Can't Deny the Heart

Summary:Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

Rating: PG-13

Notes: This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play. There will be several differences from this and the canon, but the main one is Steve does NOT hear Kayla and Chris talking about Andrew's kidnapping so therefore he doesn't become focuses on that.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

After Steve's remark, Kayla's eyes grew wide at his gall. "You're incredible, you don't have a clue do you? You know there are people at the emergency center who need me. My brother is having problems. My sister's baby has been kidnapped, I don't need to waste my time on people who don't care."

Steve's bruises actually shook when Kayla slammed the door. Now that she was gone, his sleazy grin disappeared while his body sagged. Her parting words to him were more affective than she probably realized. He shook his head trying to clear it, to clear away the guilt he felt for treating her like that. Why did he do it? Acting like a jerk was second-nature to him, but usually he knew how to bury that desire when the situation called for it. Especially when someone was actually being nice to him. But being around Kayla, it was like he had no real control of his actions.

Steve sighed feeling incredibly tired. Treating Kayla like this now was really a rotten thing to do. She stayed with him all night, and took care of him. The way she was able to handle ALL his injuries, including the patch, made him shudder. Kayla was really not like any woman he had ever met. And that difference made it all the more harder to try to be himself with her. Coming in contact with her had the oddest effect on him. Steve was not a man to use fancy words, but Kayla really was intoxicating. There really was no better way to describe it.

Steve walked over to the mirror to get a good look at himself. His injuries didn't hurt as bad as he played to Kayla, but they still hurt like hell. Looking at himself and seeing the newly formed bruises practically glow in his dimly lit rathole he called an apartment, he gritted his teeth. He used to think he was ugly before, that damned patch practically covering his whole face, but now he knew what a real monster looked like, because there was one in the mirror's reflection.

Steve looked down and saw his harmonica in it's normal resting place. He picked it up and started to play a sad song to match his mood, but Kayla's face from a few days ago came to his mind. He had asked her to close her eyes so he could play for her but she wouldn't do it. She stared back at him with such intensity that it actually stopped him playing. That memory kept him from playing now.

Steve laid down again and contemplated what he could do. Kayla made a declaration for him to think about someone else for once. He snorted at how funny it was that since he met her, he thought about her all the time. But that wasn't what she meant and he knew it. Her family was going through a lot right now. Marlena was in a coma, Bo ditched them to hang out with his newly discovered richer father and did she say her nephew was now missing? Steve shook his head. From what little he knew of Kayla, she probably took all their problems to heart and was trying to help each one of them. Surely there was something nice he could do for her. Let her know, that he was capable of thinking of someone else and give her a little joy.

Not sure what he had in mind, Steve got up and put on his blue jean vest. He walked up the steps, trying to remember to take it slow. He wasn't sure how much energy he had, especially since he wasn't even sure what the hell he was going to do, but he knew just the place to start.