Shawn watched as a cold glare iced over the surprise that had originally been in Belle's eyes when she turned to see him. In all the years that he had known her, Shawn felt certain that he had never been subject to such an unpleasant, wordless greeting. Then again, with a stare that chilling, Shawn knew that words weren't necessary.

A sharp pain filled his heart as he wondered what could possibly have happened to the Belle of his youth to turn her into the person standing before him. There was no need for her to speak, because the change was there in her eyes, the window to her soul.

Shawn had no way of knowing the effect his presence was having on Belle's equilibrium. Though her eyes portrayed only the pain she felt, there was a small, almost imperceptible, feeling that burned in her heart the moment she saw Shawn. It was a fire that began with a spark ignited many years before and would certainly never die.

Neither Shawn nor Belle noticed the figure fastly approaching them, but Jason did. And, he had a feeling that the tension surging through the air was about to get much, much worse.

However, Shawn fully noticed Philip when he saw him wrap a protective arm around Belle's waist and pull her petite frame close to him. In a state of near horror, Shawn watched as Philip lowered his lips to Belle's neck and placed a kiss there. On the brighter side of the darkness, Shawn noted that Belle didn't really respond to Philip's touch. She merely seemed to accept it.

Philip cast his nephew a cruel glance as he greeted his wife, "Hey, beautiful. I was beginning to miss you."

Philip's sudden appearance felt like a bucket of cold water to Shawn. His mind was trying to comprehend so many things so quickly. Why was Philip here? Why did he refer to Belle in such a loving manner? Once again, why was Philip here?

It finally occurred to Shawn that his uncle was staking his territory - Belle. Tearing Shawn away from his analyzations, Philip asked, "What are you doing here, Shawn?"

Even the densest of people could read between the lines of what Philip was saying. He wanted Shawn gone. No question.

Standing his ground, Shawn smiled and answered, "Well, before you interrupted, I was asking Belle to dance with me."

Pulling Belle's body even closer to his own, Philip coldly responded, "Yeah, well, I'm sure my wife doesn't have the desire to dance with you. Or, be anywhere near you for that matter."

Wife. At that precise moment, Shawn felt certain that was the absolute worst four letter word he had ever heard. And, having spent most of his life around sailors, Shawn had heard quite a few. None of which had the ability to pierce his heart and steal the breath from his lungs.

Belle turned in Philip's arms and gave him a pleading look. She didn't want a fight. Belle felt that she had spent more than enough time placing the past behind her. She wasn't about to let Shawn Brady pull her back into it . . . no matter how tempting he was or how much her heart continued to ache for him.

Clearing her throat, Belle returned her gaze to Shawn and coolly asked, "Why exactly are you here, Shawn?"

Feeling his cheeks flush from Belle's rejection, Shawn stuttered, "I . . . um, well, I . . . guess I was looking for you."

"Why?"

On the surface, Belle's one word question seemed perfectly simple. For Shawn, however, it was a perfect puzzle. The truth was that even he wasn't sure why he showed up at the club looking for Belle. Before he came back to town, Shawn had been aware that Belle hadn't stopped living her life just because he was not there to be a part of it. His own mother had told him that Belle had moved on, but he had refused to accept that. Even if he had, Shawn was not sure if he would have been ready to believe that Belle was married - to Philip of all people.

Giving the only response that his mind could obtain, Shawn softly answered, "I missed you."

Shawn's simple statement brought tears to Belle's eyes. At that moment, she wanted to hate him, but her heart was protesting. After five years apart from one another, Belle and Shawn still shared a magnetic charge that had originally joined them in that charismatic way. When they were together, the rest of the world disappeared, along with all their worries. And, when Belle looked in Shawn's eyes, she was trapped by the magic found there.

The spell cast over Belle was broken when a voice suddenly exclaimed, "Oh. My. God. Shawn Brady!"

Before Shawn was given time to react, he found Mimi in his arms, her natural exuberance bringing a smile to his face. He had almost forgotten how wonderful it was to have someone like Mimi in his life. Throughout high school, Mimi had been Shawn's personal cheering section. Nothing he did could disappoint her, and everything he did delighted her. Looking back, Shawn felt silly for not giving Mimi and her friendship the attention and appreciation that they deserved.

Her arms placed tightly around Shawn's neck, Mimi peered over his shoulder only to find herself staring into a pair of green eyes that lurked in her every dream and thought. When the suggestive lock of eyes became too much for Mimi to bear, she looked away from Jason and pushed herself from Shawn.

Keeping a broad smile on his face, Shawn returned, "Hey, Meems. It's good to see you, too." Stealing a glance at Belle, Shawn continued, "I was just telling Belle how much I've missed you guys."

In years long ago forsaken, Mimi would have enviously noticed the tender glance that Belle and Shawn shared. Now, however, she was too focused on avoiding Jason's captivating gaze to even bother with where everyone else was looking. In some ways last night seemed only minutes in the past. It was as if she could still feel the warmth of Jason's touch and the smoothness of his lips moving over every inch of her bare skin. On the other hand, the same night seemed to have happened so long ago. Mimi felt as if an eternity had passed since she laid in Jason's arms. It occurred to Mimi that what she felt for Jason fit the descriptions of love perfectly. It defied time and logic.

Placing her purse on a barstool, Mimi tried her hardest to focus her attention of Shawn. She had a feeling that he was going to need all the support he could get in Salem. It was painfully obvious to even Mimi that Philip and Belle weren't going to be throwing him a welcome home party any time soon. That left her.

Forcing herself to smile like she had done so many times when she attended parties held by Victor before his death, Mimi said with strained cheer, "Shawn, I am so glad you're home. I hope you're here to stay."

Shawn shared another impassioned glance with Belle before answering, "Oh, I definitely plan to stick around Salem for a while."

Displeasure was clearly written on Philip's face as he listened to his former friend vow to stay in town. Once upon a time when love was innocent and loyalty never needed questioning, Philip would have imagined himself happy to have Shawn around. Now, he could only think of ways to get him out of town.

Clearing his throat, Philip tried his hardest to appear indifferent as he asked, "Why exactly are you wanting to stay in Salem? I thought you lived for your independence."

Shawn took a moment to study Philip's expression before he answered. He had known Philip his entire life and had always thought of him as a friend. Even when Philip made a stupid mistake or acted like an egotistical jerk, Shawn still considered him a confidant. That was because Shawn knew exactly who Philip Kiriakis was. He was a nice guy trapped in the world that Victor created for him. Of course, even Shawn did not know the extent to which Victor had controlled them all.

"Actually, Philip, you're right," Shawn said. He enjoyed the look of surprise on Philip's face. Obviously he had been expecting Shawn to disagree with him. "I do love my independence. Or, I did. But, I have to tell you, I've really missed my family and friends."

Belle knew that she would be better off not asking questions that had answers that would hurt her, but she couldn't resist. She simply had to push Shawn a little further. "Just which friends have you missed Shawn?"

Shawn was startled by the resentment that accompanied Belle's seemingly innocent question, but chose to ignore it as he answered, "Well, I've missed all you guys. You, Philip, Mimi, Jason, Brady . . ."

"Chloe?" Belle questioned, the name spilling from her mouth in an almost hateful manner.

Yet again, Shawn felt the temperature in the room drop as Belle spoke. There was something almost physically painful about hearing that callousness in her sweet voice. Shaking away the dreary thoughts, Shawn truthfully answered, "Yeah, Chloe. To be honest, she's the reason I first decided to come home. After seeing her last week in New York, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the past."

Behind Shawn, Jason groaned and lowered his head. Usually Jason was one of those people that worried about numere uno. But, in Shawn's case, he was willing to make an exception. The poor guy had just uttered the condemned word that no one else dared to speak. Chloe.

"Of course, she's the reason you came back. I should have known," remarked Belle scornfully as she wiped away a single tear that had slipped down her cheek. Turning her gaze slowly to Mimi, Belle said, "I think I could use a little air. How about you?"

Belle didn't pause to see if her friend was following. Instead, she headed straight across the club and to a hallway that lead to one of the private exits. Mimi could only give a Shawn a weak smile before trying to catch up with the other woman.

When both ladies were out of sight, Philip gave Shawn a light push and warned, "Keep away from Belle. I don't want my wife hurt by a cad like you."

Laughing bitterly, Shawn asked, "A cad like me? What is that suppose to mean?"

Philip used both hands to give Shawn another push in the chest. "You know exactly what it means. In case you're as dense as you look, I'll clue you in on a few things. Nobody missed you while you were gone and nobody wants you back. So, why don't you go back to New York or wherever and play house with Chloe and stay away from my wife."

Stunned, Shawn could only watch as Philip stalked across the crowded club and out the front entrance. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Jason pushing a glass in his direction.

Scrutinizing the drink, Shawn asked, "What's this?"

"Does it really matter?"

"No, I don't suppose it does," agreed Shawn as he carefully took a sip of the mystery concoction. He could not be certain what exactly it was, but he had a feeling that if he had more than two or three, he'd be forgetting everything from Belle's marriage to his own name. Then again, he wasn't sure if the prospect of forgetting was all that bad of an idea.

"Shawn, what are you really doing here? I mean, why would you show up at Philip and Belle's anniversary party?"

Forcing the liquid in his mouth down his throat, Shawn asked in disbelief, "What? This is their anniversary party?"

Jason laughed and shot Shawn a broad grin. Leaning on the counter, he quietly said, "Man, I'm feeling more and more sorry for you by the minute."

Giving a small smile of his own, Shawn curiously asked, "Just what is that suppose to mean?"

Appearing to ignore Shawn's question, Jason glanced at his watch and was happy to see that is was finally ten o'clock. He and Brady had struck up a deal of sorts that would allow Jason to bartend for half the evening and party for the rest. That arrangement would permit Jason to enjoy at least part of the night. Yelling over at the other bartender working the counter, Jason announced, "Hey, my shift's over. I'm gonna go join the party goers." Returning his attention to Shawn, Jason said, "Stay right there, and I'll walk around and tell you exactly what I meant."

In less than a minute, Jason was standing in front of Shawn with a drink in each hand. Motioning to a booth in the far corner of the bar, Jason commanded, "Let's move over there. I have a feeling that this is going to be one long conversation, pal. And, we sure don't need any interruptions. Besides, from over there, we can keep a close watch on everybody else without them spying on us."

"Sounds good to me," remarked Shawn as he stood and began to follow Jason. However, he stopped when a deep green object caught his eye. "Wait, Mimi left her purse on the barstool. I'm just going to grab it and tell the bartender to tell her that I've got it."

"Alright, I'm going to go on over to the booth." After taking a few steps away from Shawn, Jason stopped and added, "Oh, and you might want to get a another round of drinks. I have a feeling that you're going to need them."

Shawn nodded and made his way down the counter to where the bartender was flirting with Jan of all people. Quickly giving the bartender the message for Mimi, Shawn took a few careful steps away from the counter. For a moment, he just stood there in that crowded room and thought of all the things that he knew and all the things that would soon be revealed to him.

Despite the smiling people dancing the night away and the loud music that threatened to invade his very thoughts, Shawn Douglas Brady felt terribly alone and more than a little lost. He could only pray that whatever Jason told him would cast a brighter, happier light on the way things appeared. And, that it would force the darkness that cornered not only him, but Belle, Philip, and the rest of the old gang to recede and allow them the joy that they dreamed of achieving. Shawn needed to know that the darkness was really light, and that the truth was merely another false appearance.