Disclaimer: Any dialogue or characters you recognise were created by the superbly talented Martha Williamson.

It's my privilege to write about SSD, not my right!

This is my version of what happened when Steve comes back and takes Shane to Montaldo's. Shane says to Oliver during their disaster date: "by then I had already met you... guys." Her pregnant pause indicates that back then she was already looking at Oliver a little differently. So, this is what follows according to my imagination. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Again, my sincere thanks go to my dear friend Rhonda Leighton Wronski for her beautiful support and input.

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New Stomping Ground

Steve – Part I

It had been an emotional but successful day as she watched Samilla reunite with Buzz at her college graduation. The soldier who had rescued her as a child from a life of danger, misery and hopelessness was now being rescued from his own life of misplaced guilt and regrets by her. Samilla's love for Buzz was clear and evident through every fibre of her being.

Shane went home feeling replete and full of joy. She had enjoyed spending most of the day outside of the office with her other postal workers, but most especially she truly enjoyed her time spent with Oliver. She was actually enjoying this job more than she had anticipated. Sometimes she still felt that they were an odd bunch of people. Other times she thought they were just plain crazy. However, they had found their way into her heart! They might be a bit… ummm… unusual, but they were definitely a most loveable bunch and there was no denying how committed they were to their jobs. Her thoughts again shifted to Oliver in particular! His commitment was second to none and his postal instincts were incredible. That being said, despite the fact that he was impeccable at his job Shane often found she had to resort to blatant manipulation to get her way. The interesting thing was he often started off by saying no to her, but eventually he changed his mind about whatever it was and went along with her idea; well... often after a little extra "encouragement" from her. Shane felt as if she was getting closer to him every day and they were starting to understand each other much better.

She had been in Denver just a little over a month. She never thought this city would feel like home so quickly. Her colleagues were certainly becoming real friends, especially Oliver. There was something about him that made her feel sometimes a bit odd inside and she was baffled by her feelings… She was acutely aware he was taken and totally out of her reach but that didn't seem to stop either of them from seeking each other's support and solace at work. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, they were growing a little closer every day.

It had been a great week! It was Friday night and she was looking forward to the weekend; contemplating some ideas for activities as she sat at her kitchen bench eating Chinese takeout. Her phone dinged. She looked at the screen and saw with surprise the name of the caller: Steve! She answered it and put it on speaker. "Hello."

"Hello beautiful, how are you?" Steve's cheerful voice filled the room. Her heart did a little flip which took her by surprise. She hadn't seen him for over three months. Where was he calling from, she wondered?

"Hi Steve, I'm very well. How about you?" She tried to sound nonchalant but her heart was starting to accelerate.

"I'm good…" He paused. He made it stretch longer than necessary and then asked. "Are you home tonight?" Shane wondered if he knew where her home was nowadays.

"Yes." She said. No sooner had "yes" come out of her mouth, the front door bell rang. She looked at the door and said under her breath "surely not!" Still holding her chopsticks she walked to the front door and opened it. There he was, gorgeous as always holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Honey, I'm home." He said with a bright smile that had always made her weak in the knees. He put his phone in his pocket and with one big step he was inside the house. He grabbed her by the waist and then sweeping her off her feet, he twirled her around as if she was no heavier than a rag doll. She had no time to react before she realised everything was spinning around her. She laughed as he put her down and smacked a kiss on her lips with a big mwah noise.

"Steve! What on earth are you doing here?" She said breathlessly with the sudden excitement of being in his arms again.

"I came home a week ago and you were not there." Shane looked at him suspiciously, "How did you find me?" Amused, he looked at her and said: "Honey, I do this for a living. You didn't think you were gonna be hard to find, did you?"

Shane said haltingly, "No, that's not what I meant… and I wasn't hiding from you. I just moved." She then shut the door which had been left open, realizing all her neighbours could have seen this exchange… this sweeping her off her feet. She was suddenly annoyed and he noticed it.

"Becky!" He said as he watched her walk back to the kitchen counter, grab the takeout box, fold it in her hand with the leftovers still inside, open the trash container and throw it in with more force than necessary.

"I missed you." He said a little more contritely.

"Did you?" She glared at him, "When did you notice my absence?" Steve looked at her, "Shane, you know the drill. You know very well I can't make contact with you when I'm on a mission."

Shane put her hands on her hips and said, "Yes, Steve, I know the drill." She inhaled deeply trying to control her anger before finishing the sentence. "But did you know, or did you even consider that maybe by now, I'm sick of the drill?"

"Shane…" He lifted his hands in surrender and walked towards her. He approached her with the intention of hugging her, but she stepped away from him walking around to the other side of the kitchen island. She knew very well the way he operated. If she allowed him the chance to get close to her, she would very soon stop thinking clearly and give into his charms. She needed physical space.

Steve used his best placating tone, "How about we sit down and talk this through." He looked around, admiring her neatly arranged open living area and said. "This looks nice."

"Thanks." She said dryly. He walked to the couch, sat down and patted the space next to him. Instead she pulled in a bar stool from under the kitchen bench where she had been enjoying her dinner before she was rudely interrupted. She sat down looking at him directly and folded her arms.

"What do you want to talk about?" She said diving straight into the topic at hand.

"First of all, how are you?" He asked, trying to defuse a potentially volatile situation.

"I'm very well as you can see." She said, spreading her arms as if to point out her neatly arranged life before them."

"Yes, as I said, this looks very nice. How long have you been here?" Steve asked trying to get more details from her.

"About a month." She replied curtly. He realised this was going to take a little more effort from him than usual. "Are you enjoying Denver?"

"Yes, I'm loving it actually." she said without the least hesitation. He was surprised! There was something in her tone that sounded slightly off, somehow different. He knew angry Shane very well. This wasn't it. What and who he was seeing in front of him right now was nothing like he'd seen before. There was something else here that he couldn't quite put his finger on. His curiosity was piqued. "Have you made friends here?"

"Yes, I have." He was starting to get frustrated with her short answers.

"Shane, c'mon, give me something to work with here." he said, raking his fingers through his hair.

"Why are you here Steve?" He smiled inwardly noting she had taken the bait. "To see you, what other reason might I have?"

"To see me? Nothing else?"

"Ok, ok, to take you back to DC with me." Shane was shocked. "Why?" Steve eyed her directly, "So you don't have to be alone." Shane was now completely incredulous! "What? Are you kidding me? I'm less alone in Denver than I ever was in DC. I have more than one friend here. People who actually care about me. And by the way, the one friend I had in DC wasn't you."

He raised an eyebrow in question. "So you have made lifelong friends within only a month? Impressive!"

Shane gave him a dark look and asked, "What hotel are you staying at tonight and what time is your flight back to DC tomorrow?" He seemed untouched by her loaded question and answered casually: "I'm not going home tomorrow. In fact, I'm staying in Denver for a few days. I'm at the Brown Palace Hotel."

By now, Shane was fighting hard for control. She took a deep breath and asked. "A few days? Why on earth would you want to remain here for a few days?" Steve was starting to enjoy the conversation, as he could tell Shane was the one frustrated now. "I have a few days' leave and I don't know Denver. I'd like to know it better and I figured I'd have you to show me around." Shane was getting to the point that frustration could no longer describe what she was feeling. "Steve, I already have my weekend planned. My life no longer revolves around your schedule. My life is in Denver now and frankly I don't wish to show you around. If you want to sightsee, you're gonna to have to do it without me."

"Ouch! Harsh! What's eating you, Shane?"

"What's eating me? You have the temerity to show up unannounced at my house after months of absence without a word. You arrive out of the blue and you expect me to drop whatever I'm doing to spend time with you? No, I don't think so." Steve was starting to feel beaten and he didn't like it. "That's what you signed up for, Shane."

"Excuse me?" Shane said incredulously. "Steve, I don't know what you've been telling yourself, but we're not married. I didn't sign up for anything, at least not with you."

"What about the three years of our lives we've spent together? Are you throwing that all away?"

"Three calendar years, yes, but only about a year together, in reality… if that. At the most… actually!"

"Potatoes potatos, Shane! I was committed to you, albeit often absent, but you've always been my girl."

"Well, not anymore! You and I have different opinions about what a committed relationship looks like. And by the way, it's getting late, it's time for you to leave." Steve was not ready to give up yet. "Ok, I will go for now, but I have reservations for dinner tomorrow night at Montaldo's. Apparently it's the best restaurant in town. Will you accompany me, please?"

"Do I have to?" Shane glared at him. Steve smiled sweetly, again turning on the charm. "No, but for old times' sake, I'd like you to."

"Ok, I will see you there at 7 then." Shane said quickly.

"No, I'll pick you up at 7." Steve retorted.

Shane shook her head, "No, I know where it is, I'll meet you there." Steve was not about to lose this one. He got up, walked to her quickly, turned her around on the bar stool towards him, separated her legs and stepped in between them. Grabbing her face, he kissed her deeply. It was the second time he had ambushed her in less than half an hour. She tried at first to get out of the kiss, but he was holding the back of her head and in a few seconds she started to forget why she needed distance between them. The kiss got more and more passionate until she pushed on his chest and whispered looking away, "goodnight Steve."

He whispered in her ear intimately, "are you sure you want me to go?" She looked at him and closed her eyes. She knew that in order to get him out of here and out of her life she needed to focus. Not getting lost in his beautiful blue eyes right now would be a very good start.

"Yes! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, I'll pick you up at 7pm. Goodnight Shane."

And with that he walked out of the door.