Chapter Two

Doctor Michael Marchetti saw Jaime, sitting alone outside the Cardiac Care Unit and looking totally bereft, as soon as he stepped off the elevator. She hadn't aged in almost 20 years - none of his patients had - but as Oscar was now proving, when the youth serum treatments were halted, the results were swift and potentially devastating. His heart was breaking for her as he sat down beside her, gently taking her hand.

"Jaime? Is there anyone I can call for you?"

"Stephanie's coming..." she replied in a far-off voice. "Michael, how could this happen? I mean, the serum worked so well, for so long. How could it just suddenly...not help anymore?"

Michael tried to put it delicately. "We all knew this was coming, Honey. The serum can work indefinitely, but once he stopped taking it, we knew it was only a matter of time until -"

"He stopped? When...why?"

Michael groaned inwardly. He couldn't believe Oscar would make this decision without first talking it over with his wife, or at the very least, letting her know. "Jaime, I am so sorry. I assumed he'd told you."

Jaime shook her head as her body trembled with silent sobs. "Oscar...he wanted this? He chose to leave me like this?"

"No, Honey - he absolutely hated the thought of leaving you."

"Then why? Why would he do this?"

"He told me that he felt it was time, that 86 was plenty old, and he was ready -"

"Well, I'm not!" Jaime sobbed, huge tears falling hard and fast. "I'm not ready, Michael. Can you stop it - give him the serum again and bring him back? Make him well?"

"I can't reverse any damage that may have already occured. What have the doctors told you so far?"

"Nothing. I...I don't know what's happening in there. More and more people keep going in, doctors and nurses, and no one comes back out. What are they doing to him?"

"I'll go and find out, ok?" Michael patted her hand as he stood up. "Be right back."

"Michael? Please...tell them I need to see him. I - I need to...to say...goodbye."

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The elevator bell rang and Jaime looked up, expecting to see her daughter. "Steve? What are you -"

"Steph called me. She and James are on their way, but they knew my hotel's nearby, and they didn't think you should be alone."

"Thank you."

"One of my best friends is in there," Steve said as he sat next to her, "and the other one is in desperate need of a hug." He held out his arms and Jaime leaned gratefully into them, crying on his shoulder harder than she'd ever cried in her life.

"Steve, I love him so much. I can't even imagine life without him."

"How bad is it?" he asked quietly.

"I haven't talked to the doctors yet. Michael just went in to find out for me. It was so awful! He just - collapsed." Jaime took a huge gulp of air between sobs. "I thought he was dead."

"Must've been really scary."

Michael emerged from the CCU. Steve saw the grim look on his face and his heart sank. He sat back in his chair and held Jaime's hand tightly, trying to help brace his friend for what looked like bad news.

"...Michael?..." Jaime whispered, not wanting to hear it but needing to know.

Michael was glad Steve was there for support; Jaime was going to need it. He pulled another chair over and sat across from the two of them.

"Honey, the damage to Oscar's heart is extensive. Without the serum, we'd likely have lost him more than a decade ago. There isn't anything more we can do now, except make him as comfortable as possible and -"

"There's no hope?" Jaime asked softly.

"I'm sorry, Jaime."

"Is he conscious?"

"He's been drifting in and out; mostly out. He's not in any pain - we made sure of that. If you'd like to see him, you need to go in now. I'm afraid he doesn't have long."

Jaime rose to her feet and swayed ominously, nearly going down. The two men caught her and held her steady until she was able to stand, then walked her to the door of the CCU. The doctors and nurses had begun to file out. Jaime didn't see any of them, nor did she see the tubes and wires or the machines that surrounded the bed. She saw only her husband of 35 years and she sat on the edge of his bed to tenderly caress his face, memorizing every detail one last time. His handsome features weren't marred by pain or fear, and Jaime was thankful for that.

"Hi, Babe..." he murmured, barely audible.

"Oscar -" She was trying hard not to cry.

"I should've told you, but...it's time, Jaime."

"No-o-o."

"We never should've...tampered with nature...tried to change fate. Jaime...Steve still...loves you." He rested a moment, as he was rapidly losing strength. "He told me...when I asked him. Let him...help you, Please? He's...he's a good friend..." Oscar's voice was growing dimmer. "We had a lot of...of good years together, Jaime...I'm so grateful...and I love you...I'll always...love...you."

"I love you, too, Oscar," Jaime told him through her tears. "Please...don't leave me." Instinctively, she scooped him into her arms, letting the tubes and wires fall where they chose; he didn't need them anymore. "I love you so much," she repeated, holding him close. She felt his body shudder as he took his last breath, gazing into his beloved wife's eyes.

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