Chapter Six

After a little birdie whispered in Oscar's ear about how little time Jaime and Steve actually got to spend together (and because of all they'd accomplished), Oscar decided they deserved to fly back to the States in style. Rather than a transport plane, he'd sent his private jet – after ensuring the champagne stocked therein was properly chilled, of course.

"You made a beautiful...ah...Lady of the Night," Steve said as the plane took off – earning him a playful slug from Jaime. "Seriously, though, how did you know to do that?"

"I got the address where you were from my buddy the bartender," Jaime explained, "and I overhead someone tell you to go back to the hotel, find 'that woman' and...."

"And take her up to a room?"

"Yeah. So... I guessed."

"And you guessed very well," Steve told her, handing Jaime a glass of champagne.

"If I'd been wrong – about what they meant or about which hotel – it still would've made a great cover." She looked at him quizzically. "What were you gonna do if I wasn't there?"

"I....hadn't figured that out yet. Wing it, I guess. I can't tell you how happy I was to see you."

Jaime smiled at him, nearly swooning at the love she could see radiating from Steve's eyes. Once again, there seemed to be an elephant in the room – a topic too huge to ignore – and this time, Jaime promised herself they wouldn't simply dance around it. "I'm always happiest when I see you," she told him, never letting go of his gaze. "And I've been looking at that scrapbook, trying so hard -"

"Don't do that," Steve said softly. "You're pushing yourself too hard, toward something that might be impossible to achieve. Rudy says those memories may never come back....but that doesn't stop us from making new ones."

"Here's to new memories," Jaime agreed, clinking his glass with hers before growing quiet and wistful.

Steve gave her a few moments with her thoughts before gently interrupting. "Sweetheart...? Talk to me?"

Jaime sighed. "We have so much....history, Steve! And it's right there, just outta my reach! There's all of these things that I don't know, that I wonder about, and -"

"Ask away."

"I don't wanna hurt you..."

Steve smiled. "I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it."

Jaime took a deep breath, blushed just a little...and dove in. "I know we were close – really close – but were we....did we ever...sleep together?" From the intensity of the longing she felt every time she looked at Steve, Jaime guessed that they probably had. Still, it would be nice to know.

Steve grinned. "Well....there wasn't much actual sleep involved....but yes, we did."

Jaime nodded, letting it sink in. "Um....how was it?"

"You really need to ask?" he joked.

"I'd sure like to find out....someday," Jaime chuckled. She couldn't believe she'd actually said it, but there it was – and she was glad.

"I'm pretty sure we can make that happen," Steve said lightly, "when we're ready."

Jaime tilted her head up to kiss him. Their eyes stayed open, delving deep inside each other's very souls as the kiss slowly grew deeper, leaving them breathless. They knew without needing to say it that they were ready....if they were ever given half an opportunity...

- - -

By the time their plane landed in Washington, there was no longer an elephant in the room – and Steve and Jaime had stopped dancing around the truth of what was really between them. They had one more stop to make before checking in with Oscar. What the OSI didn't know...wouldn't hurt anyone.

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