Waking Up

Kayla woke up in the hospital with her parents by her side. She could tell that her mother had been crying. At first she was confused, but then she remembered Valentine's Day and the awful events that had occurred on that night. "Ohhh God!" Kayla sobbed.

"Honey, your mother and I are right here," Shawn said as he held his distraught daughter.

"Where- where's Steve?" Kayla asked as she looked around for him frantically. She vaguely remembered Steve going after her attacker. Had Steve been injured by the beast who had raped her?

"Kayla, Steve... Steve's in surgery," Caroline said gently.

"No... no..." Kayla said as she burst into tears. "What happened to him?"

Neither of her parents were answering. They were looking at each other as if they didn't know what to say. "Kayla ~ honey, it's a long story," said Caroline. "But Steve felt he had no other choice."

"No other choice? What in the world are you talking about?" Kayla cried out.

Shawn held his daughter as he tried to explain. "Kayla, the man who attacked you, it was Steve's brother, Jack."

"No!" Kayla said in remorse.

"I'm sorry, honey," said Caroline as she too tried to comfort her daughter. "He was wearing a mask and Steve was trying to protect you. He didn't know it was Jack, his own brother. They had a fight and ..."

"And what? What happened?" Kayla insisted.

"Jack fell off the balcony. He was hurt badly. He almost died," Shawn stated. "And the doctor said... he said that Jack needed a kidney or he wasn't going to make it..."

"So Steve gave him his kidney?" Kayla concluded.

"Yes. Yes, honey. Steve's in surgery, giving a kidney to his brother Jack," Caroline replied.

Kayla felt weak when she heard the news. Steve was in surgery, saving the man who had raped her - his own brother. She wasn't angry; she was horrified and sad. What if Steve didn't make it through the surgery? What if she lost the man she loved?!

"I can't believe this," Kayla said as she clutched at her blankets. Her parents were there, trying to comfort her, but she needed Steve. She needed his arms bound around her so tightly, protecting her.

"Kayla, you need to rest," Caroline said to her daughter gently. "Did you... were you aware that you're pregnant?"

"WHAT?!" Kayla gasped.

Hearing those words from her mother's lips, Kayla became even more agitated. Her dad had to call in the doctor to give Kayla a sedative. Her mom stroked her golden hair as she fell asleep with tears staining her lovely face.

"Ohhh Shawn, will our little girl be alright?" Caroline asked her husband worriedly.

"Kayla is going to make it through this. She's strong. As soon as Steve is out of surgery, he'll be right here, by her side."

They both knew how hard it had been for Steve to make the decision to give Jack his kidney after the violent act that his brother had committed against his beloved Kayla, but Steve couldn't just let his younger brother die. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Billy, the little brother he remembered from his childhood. He'd deal with the rest later, after the surgery.

~*~o~*~

When Steve woke up, someone unexpected stood at his side. It was Bo, Kayla's brother. He was feeling groggy from the anesthesia. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a slightly slurred voice.

"Kay asked me to sit with you... until you woke up," Bo answered, his arms folded across his chest.

"Kayla - I need to see her," Steve said, tugging on his IV and trying to crawl out of his hospital bed.

"Are you crazy? You just had surgery. You need to lie still," Bo said as he pushed Steve back into the bed.

"Kayla - take me to her," Steve insisted. "Please... I love her so much."

Hearing Steve's words, Bo knew that Steve meant every word. Steve was madly in love with Bo's little sister. "Stay here. I'll talk to the doctor... and we'll see what we can do."

"Thanks, man," Steve said gratefully as he closed his one good eye.

~*~o~*~

To Kayla's surprise, a new patient was brought into her hospital room. It was Steve! He had made it through the surgery.

"Ohhh Steve," she said as she reached across the distance between their hospital beds and grabbed his hand.

He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. "I am so sorry, Sweetness," he said as a tear of sorrow rolled from his eye. "I should have been there... I should have protected you... and I should have been there when you woke up."

"It's not your fault, Steve. None of it is. You can't control what your brother did. As you said, he was raised by a serial killer... and your father, his biological dad; he was sexually violent. Jack is messed up. He needs help," Kayla said. "And I don't blame you for what you did - giving him your kidney. You're a good man. You couldn't let him die, even if he had hurt me. You HAD to save his life. You're a wonderful, unselfish person... and that's why I love you."

"I love you, too, Kayla... and I want you to marry me," Steve said.

She stared at him in shock. Had Steve just proposed to her? Was she ready for this? She hadn't even dealt with the fact that she was carrying his baby. It was way too much at once!

"Steve, I can't," she said broken-heartedly. "I- I need to rest."

"Okay, baby. I won't push you. Not now," he said as he continued to hold her hand. That's all he could do to comfort her, considering he was fresh out of surgery. He wanted to hold his Sweetness. He needed to hold her against his heartbeat.

"Steve, I have to tell you something," she said, her voice trembling. "The doctor said I am pregnant."