Kayla yawned lazily as she turned over in bed. She knew she needed to get up and check on Stephanie, who probably required a diaper change. However, Kayla did not want to move. She never wanted to ever leave this bed. Mostly, she wanted Steve to get back to their room from wherever he had gone so they could continue what they had started the night before.

She smiled as she thought about it. They had made love for hours. It had been amazing how they still knew each other after so long apart, and yet, at the same time, everything had felt so new, every touch had felt as if she was discovering something for the first time. In her mind, she catalogued all the places she had touched that had caused Steve to tremble or moan. She began to picture exactly what she would do to him when he returned.

As if on cue, the door opened and Steve entered, carrying a tray in front of him. Kayla looked at him. "Breakfast in bed?" she asked.

"You need your sustenance," Steve replied. "You've got to keep your strength up. You never know when you might need a little extra energy." He set the tray down on the table beside his side of the bed and removed his robe. Underneath, he was wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms.

Kayla took note again of how thin Steve was. He had regained some weight over the past few weeks, but he was still much thinner than he had been before the boat explosion.

Apparently oblivious to - or just ignoring - her concern, Steve crawled into bed beside her and gave her a long, deep kiss. Kayla closed her eyes and savored the moment, then felt a flood of disappointment as Steve pulled away.

When she opened her eyes, Kayla saw Steve staring at her, a mixture of guilt and regret on his face. He hesitantly reached out and brushed his fingers across Kayla's cheek, then drew back as she flinched slightly.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, baby. I swear nothing like that will ever happen again," Steve said, his voice cracking.

"I know," Kayla said quietly. "It was just an accident. I knew you were having a nightmare and should have been more careful when I tried to wake you up."

"Dammit, Kayla. I don't want you to have to be careful around me. I don't want you to have to worry about what I might do."

"I'm not worried, Steve. I'm not afraid of you. I know that you would never hurt me. But your nightmares are something we need to deal with - together." She reached out and stroked Steve's cheek.

"I know, baby," Steve said tenderly. "I . . . I . . ." Steve paused and Kayla could see he was struggling. Finally, he turned back to the tray he had brought up with him. "For now, how about we see what ol' Worthington fixed up for us this morning?" Steve said. "I see some scones and some fruit." He grinned as he picked up a strawberry from the tray and held it to Kayla's lips.

Kayla hesitated. She knew that Steve was trying to change the subject. She wanted to push him and make him tell her what was going on inside his head. But maybe this wasn't the right time. They'd spent a wonderful night reuniting physically and emotionally. She wanted to savor that moment for a while. Smiling, she took a bite of the sweet fruit.

"Mmmmmm," she murmured, as Steve followed the fruit with another kiss. When he pulled away, she smiled. "At this rate, we won't finish breakfast by the time it's lunch."

"And that's a bad thing?" Steve said, as he finished the rest of the strawberry. "I've got an even better idea. Let's postpone breakfast until it's time for lunch."

Kayla laughed at his wicked grin. "So how should we fill the next few hours?"

"I've got a few ideas." Steve's hand had slipped under the covers and began running it up her side.

"Do you now? Remember that warning about 'strenuous activities,'" she teased. "I think last night got pretty strenuous."

"Ah, what do doctors know." Steve's hand had settled on her waist. "Besides, I'm feeling really good this morning." He grinned. "Had a little chat with our host in the kitchen."

Something about the way he said that gave Kayla pause. "Steve, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing much. I just set Donovan straight about a few things."

"What things?" she said, knowing she was not going to like the answer.

Steve's grin never wavered and he leaned close to her. "I just told him that there's only one man in this world who will ever make love to you."

Kayla couldn't believe what she just heard. She pushed Steve away and sat up. "Tell me you didn't really say that to Shane?"

"Hey, what's wrong, baby?" Steve remained on his side, but bent his elbow and propped his head on a hand. "After what he did last night, Mr. ISA needed to be taken down a peg or two."

"Steve, all he did was touch my cheek. He thought I was hurt." Kayla doubted Steve would understand, but she had to try to explain. "I know what you think, but Shane probably didn't even realize he was doing it. He's probably done that over a 100 times before."

Kayla saw Steve's jaw tighten, "Yeah, well now he knows not to do it again," he said, anger creeping into his voice.

Kayla sighed. "Why can't you let it go? I know you're angry about what happened, but I've tried to explain already. It just happened. Nobody planned it." She reached out for his free hand. "You're back and anything between me and Shane is over. You can't keep treating Shane like an enemy. We should be grateful for what he did to free you." Kayla did not know the details other than that there was some type of military-style raid on the place Steve was being held, but that sounded dangerous enough. "He risked his life to get you out."

Steve frowned. "Let's get something straight. The ISA got me out. Shane just went along so he could play soldier. Everything else he says is probably just talk."

Kayla's frustration boiled over. "Dammit, Steve. You're not being fair and you know it." She pulled herself out of the bed and found her robe.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked.

She glared at him. "First, I'm going to check on Stephanie. Then, I'm going to find Shane and apologize to him for what you said." Kayla started to head for Stephanie's room, but stopped and turned back. "I know I can't make you apologize, but I want you to think about everything Shane's done to help you and ask yourself how easy that would have been for you if your positions were reversed."

"Kayla-"

"No, Steve," Kayla snapped. "You have to make peace with him." More softly she added, "I know that this is hard for you. But all I want to do is move forward with our lives and I think you want that too. And I know that until you make some kind of peace with Shane, this is always going to be between us. I think you need to ask yourself if that's what you really want."

Kayla gave Steve one last look and headed into check on Stephanie. She could only pray that something she had said had gotten through to him. If Steve couldn't find a way to make his peace with Shane, then she was afraid that those wounds would never really be healed and it scared her to death to think about how they might fester over time.