Chapter 11

Mark glanced in the rearview mirror often as he drove, keeping a close eye on both of his patients. He'd kept lemons and peppermint oil close at hand in the control room (in case Steve needed them) and he had them now, as well. Jaime had endured yet another unimaginable trauma and Mark knew the probability of flashbacks (either to her original trauma with Kingsley or to what she had just suffered through with Michael) was very high. He was also observing her - as much as he could while driving - for signs of shock. He remained ready to step on the gas and rush to National if Jaime should take a turn for the worse but for the time being, Steve was her best possible medicine.

Steve held her close...and she clung to him. His face, his words - they'd been Jaime's lifeline while she'd been struggling to survive. Now she craved his touch and his gaze...like water after a long walk through the desert. No one (including Jaime) was sure what Michael might have done to alter her bionics, so every few minutes Steve gently instructed her to move her fingers and wriggle her toes, to keep whatever strength remained in her power packs flowing through her body. Jaime herself was very quiet, still stunned by what had happened (and what had almost happened) and still trying to shake off the effects of the drugs she'd been given.

''I'm so proud of you,'' Steve told her softly. ''You got a full confession - and we got all of it on tape.''

''I don't think that's a tape I ever wanna hear again,'' Jaime sighed.

Steve couldn't answer her; he knew it would be played at the Tribunal, most likely while she was on the stand, but for right now the only thing that mattered was that his wife was alive...and safely in his arms once again.

''I can...walk in...'' Jaime insisted, when Mark told her to wait, that he would get a wheelchair. She'd obviously lost some of her remaining strength during the drive and he didn't want to chance having her collapse in the parking lot.

Neither did Steve. ''Just stay right here and let us take care of you,'' he suggested gently (but firmly).

''At least...I'm not flat on my back...on a gurney...'' she said. Steve smiled reassuringly and then kissed her, savoring the last few moments of quiet 'alone' time that they'd probably have for at least the next few hours - if not longer.

Indeed, an entire 'welcoming committee' poured out of National: Oscar, Russ, Doctor Corinth, Mark (with the wheelchair) and...Rudy. He was on his feet and smiling broadly at his patient. While he hadn't technically been released yet (and wouldn't be for at least several more days) Jaime's situation involved her power packs, in more detail than he could instruct Doctor Corinth quickly enough. Jaime needed Rudy and he felt well enough to be there for her...so there was no one who tried to hold him back.

Rudy knew his patient so well that he could tell simply by the color of her skin and the way she sat in the wheelchair that her power packs had been seriously tampered with. ''Take her straight back to OR-1,'' he instructed. ''My team is assembled and waiting. Have them place her on Bionic Life Support and I'll be right there.'' He placed a warm, paternal hand on Jaime's shoulder before she was wheeled away. ''You'll be just fine, Honey,'' he assured her.

Doctor Corinth was also issuing orders as the posse surrounding Jaime moved down the hallway. ''Draw enough blood for a full tox screen, standard dose of IV coumadin and I need a new MRI when she's able.''

''You'll be assisting me?'' Rudy asked Doctor Corinth. He intended to teach his new protege everything he knew...in gradual doses, naturally. He didn't want Jaime to ever be without a doctor available to care for her again.

Oscar thought that by now he'd memorized even the smallest details of the tiny waiting room that was adjacent to the OR. As he sat there with Steve, Mark and Russ, all four men were reflecting on how much life could change in only 24 hours...and just how quickly everything could be taken away.

''She was nothing short of amazing up there, Pal,'' Oscar told Steve.

''After all of this,'' Steve replied, ''hopefully she'll be able to skip Resistance Training...?''

''I'd say she's already been through it - in spades,'' Oscar agreed. ''In spite of whatever Michael did to her, Jaime got everything we needed from him and even managed to engineer her own rescue. Just...amazing.''

''She's one extraordinary woman,'' Rudy exulted from the doorway, where he and Doctor Corinth were both smiling.

Steve was instantly on his feet. ''How is she? Can I see her?''

''She's going to be fine,'' Rudy told him. ''Rather than take any chances, we replaced all of her power packs. Just as I thought, they'd been tampered with - and not carefully. They were barely putting out enough energy to keep her alive.''

''We're still waiting for the report from Toxicology,'' Doctor Corinth added. ''Jaime might have a rough couple of days ahead, while whatever he gave her works its way out of her system but we'll be watching her very closely. Together, we'll all pull her through it and you'll have her home again before you know it. Your wife is one resilient young lady, Colonel.''

Steve beamed. ''I know.''

''I'll be running her MRI personally. I'm well aware of how she feels about that machine,'' Doctor Corinth said with a slight chuckle. ''She let us know in no uncertain terms!''

''That's my wife,'' Steve laughed. ''Then she's still awake?''

''I'll sedate her for the test; I know she'd prefer that. Actually, she informed me of that quite firmly too. But you can sit with her until then, if you'd like.''

Steve didn't have to hear the offer twice. He headed into the OR's anteroom, where Jaime was lying quietly on a padded table, waiting to get ready for the test - so he could sit with her, hold her hand...and keep her from giving the doctors any more grief!