"Shh . . . it's okay, baby doll. Mama's right here." Kayla whispered softly to her daughter trying to calm her cries. She wasn't sure what had caused Stephanie to awaken in the middle of the night, but Kayla hoped she could calm her before she woke the house.
As Kayla held Stephanie and walked around the small room, she briefly wondered if she would ever get a full night's sleep again. Between Stephanie's late night cries and Steve's nightmares, it had been a very rare night that Kayla had not been jolted awake. She chided herself for her thoughts. She had her family back together and if that meant a little less sleep, so be it.
Kayla was very thankful for the progress she and Steve had made over the past few days, ever since their talk after Stephanie's accident. They'd taken several long walks around the estate and Steve had let Kayla tell the whole story, beginning to end. He hadn't asked a lot of questions and she could tell that it had been painful for him to hear some of the details of her relationship with Shane, but he had listened and held her hand throughout and she guessed that was all she could really ask.
The tensions had eased in their bedroom as well. Steve had stopped turning away from her when she joined him in their bed and had held her in his arms as she had fallen asleep. Yet, that created a new set of tensions. She wanted him so badly and knew that he wanted her. His strength was returning more every day, but she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize his recovery. She felt her body react at just the thought of being with him again and knew that neither could wait much longer, no matter what the doctors had said.
Trying to distract herself from those thoughts, Kayla returned to the walks she and Steve had taken. After she had finished telling her story, she had tried, again, to get him to tell her about his time away. It continued to frustrate her that he would not tell her what had happened to him, but at least he had opened up a little bit more. He had told her that he had no memory of anything that had happened between leaving their farewell party and waking up bound, gagged, and blindfolded in some unknown location. He had also told her that his captors had told him that his family believed he was dead and that no one would come looking for him.
When she had questioned him about the virus and the antibodies in this blood, he had tried to laugh it off and simply said, "I guess I have a second career as a guinea pig," and then had changed the subject. Kayla knew that whatever had happened had affected him deeply - and was still affecting him. She also knew that Kim was doing her best to get Steve to let Kim help him.
Looking down, Kayla could see that Stephanie had finally gone back to sleep. Kayla walked back to the crib and carefully laid Stephanie down. She smiled down at her sleeping daughter and then headed back into the bedroom.
As she entered the bedroom, she heard a low moaning sound. She looked over at the bed and saw Steve sitting up, his eye wide open. For a moment, she thought he was awake and she started to ask him if he was okay, but quickly realized he was still asleep and in the midst of another nightmare.
She approached him slowly, calling his name. There was no response. As she reached the side of the bed, she called his name again. He looked at her but there was no recognition in his eye, only fear and confusion.
Kayla could see Steve's fists were clenched and the veins stood out in his arms as he strained against the unseen foe. Slowly, she reached out and took his fist in her hand, placing her other hand on his wrist.
"No!" Steve screamed, pulling his arm up and pushing Kayla away. She felt his fist strike her nose as she was flung backwards. Her back struck the dresser and she heard a large crash from something falling from above her. The air was forced from her lungs and she struggled to breathe, while the entire room dissolved into a white blur. Kayla stayed there, motionless, while she tried to regain her senses.