Chapter Four

In spite of Steve's best efforts to calm and reassure her, Jaime spent the morning pacing the living room like a caged animal. She was still frightened, afraid Chris might try to hurt Steve, but even more than that, Jaime was angry. She'd left Chris – he had no hold over her and no claim to her, so why was he trying to find her? What on Earth did he think he'd accomplish?

When noon came and went, Jaime grew increasingly restless. "What is he doing? Is this his revenge – making me wait and worry?"

"You're giving him too much power," Steve said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Jaime, if he was doing this to upset you, you're letting him win."

Jaime sank down into the old rocker in the corner, her head buried in her hands. "You're right." Damn – he knows me better than I know myself, she thought, too upset to look at him. Her ear picked up a sound she'd been hoping not to hear: Chris's car was turning down the driveway. "He's here," she announced, getting up.

"I'll get rid of him. He doesn't even need to know you're -"

"Thank you, but this has to end, and I'm gonna go end it. Now." Resolutely, before she could lose her nerve, Jaime went out onto the porch and stood, arms folded across her chest and her eyes flashing angrily, as Chris's car screeched to a stop. Steve stood out of sight behind the curtains, the window open and his every sense alert, in case she suddenly needed help or support. If Jaime were his, Steve would've insisted that she wait in the house, but...she wasn't, and he couldn't.

Jaime stormed down the steps and stood her ground directly in front of Chris. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I should be asking you that," Chris retorted. "I thought you said there wasn't anyone else."

"There wasn't – there isn't!"

"Yeah, that's why you're here, with him."

"That's not fair. Steve and I are friends; we've been friends since we were little kids. Besides, I didn't call him – Helen did. She knew I might need a friend to -"

"Isn't that special? Everyone rallies around poor Jaime," Chris said bitterly. "It must've been so tough on you, sticking the knife in my back, then twisting it in my heart."

Jaime stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know me at all, then, do you?" Silent tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Chris, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you -"

"You did a pretty good job -"

"I – I'm sorry, but you'd have been hurt a lot more if I'd stayed. We both would've been..."

"You weren't hurt at all; you turned tail and ran away."

Jaime's jaw dropped, and although she fiercely brushed her tears away, new ones immediately took their place. "You don't think I'm hurting over this?"

"Not if you had Steve's arms to fall into for comfort."

"I came out here to talk to you, to try and make things right, maybe reach an understanding, but I'm not gonna stand here and listen to baseless stupidity!" Jaime whirled on her heels to head back into the house, but Chris reached out and grabbed her left arm, wrenching her back in his direction.

"Uh-uh. You're not walking away until we're done."

"You're done now," Steve insisted, flying from the house as soon as he saw Chris put his hands on Jaime. "Let go of her, Williams. Jaime, go wait in the house, please."

"Steve -"

"Now – please."

"She's not yours to give orders to, Austin," Chris said through clenched teeth, as he took a menacing step toward Steve.

"She isn't yours, either." Steve matched the forward step with one of his own. The two men were now just feet apart. "She's not a possession that belongs to anyone! At least I'm looking out for Jaime's best interests."

"And I'm not?"

"The only person you're interested in right now is Chris Williams," Steve told him, trying to keep a rein on his own anger. "Jaime came outside to try and help you feel better about things, to talk everything out." He looked over at Jaime, who had moved halfway onto the porch and was staring at the ground, sobbing quietly. "You didn't come here to try and work things out or to talk to her, did you Chris?"

"Right," Williams sneered, "I drove all this way just for my health."

"No, you drove all this way so you could hurt her like you feel she hurt you. If you did want Jaime back, that was exactly the wrong way to do it."

Chris began to move toward Jaime, but Steve stepped into his path, directly and purposely blocking his way. "Jaime -" Chris began.

"Wrong," Steve corrected. "You finished talking to her the second you put your hands on her. You're talking to me now."

"Get out of the way, Steve," Chris seethed. "Jaime, let's go home now. We can talk all you want to, and we'll work this all out – I know we will." He extended a hand toward his former girlfriend, and Steve stepped in the way of that, too. "I said, get out of my way!"

Jaime looked up just in time to see Chris draw his fist back, and time seemed to freeze. He's not that stupid...is he? If he takes a swing at Steve...Jaime knew that one blow from a bionic fist would lay Chris out flat – or worse. Taking a swing at Steve would be suicidal on Chris's part, and yet...

Thwack! Deathly silence blanketed the air after the punch. Steve stood his ground, but before he could react and before Chris could swing again, Jaime was instantly between them. She turned to Chris with white-hot anger, grabbed the front of his shirt with her right hand and slapped him with all the strength contained in her left. She'd known instinctively that Steve had been about to do a lot more than slap Chris – that he'd risk anything to protect her. If she'd known that, she wondered very briefly why her instincts hadn't also told her what Chris would do, and then suddenly, Jaime knew the answer to all of her questions, realizing what her instincts had known all along.

Jaime gave Steve's hand a slight squeeze of solidarity, working her fingers into his fist until he opened his hand. She then moved to stand with her face inches away from Chris's. He may have thought she was about to apologize, or maybe kiss him, but he'd have been very wrong.

"Get out," Jaime told him. "Get in your car – now – and get the hell off this property, before you really have to regret it." She turned her back on her former lover without waiting to see if he'd comply; he really had no choice. Instead, she placed her hand in Steve's, and the two of them walked slowly into the house – together.

END