Malibu, California 2007

Peachy knew. Andrew knew. Jeannie knew. For several years, they were the only ones with ties to their lives in Salem that Shane and Kim could trust to keep the secret. If it had put the lives of their children in greater danger, neither would have divulged the secret. But as things stood, Andrew and Jeannie were sheltered in the safe house, and Peachy's ISA training protected her and assisted the Donovans in having some semblance of a normal family life.

For all everyone else knew, Kim and the children lived in California with her "husband" Phillip, a movie mogul. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Phillip was Shane's partner, an ISA operative. Shane and Kimberly and the children owed their life together in immense part to Phillip and Peachy. Kimberly even mused that Phillip had succeeded greatly in restoring her faith in ISA operatives, considering the shenanigans of both Gillian and Gabrielle and the upheaval and torment brought about by the Jericho case.

Phillip, assigned to protect the Donovan family and monitor the goings-on associated with Stefano DiMera, spent three years living as Kim's husband and helping the Donovans establish the façade that served to keep the lie alive. Living in the Malibu mansion with four wings and an underground living area, it was easy for Phillip and the Donovans to have separate lives. When he and Kim had "divorced," Phillip had been reassigned. Shane and Kimberly felt forever indebted to him for giving them the chance at a life together.

Keeping the secret from Kayla had proven more difficult, but Shane and Kimberly had had much practice in clandestine romance. Once Kimberly had "divorced" Phillip, Kim and Shane together filled Kay in on what had transpired five years earlier. To say Kayla was bamboozled was an understatement, but Shane and Kim's explanations and the underground living quarters finally helped her see the truth. She felt violated—and relieved. After her affair with who she assumed was Shane ended, she felt enormous guilt. There was a sense of relief that she, too, had been duped, and Shane suspected she had been drugged as well.

Daunting to Shane, Kimberly, and now Kayla was the extent of the ruse the Donovans were forced to maintain to lead a life together. While Kimberly gushed about the guilt she felt in keeping Kayla in the dark for the three years she had known, Kayla insisted she understood. If she could have had any life with Steve, under any circumstances, she would have moved mountains.

Sadly the ruse isolated them from the family they loved in Salem, yet it protected them from the fatal danger precipitated by one who shared their last name—Shane's twin Drew, whose lucky death had made the family's secret life possible.

Salem—January 1990

Despite the expectations of some, Shane adjusted to his life quite easily. Yes, he had been presumed dead and suffered from amnesia, but those unfortunate circumstances and the messiness that followed hadn't depressed him. In fact, he felt reinvigorated with an even greater zeal for life. One constant, rock solid, was his love for his wife and hers for him. True, Kimberly had been tormented by his "death" and his amnesia; moreover, her guilt about Cal Winters had threatened to envelop her. Together, Shane and Kimberly faced this problem directly—no walls, no secrets this time, Shane vowed. Lengthy conversations and their undying love enabled them to return to their normal lives and loving, passionate marriage.

Two weeks after Cal's arrest, Kimberly even returned to work. Her role at the abuse clinic was good medicine and she thrived in her roles as wife, mother, and abuse clinic director. Shane had been in talks with the ISA about what his role would be, yet they were in agreement that Shane had earned a well-deserved respite from ISA operations for the time being. Shane spent his days riding while Kim was at work and Andrew at school. This favorite past time gave him time to contemplate what direction his professional life should take. He knew his job as an ISA operative had robbed his family of peace of mind, especially Kimberly, one too many times. There had to be a way to satisfy his professional aspirations without stress on his family. Shane played in his mind's eye the scenes of his life as an ISA agent. Danger, intrigue, excitement were undeniable consequences of the job. He couldn't deny that a case, the Dragaon nonetheless, had brougth him his life's greatest treasure--Kimberly. She encouraged him to do what he felt was right; she wouldn't deny him the job he enjoyed to quell her fears. They had reached an understanding that nothing, not even his work, could threaten their marriage and family again. For the moment, international intrigue didn't excite him, but he would call Tarrington and work something out, he resolved. Lost in thought, Shane didn't notice his horse's reticence to enter the stables. Suddenly and without warning, Shane was hit from behind.

His last thought before passing out was Kimberly . . .little did he know that two years would pass before he'd see or touch her again, that it had nothing to do with the ISA, and that it all came down to family. . .