"I haven't seen my nephew since he was knee-high," Steve was saying as he and Nate walked across the square. "In the end, he's right. I should have come back when my brother died. But I just loved the open road. Enough of this introspective stuff, I starving." He pushed open the pub door.
"Papa!" Joey shouted, hopping down from the bar stool and rushing into Steve's arms.
"Little dude," Steve knelt down to accept his son. "Glad somebody's happy to see me."
"Papa, what happened to your face?"
"Oh, this? Just some old grizzly bear I was wrestling, that's all."
Joey considered this—his face a mask of five-year-old concentration—then leaned closer to his father and whispered seriously, "I think the grizzly bear won."
"So do I," Kim laughed, mussing Joey's hair as she came around the counter with an ice pack for Steve.
"Who are you?" Joey asked when he heard Nate chuckle.
"Nate is Uncle Marcus's friend," explained Steve. "What is it, baby?" he asked when Kim let out a gasp.
"Sorry, I…I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. You're going to be treating my granddaughter, Paige. Anything you want, on the house."
"Small town," Nate whistled.
"Like living in a fishbowl," Steve agreed. "I wouldn't argue with her, dude. These Brady women are stubborn."
"Mommy's a Brady," Joey piped up. "Is she stubborn too?"
Steve directed his answer to Kayla, who was coming down the stairs from Caroline's apartment. "She will be if she doesn't join us."
"Mr. Bridges," said Kayla, pointedly. "How are you liking the hospital?"
"Call me Nate. My first day went pretty well, Dr. Brady."
"Kayla. Say goodbye to Daddy, Joey, we're meeting Sonny and Aunt Adrienne for dinner. Will you keep an eye on Mama, Kimmie? She's resting."
"Sure thing," Kim saw the question in Steve's eyes, and added, "I'll bet Arianna's one little girl who's happy to have her daddy back. I thought Will was expecting Sonny next week."
"That was before things got a little...shorthanded at the club."

She didn't need to say anything else. Earlier that day, Roman had cut into the noon newscast to issue a prepared statement from Smith Island. No matter how many times he used words like "allegedly", Kayla knew her brother well enough to conclude that Ben Weston not only knew where his father had been hiding as the police had long suspected, but had somehow snuck out to join him during the night.

"Whoa," breathed Nate, watching Kayla and Joey leave.
"Actually," smiled Kim, "That went better than I thought it would. Baby steps," she whispered to Steve as she got up to take another order.
"You sure have good dinner theater here in Salem," said Nate. "My dad always said: 'Watch out for the nice ones.'"