Chapter Six
"Are these the same pictures as the other day?" Jaime asked.
Steve smiled. He did an awful lot of that when he was with Jaime, but he just couldn't help it. "Some are re-runs, with a few new ones thrown in, just for fun."
Jaime raised an eyebrow at him. "So - show me." She looked at the first picture. "Those are my parents."
"What were their names?"
"James and Ann."
"Good," Steve told her. Allison sat across from them, taking notes and remaining silent. Steve held up the next one: Jaime's childhood home.
"That's where I used to live. And...that tree...we built a treehouse up there."
"That's right." Steve glanced at the doctor. He was amazed; 48 hours earlier, this had all been blank. He showed Jaime the next photo and prepared to duck.
"Steve! That's a horrible picture!" She was laughing.
"Do you remember why you looked like that?"
"Umm...didn't you put a lizard down my shirt?"
"Actually, it was a snake," he told her. From the other bench, Allison couldn't supress a giggle.
"Close enough. You can put that one away now." Jaime looked at the next photo. "Jim and Helen Elgin."
"Who are they?"
"Your parents; my second parents," Jaime answered.
"Very good. Are you getting tired?" Steve asked.
"Uh-uh. More - this is fun!" She looked at the next one. "That's my horse." She saw the one that followed and made a face at Steve. "You're not very nice."
"So, who is it?"
Jaime stuck out her tongue. "Duh. It's me."
"And?"
"And the face is because of the bird poop on my head, Smarty!" She looked at the next one. "Oscar."
"Where do you know him from?"
"I'm...not sure."
"That's ok," he said reassuringly. "Here's the last one." It was the picture of Steve and the plane. A tiny pearl of a tear formed in each of Jaime's eyes, but she didn't cry and continued to look at it. "That's you - and an airplane. That's the plane, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Steve answered, watching her every bit as closely as Allison was.
"Jaime," Allison began in a gentle voice, "how do you feel when you look at that?"
"Kinda shaky. But ok. You look really good in that uniform," she told Steve.
"Thanks. Ready for lunch?"
"Yup. And if there's any justice in the world, there'll be a bird flying right over your head!"
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Jaime spread the blanket out by the stream and Steve set the basket on the ground. As they sat down together, Steve couldn't help noticing that her hair had the same golden shimmer as the sun and her skin had a healthy glow that had been missing two days earlier.
"You look happy," he noted.
"I am. It's a beautiful day and I'm here with you; you haven't given up on me."
"I could never give up on you."
"And I had some very interesting dreams last night."
"Oh?"
Jaime blushed. "They were about you."
"Care to share 'em?"
"Well, they started like this." Jaime moved closer to Steve and gave him a soft, tentative kiss. Her eyes grew wide. She could feel the spark now, too.
Steve read the change in her instantly, took her gently into his arms and held her close. He let her lead the way, and her next kiss was longer, firmer and filled with a hunger for everything she'd been missing. Many minutes later, when they finally took a breath, Steve reluctantly told her "You know, if you don't eat your lunch, Rudy's gonna kill me."
Jaime sighed a mock sigh. "Alright, but I feel like rebelling; let's eat the cake first." She fished the knife out of the basket and began to cut up their dessert. A bird flew over their heads and she looked up, hoping it would even the score and give her revenge for Steve showing that picture. As her head tilted upward, her hand slipped and the knife made a small cut in her right index finger, just enough to let her see the wires and circuits within.
Jaime screamed and her face turned ghost-white. "What the hell...?" She got up and took off running in a blind panic. It didn't take long for Steve to catch up to her, but she didn't want him to look at her now.
Steve grabbed her and held tightly, not letting her go even though she was fighting him. Once her tears had stopped, she looked up at him in total bewilderment. "Steve...? I'm...a robot."
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