Just the effort of walking to the stables had Steve breathing heavily, but he tried to act like nothing was wrong as he looked from Shane to Kayla. Even though she was smiling, from the way Kayla was biting her lip, Steve could tell that she was nervous about something and he detected some tension between her and Shane.

"Um, Steve," she said after she put an arm around him. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be sleeping."

Steve gave Kayla a small smile. "And I thought you promised to be there when I woke up." When Kayla frowned guiltily and looked down, Steve said, "It's okay, Sweetness. Worthington woke me up with more food and when you weren't there, I came looking for you. Did I interrupt something here?"

"No, of course not," Kayla replied. "I just . . . um, needed to talk to Shane about something."

"It must have been important to bring you all the way out here." Steve hoped he could figure out what was going on.

"No, it wasn't that important, it was . . . um . . . just about . . ."

Shane interrupted. "What Kayla's trying to say is that she just read me the proverbial riot act for not revealing the ISA's suspicions that you might be alive. That is, for not revealing them before I left Salem."

"Oh, so that's what's going on." Steve was relieved. "Come on, Sweetness. I wasn't happy with Shane either when I was lying in that hospital bed waiting for him to tell you, but it doesn't matter now. I'm here and we're together - you, me, and Stephanie."

"Stephanie," Kayla said with a start. "Is somebody with her?"

Steve could have kicked himself. He had been so distracted looking for Kayla that he had forgotten about his daughter sleeping in the house. "No. I . . . wasn't thinking, and I just came looking for you."

"Well, we better get back before she wakes up in a strange place all alone." Kayla sounded slightly frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Kayla . . . I don't know what I was thinking. Actually, I guess I wasn't thinking at all."

Kayla took a deep breath and gave a soft smile. "It's okay. It's not like she can go anywhere and there are servants in the house. I just need to get back to her and make sure she's okay."

Steve knew that he was in no condition to hurry anywhere. The walk to the stables had been farther than he realized, and he had not built up enough strength to have any reserves.

Shane must have realized the situation because he suddenly spoke up. "Kayla, why don't you head back to the house? I'll help Steve back after he's had a chance to catch his breath."

Kayla looked from Steve to Shane and back again. Steve could tell she wasn't sure what she should do, so he grinned and said, "Go ahead, Sweetness. Donovan here and I'll be along shortly."

Kayla nodded, leaned up and kissed Steve on the cheek. She headed out the door without another word.

Steve turned back to Shane. "You don't have to wait for me. I'll sit for a few minutes and head back. I saw Andrew out there and he said he was waiting for you. Said something about a pony. Don't let me keep you."

"Nonsense, Steve. You're in no condition to be traipsing around the grounds on your own. I'll help you get back to the house when you're ready. Andrew can wait a few minutes."

Steve's felt his frustration building. He hated being treated like an invalid almost as much as he hated feeling like one. "I said I could handle it, Master Donovan." Steve could not contain his sarcasm. "If you really think I need a babysitter, then I'm sure you have some servant around here who can do the job."

"That may be the case, but I doubt you'd let them help." From Shane's tone, Steve could not tell if he was being sarcastic or completely serious. "So it looks like you're stuck with me."

Steve started to protest, but Shane took Steve's arm, put his own arm around Steve's waist, and began guiding him out of the stables. Steve wanted to pull away, but he had to admit that it would be easier to get back to the house with Shane's help. As they walked outside and saw Andrew, Shane pulled a piece of carrot out of his pocket, gave it to Andrew, and told him to feed it to the pony. "I'll be back in just a few minutes," Shane said.

After Andrew entered the stables, Shane and Steve began the trek back to the main house. Steve resented every step he had to take with Shane's assistance. Steve knew Shane was just helping out. Steve even knew he should be grateful. However, Steve vowed this was the last time he would ever need Shane Donovan's help to get anywhere.