Chapter Five

More than three months had passed since Steve had left the United States. Oscar had refused to accept Jaime's resignation. She had earned a higher security clearance, and Oscar arranged for her to work (only occasionally, when truly needed) as an independent American operative, reporting directly to the Secretary of State.

They had continued to maintain separate households, for the sake of appearances, but when not working both could almost invariably be found under the same roof. Callahan knew about their relationship, as did Rudy, but aside from that, they had yet to tell anyone. Jaime and Oscar both wanted it to appear that they had starting seeing each other after he'd ceased to be her boss.

On this morning, they'd gotten up early to share the sunrise from the hills behind Jaime's apartment. Oscar had arranged to take an entire day off - a very rare occasion - and they planned to luxuriate in all the extra time together.

"So, whatcha think," Jaime said dreamily, "are you ready for our public debut? Something subtle...skyrockets, banners, maybe a parade."

Oscar smiled. "Babe, I've been ready since the first time I kissed you. My only concern is the danger that would automatically be hanging over your head."

"And I haven't been in danger simple by virtue of the millions of dollars in hardware and software I happen to be attached to?" She said this lightly but was not joking.

Oscar shrugged. "You've got me there."

"I know. C'mon - let's get some more coffee. The skyrockets are probably negotiable."

Oscar 'helped' with the coffee bywrapping Jaimein his arms and kissing the back of her neck and the sensitive soft spot just behind her jaw.

"Maybe we should think about moving you into my place. We're already together every night," he pointed out. "Less travel time, more time for this:" he spun her around and kissed her hard. She'd begun to respond by melting into him when the phone rang.

"They'll call back," Jaime insisted, savoring the moment too much to break away. It kept ringing. "Damn - it's 7:00 in the morning!"

"Could be the Secretary," Oscar pointed out, reluctantly releasing her.

"Or a sales call." She made a face. "You wanna have just one household? Our phone is ringing."

Oscar smiled and picked up the receiver. "Good morning."

"Oh." The voice on the other end sounded shocked. "Oscar? Did I dial -" Steve was confused, briefly, before it sank in. "Oh."

"How are ya, Pal?" Oscar gave Jaime a look that said 'You made me do it.' "Here's Jaime."

Jaime took the phone without a hint of embarassment. "Hi, Steve. How's Thailand?"

Steve was amazed. (So was Oscar.) She had changed so much in three months. Jaime's confidence had returned and - finally - she sounded happy. "Thailand's been great. Actually, I called to tell you I finished way ahead of schedule, and I'll be home in a couple of days."

"That's wonderful," she exclaimed, meaning it. Steve gave her the details, and she agreed to pass the information on to Oscar.

As he hung up the phone, Steve turned to the woman standing beside him. "Everything ok?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Steve said, pulling her close. "Everything - and everyone - is finally ok."

END