Epilogue

Steve got out the board and began setting up the bank right after lunch, but Jaime shook her head slowly, with a sad, haunted look in her eyes. "I don't really feel like playing right now..." she said in a quiet voice.

"Rather go for a walk?" Steve suggested. "I'll get your chair -"

"No, thanks."

"Fresh air might make you feel a lot better."

"Steve, what's wrong with my hand?" Jaime held both of her hands out in front of her body and was staring at them intently.

"They both look fine to me," he countered, still not sure if she was really asking the question.

"This one doesn't feel right," she puzzled, making a fist with her right hand. Jaime picked up the cup from her bedside table and held it with her left hand, then transferred it to her right. "I can't explain it – maybe I have nerve damage, from the accident...?"

Steve closed the door before joining Jaime, sitting directly next to her on the bed. He wrapped one arm around her, pulling her close, and gently took both of her hands in his. "There's nothing wrong with your hand," he began, "but there is something you should know..."

Rudy discovered the closed door about an hour later and, since he had faith that Steve had things well in hand, he left the two of them to talk in private; Steve wouldn't hesitate to call if he (or Jaime) needed help.

Initially, Jaime was shocked and horrified by the new revelations. Steve could see panic in the teardrops that formed in her eyes. Tenderly, with both hands, he reached up and touched her face, his fingertips caressing away her tears. "There's one other thing you need to know," he told her softly. "Three years before we went skydiving, I had an accident, too – a really bad one." He looked deeply into Jaime's eyes. "One of my hands is bionic, like yours."

"I can't...feel...the difference..." she whispered.

Steve smiled. "Exactly."

"Oh. And...I'll be able to walk like a normal person?"

"You are a normal person, Sweetheart. And yes, you'll be walking – and running – before you know it. We can start today, right now, if you want."

"A little later," Jaime told him, reaching for the Monopoly box. "I suddenly feel the urge to kick your butt."

Steve laughed and kissed her cheek. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Jaime's eyes kept drifting to meet Steve's as they played, while she slowly absorbed everything he had just told her. It was frightening, yes, but she knew for a fact that with Steve beside her, she'd be just fine. Jaime suddenly felt the depth of their love - the fact that it had survived through life-threatening catastrophes, separations, murderous foreign factions and even threats from within their own government – and she felt warmed and protected by its glowing strength.

When she landed on St Charles Place (with hotel) and handed over the last of her money to Steve, he looked at her suspiciously. "Did you let me win...?" he asked, grinning.

Jaime shrugged, her eyes wide with innocence as she curled into him for one more kiss. "Who cares about a game?" she said, smiling with her whole heart. "I've already won."

END