him.
She straightened up and stretched her arms out in front of her and clasped her hands together. As she relaxed again Jesse came in through the door. "Jess, what's the matter?"
Jesse's face was contorted with so many mixed emotions that he couldn't answer her question.
"Jesse, is it Rae?"
"Yeah. I just helped her to walk across from her bed to the chair, four steps, but I couldn't congratulate her on it. Last weekend we were gliding across the dance floor at the ball, now … she's like a bird with broken wings, practically helpless." Jesse turned round and kicked at an empty box that Amanda had just put by the door for disposal.
"Jesse, I know that this is hard for you, it's hard for everyone, but especially you. You know that underneath she is still the same person; you just have to help her to find herself again. Every step she takes, every word that she says, however slow it all is, is getting her closer to her old self again." Amanda moved closer to Jesse and gave him a hug. He didn't resist, he stayed in her arms for a short while and then pulled away.
"Thank you, Amanda, I guess I just needed somebody to put it into perspective for me. I'll go back up now."
"I'll be up myself in about an hour when my shift ends. We can sit together or I can take over for a while if you like."
"Together would be nice. I'll see you then." Jesse went and walked around the grounds for a little while and then he began the walk back up to Rae's room. He felt more positive now that Amanda had talked to him. He was smiling when he walked back into the intensive care suite but Rae wasn't there. Instead there was a note stuck to the bed.
"Meet me in room 203, Rae." The writing was child like, but Jesse knew that it was Rae's; he turned and walked back the way he had just come.
Rae was sitting in a chair with a big smile on her face when he entered. "Hi…handsome."
"Rae, honey, are you all right?"
"Yes." She smiled again. She seemed different to him from even the hour or so before when he had been with her.
"What happened?"
"Steve came… my…par… partner."
Jesse grinned. She hadn't been able to say that word since the accident. None of them could work out why, it wasn't a particularly difficult one, but it had caused her to get very upset every time she saw Steve.
"Jesse… I love…you."
Jesse couldn't grin any more, the tears slid down his face and he moved over to hug her. It was the first time that Rae had said that to him since her accident. All of a sudden it didn't matter to him that it was an achievement for her to walk to a chair, or that she couldn't do the things she used to do. Amanda was right, she was still his Rae, and nothing could change that.
Rae improved quite quickly after that, and by the end of the next week she was ready to go home with Jesse. Her speech was still slow and she thought a long time before she spoke, her walking was slow and deliberate, but she could do all the tests that Mark had asked her to, and so far her headaches had been manageable. She knew that if Jesse hadn't been a doctor she would have had to stay longer in the hospital, but she really wanted to go home.
Jesse walked Rae gradually along the hallway to her apartment. It was almost two weeks since her accident, and they had both been eagerly awaiting Saturday morning so that they could do just what they were doing right now. "This is yours, honey, do you remember it?" Jesse waited.
"Yes… it's mine." Rae's speech had a child like quality to it, and she said just what she thought. It had made for some interesting conversations over the last two weeks, and Jesse had a feeling he would miss it when it went away.
"Do you want to open the door?"
"Yes." Rae nodded her head and held out her hand. It was steady, there was no motor damage, the speed would return. She pushed the key into the lock and turned it. The door swung open and Rae went in.
She walked slowly over to the sofa and sat down. Jesse saw her wipe a tear from her cheek and he shut the door and came over and sat next to her. "Honey, are you ok?"
"Home… I'm… home."
"Yes, you are, and I will stay here with you, until you are better, ok?"
Rae didn't say anything, she snuggled up to him, just like she had always done, and before long, Jesse realised that she was fast asleep. He smiled and eased himself gently into a more comfortable position, then he leant back in his seat and shut his own eyes. There was no reason for either of them to move until they needed to. With a smile on his face Jesse drifted slowly off to sleep himself.
It was lunchtime before either of them stirred. It was Rae who moved first. "Jesse… I'm stuck."
"What? Rae… Oh, sorry, honey, did you say something?"
"I'm stuck."
And he supposed she was. His arms were around her and he had been holding her for a long time. "Hey, it's almost one o'clock. Didn't Steve and Jo say they would be here at one?"
"Yes… one…now." And the doorbell rang, Rae smiled. "See."
Jesse got up and went over to the door. Steve was standing there. "Jess, I need one of those allergy pills, before I can come in here. I know I've been taking them so that I can still see Jo, but I ran out."
Jesse went and got his bag and handed a card of tablets over to his friend. "I got this filled for you yesterday, so that I had a packet here for you. Make sure you don't leave them when you go, ok?"
There was another tap on the door and Jo put her head around it. "Hi, can we come in now?" Jo looked at Rae and waited for her to answer.
"Hi... Texas." Rae pushed down on the sofa and stood up in one movement. Then she grinned. "Come in."
Steve looked at Jo and then Rae, "Texas? Rae, why do you call her Texas?"
"It's… her… name."
"No, it's Jo, honey, she comes from Texas, but her name is Jo."
"She's been callin' me Texas since she came round, I don't mind, in fact I kinda like it, but just from her."
Jo came into the room with the travel cage in her hand. Rae looked at it. She hadn't mentioned Kira all the time she had been in the hospital and they weren't sure if she remembered her or not.
"Kitten…Sneezes." Rae smiled at Steve. "My kitten… your sneezes."
Jo opened the cage, and a considerably larger kitten wandered out of the box. "Wow, she has really grown hasn't she?" Jesse looked at Kira; she seemed to be all legs. She headed straight for Steve and wound herself round his ankles.
"Oh, great. The only person in the room who is allergic to her and she makes a bee line for me."
Rae took a breath. "My dad… hated cats… my old cat…loved him… It was funny… She likes you… That's funny…too."
The three of them looked at her. Rae had just said her longest sentence so far. Steve looked at her and smiled. Maybe one day he would get his partner back.
Jesse headed for the kitchen. "Steve, Jo, would you like a drink, coffee, soda?"
"Coffee for me, Jesse, please, cream, no sugar." Jo smiled at him as she spoke.
"Yeah, coffee would be great, Jess." Steve turned to look at Rae as Jesse spoke again.
"Rae, would you like a drink, sweetie?"
"Yes… I want…"
"Herbal tea, Rae, you want herbal tea." Steve finished her sentence for her and was surprised to see tears spring up in her eyes. "Rae?"
"I'm…sorry."
"What for?" Steve looked puzzled. He had no idea why she was suddenly upset.
"For…taking…too long…to…talk." Suddenly Steve saw her mood change in front of him and she shouted each word. "But …I will…say…it myself!"
"Steve, I think Rae is cross because you spoke for her." Jesse moved across with two mugs in his hands.
Now Rae turned on Jesse. "I…will tell…him!"
Steve was instantly mortified. "Rae, I am so sorry. I promise I will never do that to you again, ok?" Rae smiled at him and Steve began to realise how quickly her moods could change. In a few minutes she had been happy sad and angry and then back to happy again. "If you want me to help you speak, you tell me, ok? Otherwise in the future I will wait for you."
"Jesse, I want you an' Steve to go off out, an' have a break. I will stay here with Rae, we have things to talk about, girlie things. You two need to go an' relax." She put her hand in her jeans. "I have here, two tickets for the ball game. I have no interest in goin' myself, an' Rae is busy, so I guess you two will just have to use them."
Jesse went to object "No, I can't maybe in a few weeks, but I need to be here with Rae…"
Jo moved over and stood with her hands on her hips in front of him. She had a smile in her eyes but her voice was tight. "I would suggest that you don't mess with Texas!"
Jesse went to speak again, but Steve stepped in. "Thank you, honey. We'll go, now. I'll come back here about ten tonight, ok?"
Jesse was led protesting out of the door; once he had kissed Rae and made sure that she understood where he was going.
"Rae, sweetheart, Steve and I are going to the ball game, but Jo…"
Jesse was put firmly in his place when he started to explain.
"I know… I'm slow… not stupid…go away…now." She smiled. "Have… fun."
Jo picked up a toilet bag from where she had placed it on the carpet. She opened it up. Inside it were some eye packs a large toothed comb, a hairbrush and two packs of chocolate. "Now, honey, you an' I are gonna have a little pamperin'. Not too much, I checked with Mark, an' he said that this would be all right. These funny blue things go on your eyes, after they have cooled for a while, an' I know you love to have your hair brushed, so I am gonna do that for you too, then you can do it for me, ok?" Rae nodded and Jo went and put the masks in the refrigerator.
Half an hour later, they were both leaning back on the sofa with the masks over their eyes. Kira was curled up next to Rae on one side and Jo had a hold of her hand so that she knew where she was, the chocolates had already disappeared and they were talking softly together.
"Rae, I need to ask you some questions about Steve, is that all right?"
"Yes."
Jo didn't wait for any more, she knew that Rae wouldn't say anything she didn't have to. "I want to ask him to my place for dinner, now that Kira is back home with you."
Rae giggled. "Sorry… poor Steve."
"Yeah, I don't know what to cook for him, or what I should wear, can you help me?"
"Yes."
The conversation took a little longer than it would normally have done, but by the time the men returned she had a far better idea of what to do. She knew that he was working until Wednesday so she had decided to cook for him then.
It was on the same Wednesday morning that Steve made a decision about the Worthington case. He went in to see the Chief and talk it through with him.
"Lieutenant, what can I do for you?" Chief Masters hadn't seen very much of him in the last few weeks, and he could see that his officer was looking strained and tired.
"I need to talk to you about the Worthington case, Sir. I have been working on it now for almost a month, and I am still no nearer to finding out who did it. Even when Rae and I were together there were so few leads that we had a feeling we would have to move away from it in the end."
"I see, and since you have been working with Detective Robertson on it your opinion hasn't changed?"
"No, Sir. I think that she was killed by one of the activists, but it's like getting an invitation to join the masons, there is no way that anybody is ever gonna break their code and let us know who it was. They all have cast iron alibis, we have tried everything we know to break them, but we can't. I'm sorry, Sir."
"Lieutenant, I wouldn't have been surprised if you had come and said all this to me about the time of Detective Yeager's accident. You have worked tirelessly on this case, and I appreciate all the extra hours you have put in. But I'm afraid that I agree with you. I'll give James a call and explain to him what we're doing. Who knows, maybe we will get lucky and solve it without actually meaning to."
Steve stood up. "Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your words."
"Lieutenant. I also realise that you have been under a lot of strain over the last few weeks. Now it is Wednesday morning. I suggest that you pack up all the Worthington papers and take them down to records, and then I am signing you off duty until Monday. You had better come back well rested, understand?"
"Yes, Sir…Thank you Sir…uh, I'll go then." Steve was speechless. He backed out of the room and returned to his desk quickly before the Chief could change his mind. An hour later he was in the parking lot getting into his car. He shut the door and looked out the window, he half expected somebody to come and stop him and say April fool, but they didn't and he drove away.
Steve arrived home just after lunch. He had called into Bob's and made up some sauce, and double-checked that he wasn't on duty that night. He was having dinner at Jo's and he had been looking forward to it all week.
He went into his apartment and picked up the phone, he dialled the familiar number and waited. "Doctor Sloan, please…Yes, I'll hold…Hi, Dad… no nothing's wrong, I'm just checking to see if you have any time off between now and Monday…none, huh, oh well never mind…No the Chief just gave me five days leave…Yeah I guess I will… she still isn't back at work…I don't think Worthington will open up again…Ok, I'll see you later."
Steve lay down on his bed, he tried to get his thoughts in order so that he could switch off and enjoy his vacation. Once Rae had been injured the department had thrown all the spare manpower they had behind the animal rights cases. He had co-ordinated everything, and had seemed to spend every minute of every day either working or with Rae. Jo had been spending time with Rae too; otherwise he would have hardly seen her. Martin Robertson had been assigned to work with him and Ron had come back from Quantico. It had got them exactly nowhere. This organisation, which didn't even have a name, as far as they could discover, was so well run, and so loyal to each other that they couldn't break it. Steve couldn't believe that nobody was disgusted by the death of Candi Worthington or the assault on Rae, but it seemed that that was the case.
The man who had attacked Rae was still free. They had charged all the people who had been caught at the funeral, but somehow in the confusion her assailant had managed to slip away. Rae couldn't remember what had happened to her, and so had never asked about the person who had done it, Steve was glad, he didn't want to tell her that he was still out there, he didn't want to frighten her, and to him at least she seemed very vulnerable at the moment. He realised, for the first time, that she probably had no idea that one person was responsible for her condition.
Slowly the thoughts began to run together, and before he knew it Mark was shaking him by the shoulder. "Steve, it's six-thirty, don't you have a dinner appointment at eight?"
"What, Oh, Dad, what time did you say?"
"Six-thirty." Mark smiled at his son, he was tousled haired and looked just the way he had when he had to wake him up as a child.
"Thanks, I'd better get going then."
Steve straightened his tie as he walked up to Jo's front door. He'd had no idea how to dress for the evening, so had decided to go for the slightly more formal look. He'd been looking forward to this all day; in fact, he'd been surprised just how much. He put the flowers he was carrying into his right hand, reached up and rang the doorbell.
Jo's heart gave a little leap, he'd come, right up to now she hadn't been sure that he would, in his line of work he could have been called away at the last minute. She moved towards the sound and with a smile that wouldn't go away opened the door, just a crack.
"Jo, it's me, Steve." He watched as the door opened fully and then he just stared. "Wow, sweetheart, you look great." He was so glad that he had made an effort to look smart. Jo was standing before him in a perfectly plain dress, in a deep wine colour and with her hair piled up in a large clasp at the back of her head, she looked simply stunning.
"Well, don't just stand there, darlin', come on in." Jo was suddenly lost for words. They had been together for four weeks, and in that time the conversation had always flowed, but now… she put her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Oh, these are for you. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady." Steve remembered the flowers in his hand as he moved back from her embrace. He shuddered inwardly as he thought, Oh nice one, Sloan, you haven't used that line since you were sixteen.
They walked hand in hand into the living area and Jo put the flowers down on the side. "Let me get some water for them, an' then if you're ready we can eat." She picked up a vase from the windowsill, which had some slightly sad looking roses in it and headed off to the kitchen.
Steve took the chance to look around. He hadn't been in the house before. Even with the tablets he had steered clear while Kira was in residence. It was a nice room, there wasn't much furniture in it, but it looked as if what was here had been handed down from generation to generation. There was a beautiful walnut buffet along one wall, and the table, which was peeking out from underneath its cloth and crockery looked like it matched. When he had come into the entrance hall he had seen a dark wood staircase, which swept up and round to the first floor. He turned as he heard her come back into the room and watched as she put his flowers on the windowsill, in place of the previous occupants.
"Thank you, Steve, the flowers are glorious. I kept one out an' I'll press it. I like to keep a flower from special occasions."
"You should talk to Rae, she does that too, at least I think she does. Come here, that dress deserves another kiss." Well that was slightly better than the flower comment, loosen up! This time Steve had both his hands free. He so wanted to release her hair and run his fingers through it, but he contained himself. He hoped that he would have a chance to do that later. His hands roamed over her back as he kissed her with a passion that surprised him. Slowly he pulled back and looked in her eyes. He still couldn't decide quite what colour they were, but right now they were smoky, and he knew that she felt just as he did.
"Honey, if we don't eat somethin' all my hard work is gonna spoil." Jo took Steve by the hand and led him back to the table that he had been admiring a little while before.
"This is a beautiful table, Jo." Steve smiled at her as he pulled a chair out for her.
"It was my grandmamma's. No I won't sit down yet, I have to get the food." She turned and smiled at him. "I gave the butler the night off!"
She left the room and Steve stood waiting for her to return. He could hear strange clanking noises before he could see her, but when he could he realised that she was pushing a trolley with all sorts of small plates on it.
"I had no idea what you like to eat except barbeque, an' the pasta you cooked me that night at the beach. I asked Rae, an' she suggested we eat in the hospital canteen! I know we have been there a lot lately, but I think she is startin' to make jokes again." So I did a few small starters, an' I thought we could just pick at them an' you let me know which you like the best, then next time, I'll be better prepared." She stopped talking suddenly embarrassed, and started to put the food on the table.
She had hardly paused for breath, and Steve realised how worried she was about everything, and he wanted to just hold her and kiss her again. But he knew now wasn't the time, so he smiled and just placed his hand over hers. "Well, I can't see anything that doesn't look good to me. I think I'm gonna like it all." At last Steve got the chance to pull the chair out and let Jo sit at the table, and then sitting himself, he picked up his napkin and laid it in his lap.
Finally Jo put down her fork and looked at the table before her. There weren't any of the starters left, and she realised that her heart had stopped beating out of her chest. "Well, I guess that was a success, y'know I sure liked bein' able to have a little bit of lots of different things. I think I will do that again… That is if you would like me to." She finished shyly, realising that she was anticipating his moves, and knowing that he would probably dislike it.
"It was, and yes, you can do that again for me." He smiled at her and began to collect up the plates.
"Oh, no, you don't, cowboy! Tonight I'm the cook, remember?" She put her hand over his to stop him from picking up another dish.
"I won't step into your kitchen, I'm just helping out here. I'll load them onto the trolley, and then, ma'am, you're on your own!" He smiled, tonight was very important to her and he didn't want to tread on her toes.
"The main course will take me about ten minutes. I hope that's ok, but it's not somethin' you can cook beforehand." She looked over at him feeling her anxiety rise again; perhaps he wouldn't want to wait.
"Jo, stop worrying. I'm fine, honey, just relax. I'll still be sitting here when you come back, in fact with that trolley I'll have a few seconds warning when you're coming!" His light tone seemed to reassure her and she retired to her kitchen. Soon he could hear the sounds of a meal being prepared, and her light humming coming softly through the air. Much better voice than Rae – thank God! He pushed the irreverent thought from his mind, as he realised just how much he would give to hear his tone-deaf partner sing right now, then he leant back in his chair and enjoyed the sounds, and now the smells, coming from the other room. A short while later the clanking sound pulled him back to reality and he stood once again as she entered.
Jo smiled at him and put a plate in front of him with a steak, French fries and salad on it, and then she put the same size meal down for herself.
"Good grief, Jo, I won't have to eat again for a week, look at the size of this thing!" Steve looked at the large steak that covered most of his plate.
"Honey, where I come from that is a meal for a six year old!" Her eyes glinted mischievously and he knew that she was joking.
As they ate they talked about all sorts of things. Steve was careful to keep the conversation away from the case, and Jo, realising that he didn't want to talk about it, did the same. Soon both plates had been cleared.
"There you go, I told you that was a child's-sized meal. An' as you have been a good boy an' eaten all your dinner, you can have dessert, too."
"Jo, I can't eat another thing. Maybe we could save dessert for later?" He looked over at her hoping that she would be okay with his suggestion.
"Sure, let's go an' sit in the other room. I can load the dishwasher later." She stood up, took Steve by the hand and led him into the lounge.
Once again it was a neat and tidy, but lived-in room. The sofa was almost the same colour as Jo's dress, and the furniture was of the same time period as the buffet and table. "You know, I like your house, it's warm and welcoming, just like you."
"Oh, Steve, thank you. There are a lot of memories boxed up inside these four walls." They sat together on the sofa, and Jo rested her head on his chest. For a while they didn't say anything. Then slowly Jo straightened back up and looked up into his eyes.
She put her arms around the back of his neck and began to kiss him.
Steve had been caught completely off guard, and for an instant didn't respond as he felt her tongue in his mouth and her fingers running through his hair. Soon Jo moved back and began to loosen his tie and undo the buttons on his shirt. Steve was suddenly scared; his feelings were running away with him, he had to stop. He moved away from her. "Jo, no, honey, don't."
Jo backed off from him as if she had been struck.
"I have to go, I'm sorry, Jo." He got up off the sofa and without another word he walked away and left the house. He got into his car and without really thinking where he would go, started the engine and drove. Ten minutes later he was standing outside Rae's door. He had no recollection of getting there, but he knew that she and Jo were firm friends, and Rae knew that he was having dinner with Jo, because they had both told her. But it was more than that, even with all that had happened to her, she was still one of his closest friends, and he just had to talk to her.