Shane was just coming upstairs when he heard the commotion in Steve and Kayla's room. Something crashed and he heard Kayla cry out. Without hesitating, Shane ran to the door and shoved it open. He stopped short when he saw Kayla on the floor, blood running from her nose. Steve was staring wide-eyed in Kayla's direction.
Grabbing a towel from the wash basin, Shane raced forward, crouched down next to Kayla, and held the towel to her face to stop the flow of blood. "What the blazes did he do to you?" he demanded to know.
Nobody answered. Kayla was looking past Shane at Steve. Behind him, Shane could hear movement.
"What's going on? What are you doing in here, Donovan?" Steve asked, sounding angry.
"Don't go near her," Shane yelled as he turned. Steve had been starting to get out of the bed, but Shane slid over, positioning himself between Steve and Kayla. Shane continued to try to staunch the bleeding with the towel. Locking eyes on her, Shane asked softly, "Tell me, Kay, did he hurt you? Tell me what he did to you." His voice grew louder as he glanced back at Steve.
"I didn't do anything to her," Steve said, as he rose from the bed.
Shane shot back. "This sure doesn't look like it." He continued to wipe the blood away. It seemed to be slowing, and he doubted anything was broken. Now his concern was lessening, but he was beginning to grow angry. "I thought you said he'd never hurt you."
"I'm okay. He didn't hurt me," she said. "It was just an accident."
"An accident?" Shane turned his head and glared at Steve, even though he continued talking to Kayla. "Nearly breaking your nose and throwing you across the room is hardly an accident."
"What the hell are you talking about, Donovan? She said it was an accident, and that's what it was." Steve now looked furious. He took another step towards Kayla, saying, "Kayla, what happened?"
"Don't move, Steve," Shane ordered. "Don't come near her."
Steve stopped moving, but glared down at Shane and said, "I'm not one of the servants you can order around, Master Donovan. Go play 'lord of the manor' somewhere else and I'll take care of my wife."
Shane ignored the jibe. His own anger was rising and he wanted nothing more than to shut Steve's mouth, but he knew that would only upset Kayla. Shane turned back to her, trying to suppress that fury. He hated to see her hurt. Lowering his voice, he said, "Please, tell me what happened."
"It was just a nightmare," Kayla said quietly, keeping her voice low as well. "Really."
"If you're sure," Shane said, smiling softly. He gently wiped away most of the remaining blood and found himself staring into her eyes. A bit of hair had fallen over her face, so he reached out and brushed it away. "You're sure you're all right?" Unconsciously, his hand touched her cheek and he gently ran it down her face, as he again asked, "Are you sure he didn't hurt you, Kay?"
Kayla's eyes widened.
"HEY!" Steve yelled. Before Shane could react, he was being jerked by his collar. He lost his balance and fell backward. Steve's punch came out of nowhere, striking Shane in the jaw. The entire room turned into a white fog. As Shane fought to recover his senses, another punch struck his shoulder and yet another grazed his chin. Recovering enough to defend himself, Shane brought his arms up to deflect any further punches then shoved Steve away. Steve fell back, landing on the floor.
"Stop it!" Kayla shouted at Shane, jumping between them as they both scrambled to their feet.
Shaking away the rest of the fog in his brain, Shane glared at Steve. Kayla glanced at Steve also. "Are you okay, Steve?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Steve replied through clenched teeth, his eyes never leaving Shane.
Kayla turned back to Shane. "Get out! Haven't you done enough?"
Didn't she understand? Shane just wanted to see her safe. Couldn't she see that Steve was a danger to her and Stephanie?
"You heard her, dude," Steve echoed, taking a step in Shane's direction. "Get out of here."
Steve's words stoked Shane's anger, but there was nothing he could do with Kayla between them. Slowly, Shane backed away toward the door. "This isn't done, Steve. You need help and you're going to start working with Kim whether you like it or not. Next time, it might not be something as minor as a bloody nose.
With that, Shane turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.