Kayla smiled as she watched her adventurous daughter explore the broad expanse of grass in the side lawn. She could see Steve sitting on the grass not too far away also enjoying Stephanie's toddling steps and giggles. Kayla contemplated walking over to join him, but given the tensions that had yet to abate, she decided to stay where she was and just enjoy the moment.

There had not been many enjoyable moments since the truth had come out. Kayla was nowhere near ready to give up, but her frustration was growing as Steve continued to shut her out. They slept in the same bed and spent time together with Stephanie, but aside from those moments, Steve had said little, and had shown no interest in talking further. She knew she was going to have to push the issue if things didn't change soon.

Stephanie's loud wail cut into the silence. Kayla's eyes quickly found her daughter on the gravel path that bordered the grass as her legs automatically began running towards the sound. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Steve spring up and begin sprinting towards their crying daughter. Kayla reached her first and quickly knelt down beside her.

"It's okay, baby doll. Mama's here," she said, carefully pulling Stephanie to her. "And so is Papa," she continued as Steve knelt down beside her. Steve stroked Stephanie's hair as Kayla quickly scanned Stephanie, searching for the reason for her cries. It didn't talk long to find the scrape on Stephanie's knee. Kayla's trained eye appraised it and speedily determined that there were no other injuries.

"Is she okay, Sweetness?" Steve asked, his worry evident. Even in the midst of her worry about Stephanie, a part of Kayla's brain registered his use of that familiar endearment that she had heard so rarely in the last few days.

"She's fine. It looks like she just scraped up her knee a bit on the gravel."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her wonder onto the path."

"Nonsense, Steve," Kayla said turning to look at him. "She was just exploring and fell down. It happens with little kids all the time. Besides, I was standing here too. So it's just as much my fault as yours."

Steve didn't respond, so Kayla turned back to Stephanie, holding her close and murmuring comforting words in her ear. Gradually, Stephanie's cries subsided and she finally pulled her head from Kayla's shoulder and looked up at her.

"See, baby, you're okay," Kayla said. "How about we take you inside and get you cleaned up?" Kayla started to stand up, still holding on to Stephanie.

"Here let me," Steve said, taking Stephanie from Kayla and then helping Kayla up. Steve cuddled his daughter to his chest. "Come on, Little Sweetness, let's go inside and your Mama will make it all better." Kayla walked beside Steve as he carried Stephanie to the house.

Once inside, Kayla retrieved the first aid kit again and cleaned the scrape on Stephanie's knee. When Kayla applied the antiseptic, Stephanie let out another wail, but Steve quickly calmed her. Kayla couldn't help but smile when she heard Steve whisper, "Don't worry, baby girl. Daddy knows exactly how that feels. It won't hurt for too long."

By the time Kayla had finished cleaning and bandaging the scrape, Stephanie was half-asleep in Steve's arms. "Looks like somebody is ready for a nap," she said, stepping back and closing up the first-aid kit. "Here, I'll take her up."

"Let me do it . . . if you don't mind. I think I still remember how." Steve gave Kayla a small smile and, for the first time in days, Kayla saw a warmth in Steve's eye instead of the coldness that had been there.

"Of course. I'm sure Stephanie would love having her papa put her down for her nap," Kayla said, returning Steve's smile. Deciding to press the opening, Kayla continued, "Maybe I could fix us a little lunch while you are upstairs."

She held her breath as she saw Steve hesitate. Then he nodded and said, "Sure." Kayla smiled again. "Great. I'll get us something and meet you on the patio. Be sure to tell Mrs. Batson that Stephanie is napping on your way down." Steve nodded again and headed up the stairs with his daughter in his arms. Kayla watched them walk up the stairs, happy to see the two of them together, and even happier to see how much stronger Steve was getting. Just a couple of weeks ago, he had been almost unable to climb the stairs without help. Now he was strong and steady as he carried his daughter.

A short time later, Steve walked onto the patio and took a seat at the table where Kayla was waiting. She hoped her relief at seeing him was not as obvious as it felt. She had spent the whole time he was gone wondering if he would actually join her. "Is Stephanie all tucked in?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah. She went right to sleep," Steve said, not looking up from his plate.

Well, you knew he wasn't going to make it easy for you, Kayla thought. They finished the meal in relative silence, exchanging only a few small comments. When he was finished, Steve pushed back his chair and started to rise.

"Wait a minute . . . please," Kayla said. Steve hesitated a moment, then sat back down. Kayla reached for his hand and took heart when he did not pull away. "I've tried to give you time and space, but don't you think we need to talk? We can't keep acting like strangers if we're going to make this work."

Steve looked down at their joined hands, then looked back at Kayla. He sighed softly and said, "I'm not sure what you want me to say. I can't pretend that it doesn't hurt to find out that you lied to me about your relationship with Shane. And I can't pretend that it doesn't kill me to know that you love him and doesn't make me wonder if you really want to be with me."

Kayla thought back to her conversation with Shane. She still had deep feelings for Shane, but the nature of them had changed when she found out Steve was alive. She wasn't sure that Steve was in a place to understand the distinction, but decided to be as honest as she could.

"I'm not in love with Shane, Steve. I could only be in love with him at all because I thought you were gone. Those types of feelings don't exist - can't exist - now that I know you are here. I know you think I don't understand how you feel, but I do, much more than you know," Kayla said, her own bitterness at the memory slipping out unbidden.

Steve looked up again at Kayla's words. His eye widened and saw the recognition flash on his face. "Marina," is all he said.

"Yes . . . Marina. You remember how hurt I was when I found out you had lied to me about your past with her. Do you think I didn't spend hours - days - wondering what you really felt for her and what you really felt for me? That I didn't have moments where I was petrified that the only reason you stayed with me was because I was pregnant? I did. But we got through that, Steve. It wasn't easy, but we got through it because the love we have for each other was strong enough - is strong enough - to get us through anything. But you have to talk to me, Steve. You can't just keep shutting me out."

Steve leaned back in his chair. She could see the tremors in his cheek as he tried to control his emotions. After several moments, he finally spoke.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Kayla asked in confusion.

"Why Shane . . . why did you get involved with him?" Steve asked gruffly.

Kayla was silent for a moment. How could she possibly explain all that had happened that led her and Shane to the point they were before Steve's return, particularly when she didn't completely understand it herself.

"He was there for me during the worst time of my life. He gave Stephanie and me protection and comfort at a time when we needed both. Staying at Shane's house meant I didn't have to face my loneliness, at least not the way I would have otherwise."

"So it was just a convenience? He was just there when you were lonely and scared?"

Kayla sighed. "No I can't say that. Shane was kind and caring and supportive, and he adores Stephanie. Having someone to share my time with and to talk about my day with, it helped ease some of the pain. Somewhere along the line I started to realize how important that had become to me . . . how important Shane had become to me."

Kayla paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She still held Steve's hand and caressed it gently before continuing, "Even then, I wasn't ready to really contemplate a relationship with him - or anyone. Having those feelings scared me to death and it made me feel like I was betraying you." Kayla gave a harsh laugh. "I guess I was."

Steve shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I guess you got past that, huh?"

Kayla paused again. She thought back to the talk she and Shane had when they were waiting for Eve to come out of her coma. "Not exactly. It's more that Shane made it clear that he never expected me to stop loving you . . . never wanted me to forget you or the love we shared. . . . I don't know. Maybe it worked with Shane simply because he was the only man who could have accepted that he would never have all of my heart, because a big part of it would always be with you."

Steve looked up at those last words. "You told him that?"

"Yes, I did. I don't think I could have ever moved on if moving on meant letting you go from my heart. It just wasn't possible and Shane always knew that."

"What about Kim?" Steve asked. "She couldn't have been thrilled that you were dating her ex?"

Kayla gave a soft chuckle. No, Kim was certainly not thrilled. She contemplated how best to tell that part of the story. "Kim, my parents, nobody was thrilled, believe me. I never wanted to hurt Kim, but then she got involved with Lawrence . . ."

Kayla stopped as she saw Steve's eye widen in surprise at that bit of news. "It's a long story, but she was undercover for the ISA and I didn't know. I thought she was falling for the man who killed you. I'm not proud of it, but I can't say it didn't factor into things."

"So that's what you were talking about when Shane gave us the news about the cure for the virus?"

"Yeah. Someday I'll tell you the whole story, but the point is that my relationship with Kim was on pretty rocky ground and so I guess I wasn't so ashamed of being selfish where Shane was concerned." Kayla felt a stab of guilt as she thought about the fact that she now had Steve back, but Kim was more estranged from Shane than ever.

"So all of that led you to fall in love with Shane Donovan?" Steve said softly, but without the angry edge to his voice.

Kayla did not respond at first. There was no good answer to Steve's question. She looked at Steve and said, "What you need to remember is that however it happened and whatever contributed to it, it's over. It was over the second I saw you."

"Is that what you really want, Kayla? Do you really want it to be over between you and Shane?"

Kayla felt her anger rise at the question. Did he really doubt how she felt that much? She cursed herself yet again for not finding the courage to tell him sooner. Maybe if he had not found out the way he had, this would not be so difficult now.

"Of course it's want I want, Steve. Being married to you is all I've ever wanted. I love you. I always have and I always will. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, not out of obligation or loyalty, but because you are the love of my life."

Kayla paused. There was something she needed to know. She wasn't sure if it was the right time to ask, or even if it might make things worse, but she needed to know. She looked at Steve and said, "Can I ask you a question?"

Steve gave her a curious look. "Sure, ask away."

"I need to know something, Steve. Maybe it was just me trying to make myself feel better, but I believed in my heart that you would have wanted me to live my life, to find some happiness for myself and Stephanie. Was I wrong about that?"

Steve looked startled by the question. He sat forward in his chair and Kayla thought she saw a shadow of guilt cross his face. Finally, he looked up and softly said, "No. You weren't wrong. All I've ever wanted for you is for you to be happy. If I were gone, I'd want you to live your life with as much happiness as you could find. I really would." He looked down again and said, "It's just a whole lot harder to accept when it's a reality."

"I know it is. You'll never know how sorry I am that this hurts you so much and you'll never know how sorry I am that I didn't tell you the truth myself ."

Steve slowly rose from his chair and walked over to Kayla. He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. Echoing her words from earlier, he said, "I do know. More than you know." He gave her a small smile. "I'm going to go check on Stephanie. She should be waking up soon. Then maybe we can all take a little walk around the grounds."

"That sounds wonderful," Kayla replied. Steve gave her another smile and headed back into the house. After he left, Kayla felt the tears spring to her eyes. They had turned the corner at last and now she could look to the future with more hope that she had felt in days.