Chapter Four - OSI Safe House-3pm
At Steve's insistence, Jaime relaxed in the easy chair with her feet up while he lit a fire, then disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a mug of coffee for himself and a cup of tea for Jaime.
"Thanks," she said, her eyes smiling into his. "But you don't have to wait on me, you know."
"Maybe I like waiting on you," he told her, holding the gaze just a beat too long before settling into the over-stuffed chair a few feet away from her. "Besides, all the excitement may have made it seem longer, but you've only been out of the hospital a little over 24 hours. And you were nothing short of amazing today."
"We were amazing," she corrected. "Neither one of us could've done this alone."
"You're right."
"But we were so in sync. Didn't even have to think about it; we were...a team. And it just felt liike we'd worked that way before. Did we?"
"Yes."
"A lot?"
"Just once, actually. After you got your bionics and right before you got sick." Steve was trying to choose his words carefully, afraid of causing her any kind of pain. "Didn't go nearly as well as today, though."
"Tell me - please?"
Steve told her all about Joseph Rona, the $20 plate stolen from the Denver Mint and how her bionics malfunctioned as they were retrieving the plate, causing them to have to literally run for their lives. Jaime listened silently, seemingly enthralled, absorbing every detail like a sponge.
She insisted on cooking dinner afterward. (Was she remembering he wasn't the greatest cook?) It had been a long day, so they retired to their bedrooms early for some much-needed rest.
The next morning, Steve got up to find Jaime's bedroom door open, coffee ready and waiting, but - no Jaime. He found her sitting on the front porch, looking out into the woods. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, not letting her see he'd been worried.
"Just thinking...it's so peaceful here." Steve sat down beside her and waited for Jaime to let him know where the conversation - and her thoughts - were going. He didn't have to wait long. "We knew each other before, didn't we?"
"Before what?" he asked, treading very lightly.
"Before the OSI, before we were bionic...just...before." Jaime looked at Steve and felt - something. An unspoken connection she couldn't quite place.
"Yes. We did." Steve wanted so badly to pull her close, kiss her and tell her everything, but he didn't dare. Jaime's hazel eyes delved deeply into Steve's blue ones as she searched her mind for something just beyond her reach. Steve's heart ached for her as her eyes filled with tears of frustration. He knew Rudy had said it was best to let her remember things on her own, spontaneously, but her tears melted his resolve. Finally, he reached over and took her in his arms for a gentle and (he hoped) comforting hug.
His touch gave Jaime an odd sense of deja vu, and she felt her body move, automatically, closer to his. "We knew each other for a long time..." she whispered.
"Yes." Steve brushed away her tears and smiled at her. "Almost ourwhole lives. You were five and I was eight when we met." He wished he knew what they'd already told her. Did she know about her parents, her childhood?
"So...we grew up together."
"Yup."
"Until my parents died, right? I must've moved away after that..."
"No, actually, you didn't. My parents took you in, became your guardians, so you could finish your senior year at the same school. I was out of the house by then, though." Steve stopped, not wanting to bombard her with too much at once. "What do Rudy and Michael say about all this?"
"Michael's gone. Rudy had him transferred to Siberia - or the outer reaches of Colorado, anyway."
"I'm sorry; I know you two were pretty close."
"Sort of, for awhile..." her voice drifted off. "You don't want to hear about this."
"Jaime, we're friends. At least, I hope we are. I'll help you any way I can. I'm a good listener, two waterproof shoulders; no waiting." Jaime smiled, a little. "So what happened?"
"It was ok, it was good, but something - I don't know what - kept me from letting go and getting completely involved. Maybe 'cause he was my doctor, but I think it was something else, too. Like...there's someone I left behind?"
"It'll come back to you, when the time is right."
"That's what they tell me; it's just so frustrating."
"Well, any time you need someone to talk to, I hope you know you can call me. I really do want to help."
Jaime leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek, and they sat quietly together for a long while, each absorbed in their own thoughts but happy to have someone next to them just the same.
That night, as the plane flew them back to Washington, they each had the same strong feeling: it was also carrying them onward, to their own new destinies.
END
