Chapter 2

Steve had to find some way to make Jaime want to change her mind. He knew there'd be no changing it 'for' her, no reasoning with The One With the Firmly-Set Jaw. Unless he could find someone else who could make her see reason, he thought! Steve called Oscar's LA office, reached Russ and requested that Oscar stop by, once he'd returned from his meeting with Jack Hansen. Then he dialed National Medical and put in a page for Mark Conrad.

Mark arrived in under 20 minutes, just as Jaime was finishing off the last of her breakfast. Steve caught him on the front porch, before he had a chance to ring the bell, and quietly explained the situation to him. Even if Jaime had known they were out there (which she didn't, as she was still marveling at Steve's new-found cooking ability), she wouldn't have been able to eavesdrop. The correct ear components had been implanted, but her hearing was only tuned to 'normal' levels to start. It would be turned up gradually to assess her body's (and more specifically, her brain's) reaction.

''Doc, this can't happen!'' Steve concluded. ''Not because I'm jealous - not anymore. I'm afraid he might try and mess with her mind, throw off her testimony or even make her too scared to go before the judge at all!''

Mark nodded. ''Alright; I've heard you out. Now I'll hear Jaime's outlook on the issue. You know I won't give an opinion - but maybe I can help guide you both to a solution.''

''That's all I ask,'' Steve agreed, sure that 'his' solution - keeping Jaime far away from Michael - was the only real answer.

''Hi, Mark!'' Jaime called cheerfully from the kitchen, as soon as she saw him come in the door. ''Steve cooked breakfast!''

''Where are the fire trucks?'' Mark asked lightly.

''Not you too, Doc?'' Steve cried, pretending mortal injury and falling onto the sofa. He got right back up and headed into the kitchen, taking the plate that she was washing from Jaime's hand. ''This can wait, Sweetheart. Who knows; someone may even offer to do this for you, if you play your cards right. But Mark wants to talk to you about...well...about the idea you had.''

''You called him?''

''C'mon - let's just see what he has to say,'' Steve suggested. The two of them sat down on the sofa with an arm around each other...but Jaime was clearly unhappy.

''Steve shouldn't have called you,'' she told Mark softly. ''I'm always happy to see you...but this isn't something I need analyzed or even talked over. The only person I really need to see about this...is Oscar.''

''He'll be here within the hour,'' Steve told her.

Jaime turned to him with surprise then looked back toward the doctor. ''See what I put up with?''

''He cares,'' Mark told her. ''That's an awful thing to put up with, isn't it? So why don't you tell me why you feel you need to see Michael?''

''For closure- like when I went to see Chris. Steve didn't like that either, but it ended that chapter for me. I could close the book and put it away.''

''This is different, Jaime,'' Steve argued (but in a soft, quiet voice). ''Chris was subdued, already charged, pleaded guilty and ready to be put away. Marchetti is dangerous- in more ways than one.''

''Oscar could have him shackled to the bench, so you know he wouldn't put his hands on me,'' Jaime pointed out. She presented a decent case for herself, telling Mark (and Steve) that she not only needed closure, she needed answers. And she thought that maybe she could get things out of him that the more strong-arm tactics of the NSB (and, unfortunately, her own husband) could not. That was when the doorbell rang.

''Once Hansen and I start arguing, the meeting's over,'' Oscar explained as to why he'd come earlier than expected. ''You're far more pleasant to have coffee with anyhow.''

''I'll get you a cup,'' Steve offered.

Jaime went through her explanation again, this time for her boss - the one who would make the final decision. Oscar listened thoughtfully, silently (much the way Mark had). Then he nodded. ''She makes a good case, Pal. In fact, with Marchetti lawyering up, she may be the only person he'll agree to see without his attorney present.''

''He could taint her testimony!'' Steve argued (not quite as quietly this time).

''I'll check with Doctor Corinth and Rudy, to see if we can safely attach another listening device. If you could be in the office upstairs, listening on headphones or a speaker, would that help?'' Oscar asked Steve.

''What would 'help' is you saying Jaime, you're not going anywhere near him...but it sounds like you've made a decision,'' Steve noted.

''Why don't you come back to National with me now,'' Oscar told Jaime. ''We'll check with your doctors and if they say it's alright, we'll have Doctor Corinth go ahead and take care of it. While that's happening, I'll call Frank Morrisey to come and meet with you, to go over what you can and cannot say to Michael now - and what we may need you to try and find out.'' (Whether Steve liked it or not, they would likely have to tell her about the new, pending charges regarding Rudy's condition.) ''Steve, if you don't feel you can be on the other end of the device, Russ or I can take your place. Or we can put her on speaker and have Mark there too. That part, I'll leave up to you.''

''Nice to know I still get to decide something,'' Steve grumbled.