Chapter Seven

Rudy stopped and looked at Jaime when they reached the door to the morgue. "Honey, why don't you wait out here? You don't need to see this." He realized, even before he said it, that she'd be coming in anyway. Rudy opened the first drawer and was shocked and alarmed to see a body (not Steve's) that was covered with ice crystals. He immediately opened a wall panel and flipped a switch, cursing softly to himself.

"Rudy?" Jaime asked. "What….is it?"

"Someone took the cooling system off its automatic setting, and set the manual control as far below freezing as it would go. It had to be Michael -"

"Is it cold enough to disable Steve's bionics?"

"I'm afraid so," Rudy answered regretfully. "We have to hurry!" He and Jaime began quickly pulling open drawers, one after the other. Some were empty, some held bodies and, when she got to one of the last drawers at the far end, Jaime gave the handle a frustrated, determined tug. Jaime's hazel eyes filled with tears as she saw Steve's blue ones staring up at her, blinking to let her know he was alive.

Very slowly, he began to sit up, his brain still spinning from the effects of the knockout spray. Jaime wrapped both of her arms around him, preparing to lift him off of the shelf, but both men stopped her.

"Your shoulder," they said, almost in unison.

"I don't care," she said, letting Rudy help her get Steve onto a gurney. "Are you alright?" she asked, still holding him close. "Did he….hurt you?"

"I'll be ok," Steve said through slightly chattering teeth. "Are you ok? Did he…?"

"No permanent damage," she assured him lightly.

"Did they get him?" Steve asked. He didn't realize their 'army' had just arrived.

"Jaime got him," Rudy answered. "Brought him down, roped and tied, all by herself. This lady saved all of us, single-handedly."

"Jaime…." Steve started to say, reaching a thawing arm up to caress her face. Then he saw the ugly purple bruise covering most of her left arm and the awful swelling of her right shoulder. "Oh, God - he did hurt you…"

"Steve, I'm ok," she reaffirmed, smiling at him.

Steve was not convinced. "Rudy -"

"I'll definitely be checking her out," Rudy said.

"You can check all you want," Jaime replied, "but this place gives me the creeps. Can we get outta here now?"

"You heard the lady," Steve said lightly. The trio headed upstairs on the elevator, into the warmth, light and hopeful promise of the sunshine.

- - - - - -

Three days later, as Oscar was being moved out of ICU into a private room, Steve and Jaime were both preparing to leave the hospital, to return to what they now considered their home.

"I know you'll both look out for each other," Rudy told them. "I have no worries about that, but….nothing….ah….strenuous, guys." Steve chuckled, and Jaime raised an eyebrow at each of them in turn.

"We'll behave," Steve promised, "but isn't exercise a good healer?"

"Steve!" Jaime swatted him playfully. She smiled innocently at Rudy. "We'll be good."

"I know you will," the doctor answered. "I'll just go and get your prescriptions, and you two are out of here."

Steve wrapped his arms tenderly around the woman who had saved his life - who was his life - and gazed into eyes he knew he'd never be separated from, ever again. "I've already got the best medicine in the world, right here."

END