"Greenlee, watch out!" Ryan screamed from his spot in the passenger's seat. Greenlee turned her head forward just in time to see the deer that had jumped out onto the road. She quickly slammed on the brakes, startling the deer and causing it to run out of the way into the woods. "Since when do you drive like a crazy woman?" Ryan asked, short of breath from the close call.

"You didn't have to come with me," she shot back. Her eyes turned away from the road again, eagerly looking around for something. "Come on, where are you?" she mumbled. "I saw 30. I saw 31. Where are you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes in frustration, not that Greenlee could see it anyway. "What's the mad rush, Greenlee? And why won't you tell me why we are in the middle of nowhere and where the hell we are going?"

"There it is!" Greenlee cried, ignoring Ryan's question. The cabin she had been looking for was pretty hidden from the road, but she had finally found it. She pulled off and drove between a row of trees to reach her destination. Noticing a car sitting on the side of the cabin, she eased her car up next to it and put it in park. Leaning her face forward towards the wheel and holding it tightly she took a deep breath: "Here goes nothing."

"Okay, so we're here," Ryan told her, looking around. "Why are we here?" Greenlee opened the door and walked out of the car, ignoring Ryan's question again; but this time Ryan was going to get his answer one way or another. He rushed out of the car and grabbed Greenlee's arm from behind, stopping her a couple feet before the door.

"Greenlee, listen to me," he pleaded. "Someone tried to kill you and now you were just out driving in the middle of the woods to some secluded cabin! You've got to tell me what we are doing here!"

Noticing he was serious, Greenlee tried to come up with some explanation to get her those last couple steps to the door, but nothing came to mind. "I don't know," she sheepishly admitted.

Ryan's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. "We're going," he authoritatively told her, pulling on her arm.

"Oh my God, Ryan!" Greenlee yelled. "That deer is chewing on my tires!"

Ryan turned to the car, loosening his grip on Greenlee, but saw nothing there. Greenlee took back her arm and ran towards the door of the cabin. Ryan turned back towards Greenlee, but it was too late, she was already knocking. Defeated, Ryan walked up behind her as she waited for an answer.

And older woman soon came to the door. She greeted the petite woman in front of her with a huge smile, but the smile faded somewhat when she noticed the large man walking up behind her. Maybe this wasn't the woman she was expecting.

"May I help you?" the older woman asked.

"I… well… um… I," Greenlee tried to find the words but became uncharacteristically nervous. "I got this note… and um… my name is Greenlee duPres…"

"Aha, so you're Greenlee," the older woman greeted her, extending her hand. "I'm Claire Foster. I've been expecting you." She looked up at the large man who had been wearing a confused expression ever since she opened the door. "And you would be?"

"Oh, I'm Ryan, Ryan Lavery."

"Friend of yours?" Claire asked Greenlee.

"Not exactly," Greenlee answered. "But you said you've been expecting me? You sent me that note?"

"I did," Claire told her, opening the door wider and allowing Greenlee and Ryan to come in. Her smile was ear to ear again. "Please let me take your coats?" she offered. Her guests obliged.

"The package," Greenlee tensely began. "It had something to do with Leo, I know it. What do you know about my husband?"

Claire happily chuckled. "Right this way, my dear," she walked away, motioning for her two visitors to follow her. "I promise you won't be disappointed." She led them to a room towards the back of the cabin. "He's lying down," she told them as she reached a door and knocked softly. "It's been an exciting bunch of days."

"He?" Greenlee asked hopefully as Claire slowly opened the door.

Greenlee's hands rushed over her mouth as she saw him. "Oh my God!" she cried, tears of joy filling her eyes. Leo looked up from his spot on the bed, his eyes lighting up at seeing his wife again. "Miss me, baby?" he happily smiled at her; the joy erasing all of his pain in that moment. "Now why don't you come over here and let me hold you?" Greenlee crawled onto the bed, lying down under her husband's extended arm, and held him tightly. Leo kissed the top of her head and then ran his hands through her hair. "Everything is going to be okay, Greenlee, I promise you. It's all going to be okay again."

Leo looked up and saw Claire and Ryan standing by the door.

"Ryan," Leo acknowledged, taken aback by the sight of his friend. "What brings you here?"

"Your funeral," Ryan answered with a smirk on his face. "But it looks like that was a waste of time."

"Guess so," Leo replied. He looked back down at his wife: "About all that, Greens. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It must have been hell."

"No, forget it," Greenlee quickly responded, her head still buried in her husband's chest. "None of it matters. Only that you're here with me again."

"Okay," Claire clapped her hands. "I think you two deserve some privacy. Mr. uh, Lavery was it? Let's give them some time alone."

"Yeah we should do that," Ryan admitted and followed her out, shutting the door behind him.

"Can I get you something?" Claire asked Ryan when they reached the kitchen. "Something to drink, maybe?"

Ryan shook his head. "I'm okay, thank you; a little puzzled, but okay."

"Well Greenlee was supposed to come alone," Claire pointed out. "She must trust you."

"No, it's not that," he responded. "She was attacked… well, it's a long story. I forced her to bring me with her; I just thought she shouldn't be alone." Ryan sat down by the table, taking in his surroundings. "Besides," he continued. "Maybe I needed to know that Leo was alive as badly as she did."

Leo eyed his wife in awe, thankful to have her back in his arms. They had been separated so many times before, but they always found their way back to each other. That was the one thing in life he had learned he could always count on. But this time it almost didn't happen. Scheming parents, extraneous wives, police investigations, restraining orders, the mob: those were no problem. Death, on the other hand, would have been unbeatable. He was going to appreciate this – short as he knew it would be.

"Damn, Greens," Leo ran his finger down Greenlee's cheek and then across her lips. "I forgot how beautiful you are."

"I thought I had lost you forever, Leo," she told him, holding his hand as it rested on her cheek. "But deep in my soul I knew I hadn't. Somehow I knew you were still out there," her voice broke down.

"Hey hey hey, Greens, come on," Leo tried to consol her.

Greenlee shook her head. "No, I should have kept looking. I should have done more. I let you down, Leo."

Leo calmingly smiled back at her. "You could never let me down, baby. Never." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm and stared into her eyes. Her eyes locked onto his and like so many times before, they slowly leaned towards each other. When their lips met, Greenlee felt her heart jump; it felt full again.

"You felt it too?" Leo asked rhetorically, noticing her smile. "Like everything is right with the universe again. Like everything is the way it should be." Greenlee stared at him lovingly, agreeing in her heart with everything he said. Leo kissed her hand and then stared at her wedding ring. Running his finger over it, his expression turned serious. His sigh took Greenlee by surprise, giving her the feeling that her perfect moment wasn't meant to last.

"Leo, what is it?" she asked with concern.

"As much as we'd like to pretend the world out there doesn't exit, Greens," he began. "We both know we have some important things to talk about."

"Not in my book we don't," Greenlee tried to stop him and hold onto the moment.

"Greens," Leo told her apologetically. "I love you – heart and soul, you know that right?"

"I don't like where this is going," she said apprehensively.

"You know it, right?" Leo repeated.

"Of course I do," she answered. "The same way I love you."

"That's my girl," Leo kissed her hand again before looking back into her big brown eyes. "Okay, here's how it is," he told her softly, tenderly stroking her face and neck. "We're not in the clear yet. When I was gone, this guy was holding me. He said he got me out of the rapids."

"So let's throw him a party," Greenlee offered, trying to lighten the mood again.

"It wasn't all selfless," Leo continued. "He wanted Vanessa's diamonds – I was just his way to find them. He mentioned something about his boss wanting me dead but I was able to knock him out and escape. I made it here and lucked out with Claire – she's been great to me."

"Leo," Greenlee stopped him, her voice uneasy. "When you knocked this guy out, it didn't happen to be with a hard object to the left cheek, did it?"

Leo nodded, wide eyed with worry.

"I think we've met," she told him. Leo's eyes grew wider. "Don't worry, Leo," she calmed his nerves. "He's deader than a doornail."

"I… are you okay? Did he do anything to you?"

"Well that's the thing, Leo. He was going to kill me. He said that would get the diamonds out in the open. But the next thing I knew, there was a gunshot and a dead body at my feet. I don't understand what happened."

Leo let out a sigh of relief. "I guess that means I was right. His boss must have turned on him once he went after you. He obviously thought killing his goon looked less suspicious than something happening to you; and he needs you alive to get to me and the diamonds."

"You have them," she understood, a hint of fear in her voice.

"I had to keep you safe, Greenlee," he confirmed. "As much as I'd love to burn them all and forget any of this ever happened, my being alive is a threat to whoever was after that money. I had to take them to protect you."

"So what do we do?" Greenlee asked her husband. "How does this nightmare end?"

"We need to find out who wants the diamonds. We know someone has been keeping an eye on you, hoping I show up; that must be who saved you. You made sure no one was following you here, right?"

"I didn't notice anyone," Greenlee answered. "But I wasn't paying all that much attention to the road in front of me either. A little Bambi out there almost found that out the hard way."

"Well has anyone been acting strange lately?" Leo probed further.

"Ryan is being nice to me."

"That is strange," he snickered. "The world coming to an end or something?"

"I thought the exact same thing!" she exclaimed.

"Nice to see we're still in sync, Greens," Leo smiled at her. "But he already knows I'm alive so we're going to have to trust him. Anyone else always hanging around, or acting out of the ordinary?"

"Jackson seemed very interested in the diamonds," Greenlee pointed out. "That's not so unusual though; everyone knows the Proteus case was making him look like a fool. But he has been a little obsessive lately. And well…"

"Greenlee?" Leo noticed her look away from him. "There's something else isn't there?"

"Your brothers too," Greenlee sighed. "They've both been great, really, but they're no models of all that's good and right with the world."

"Greenlee, come on," Leo tried to stop where this was going.

"I'm not saying it's them, Leo. I mean, you know how I feel about Trey, but he has just been trying to help. And David, he's been my lifeline; I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

"Wait a minute," Leo grinned. "Are you, Greenlee Smythe duPres, admitting to liking someone in my bloodline? Can we get a camera and re-tape this scene?"

Greenlee playfully slapped his shoulder, causing Leo to grimace in some real pain. Her expression turned apologetic upon realizing what she had done. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"No, don't worry about it," Leo interrupted her. "I'd rather feel pain from you than love from anyone else any day."

Greenlee couldn't help but let a smile curl onto her face. Only Leo had that natural gift to turn any moment into something sweet. "You know," she snickered suggestively. "I can make you feel a lot of other things too." She leaned towards her husband and kissed him passionately. He responded in kind, placing his hands on the back of her head and letting her tongue enter his mouth. "Mmm," Leo hummed when their lips finally parted. "So how did that feel?" Greenlee smiled mischievously, brushing her hair off to the side of her face.

Leo laughed and teasingly shook his head at his wife. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"Uh huh," she agreed, leaning forward to kiss him again.

"Whoa, hold on a sec, Greens," Leo stopped her. "There is nothing I'd rather do than make love to you right now, you know that…"

"What is it, Leo?" she questioned. "Being in someone else's house never stopped us before."

"That's not it," Leo answered, grabbing her hand and once again staring at her wedding ring. "Listen, Greens," he told her, his tone apologetic. "When you go, you can't tell anyone I'm alive. It's the only way I can keep you safe. No one is going to come after you as long as the world thinks I'm dead, and they won't want to get the police involved any more than they already are."

"What!" she burst out. "You don't honestly expect me to leave you, duPres! I'm staying right here!"

"It's the only way, Greens," he sadly told her. "You need to go back and keep the status quo so no one gets suspicious. I needed to let you know that I was okay, but you can't stay here with me."

"Watch me!" she fell onto his chest, holding him with all her might. "They're going to have to pry my dead body off of you!"

Leo looked down at his strong-willed wife and sighed as he let his hand rest on the back of her head. "Claire! Ryan!" Leo called out. Within seconds, the two of them appeared in the doorway. "I'm going to figure this all out, Greenlee, I promise you. But I need to keep you safe. I won't let you be put in danger again because of me."

Leo's words fell on deaf ears as Greenlee refused to let go. He looked up to Ryan: "Can I trust you, Ryan?"

"Absolutely. Whatever you need," Ryan confirmed.

"You planning on sticking around Pine Valley?" Leo asked him

"For a little bit, at least," Ryan responded. "I've got a room at the Valley Inn – 313."

"Okay then. I need you to keep an eye on Greenlee – make sure she stays safe. And as I'm sure Claire already told you, I need you to keep everything that's happened this morning a secret. I'm still dead, got it?"

"Sure, man," Ryan agreed, nervous about the first request. If Leo knew what Ryan was feeling towards his wife, fake or not, Ryan wouldn't have been near the top of Leo's people-to-trust list; but what can you tell a dead guy with no one else to turn to? "You can count on me."

"Great," Leo smiled. "But first things first; can you pry my beautiful wife here off of me? She's not going to go willingly."

"Yeah," Ryan obliged, walking over to the bed. "Come on, Greenlee. Time to go." Ryan, being much stronger than Greenlee, easily got the petite woman off of Leo. She looked back at her husband sadly, tears forming in her eyes. "Wait for me to contact you again," Leo requested of his wife. "I'll see you soon, I promise."

She nodded back at him.

"Just be the strong woman that you are, Greenlee. And never forget how much I love you."

"I love you too," Greenlee sniffed. She turned around but didn't start walking. Turning her head to take one last look at her husband, she smiled. Leaving was hard, but knowing he was alive could get her through anything. "Let's go," Ryan softly told her, placing his hand on her back. She nodded and allowed Ryan to lead her out of the room and outside the glorious secluded home where her miracle had come true. Looking back up at the cabin, Greenlee awkwardly shuffled her car keys, unsure she could bring herself to use them. "How about you let me drive you home," Ryan offered. "We don't need you crashing into some poor deer now that you know Leo's alive."

"Sure, Ryan," she agreed. Her euphoria hadn't reached her brain yet, but her whole body was feeling it. Feeling light as a feather, she was having difficulty controlling her motions – driving probably wasn't the best idea for her right now. "But can you take me straight to the Valley Inn? I promised David I'd meet him there for lunch."