Kayla sat on the couch, thumbing through a magazine she had no interest in. She had left the apartment a few hours earlier, dropped Stephanie off to spend some time with her grandparents, and then headed to the hospital for another meeting with Neil. In that meeting, he had informed her that her hearing before the hospital board would occur in five days. She had then stopped by Bo's boat, hoping to talk to him about appearing at the hearing, only to find Carly instead. She had left a message for Bo, but it was clear that Carly was still angry at Kayla.

Then, she had returned home, looking forward to a comforting embrace from her husband only to find that he had left. While she was wondering where Steve had gone, she had received a call from Kim who was also looking for Steve. Apparently, unbeknownst to Kayla, Steve had agreed to meet with Kim today to continue his therapy sessions. Kayla had told Kim that Steve was not there and that she didn't know where he was, but suggested that Kim check the pier.

Since then, Kayla had been sitting and stewing. It was now not enough that Steve would not talk to her about what was going on in his sessions with Kim; he apparently also was going to hide the fact he was even having them. A voice in the back of her mind told her she was being unfair and a little irrational, but Kayla was not listening anymore.

Again and again, she told herself to be patient - that she should be happy just to have him back and that he would open up to her in time, just like he always had. She had been the one he had finally opened up to about his family and childhood, and he would open up to her again when he was ready. Yet, now instead of getting better, it seemed to be getting worse. Kayla was at the end of her rope.

Kayla continued to turn the pages of the magazine as she told herself that the silence would end now. When Steve returned home, she would tell him exactly how she was feeling and get him to open up to her. She hated feeling shut out of a part of his life and he needed to understand that it could not continue.

She had barely finished that thought when she heard Steve's key in the door. Kayla tossed the magazine on the coffee table and looked up expectantly as he entered the apartment.

"Hey, baby," he said with a weak smile.

"Hey, yourself," she replied in an even tone. Kayla's eyes narrowed as she took in his appearance. He looked a little pale and moved slowly, without the usual bounce to his step. She watched as he took off his jacket and headed into the kitchen. Getting up from the couch, Kayla followed.

"So what have you been up to today?" she asked, hoping against hope that he would tell her the truth.

"Not much," Steve replied without looking at her. "I just took a walk on the pier. And I stopped in at the Fish Market and had some of your mama's chowder."

Kayla took a deep breath to calm herself. He was lying and she was not going to let him get away with it. "That's all?" she asked sharply. "Nothing but a little walk on the pier?"

Steve turned, clearly catching the tone in her voice. "What's wrong, baby?"

"What's wrong is that you're lying to me, Steve." Kayla could no longer contain her anger.

"I'm not lying to you, Kayla," Steve said. "I went to the pier and then I went to your folks."

"Okay, so you went to the pier," Kayla snapped. "But you're still keeping something from me and you know it." Before Steve could respond, Kayla continued. "Kim called looking for you. She said you were supposed to meet her today. Did she find you at the pier?"

Steve sighed and turned away again. "Yeah, she found me," he said softly.

"So why didn't you tell me you were supposed to meet Kim today?" Kayla tried to control her anger. "It's bad enough that you won't tell me anything that you two talk about, but now you're hiding your meetings too."

"I didn't tell you because I know it upsets you," Steve said firmly. "You told me in England that it bothered you that I was talking to Kim."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Yes, I told you it bothered me that you were talking to Kim, but that was because you weren't talking to me. Shutting me out even further isn't a good way to keep me from being upset."

"Obviously," Steve replied, his own irritation showing.

"Dammit, Steve," Kayla yelled, losing her temper. "This isn't some kind of joke. I've tried every way I know how to get you to open up to me, to let you know that I'm here for you. I've tried being patient and supportive and all it has gotten me is more and more shut out."

"I'm sorry," Steve said. "But I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"No," Kayla replied. "You're just not ready to talk about it with me. You seem plenty ready to talk about it with Kim."

"Let's not do this again, Kayla," Steve said. He seemed tired. "How did your meeting with Neil go?"

"You're not changing the subject on me this time, Steve," Kayla snapped. "We need to talk about this. The morning after you . . . after your nightmare at Donovan Manor you told me that you knew we needed to deal with this together. But nothing changed. Why can't you talk to me?"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Steve said in frustration. "Why can't you just trust me and let me work on this on my own."

"I do trust you, Steve," Kayla replied. "I've tried to give you space and I've trusted that you would open up to me when you were ready. But I can't help wondering why can't you trust me enough to tell me what you are going through. What are you feeling? You used to trust me that way."

"This is different," Steve said firmly. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's . . . it's just different, that's all."

"Why is it different, Steve?" Kayla yelled, again giving in to her anger and frustration. "It's still me and it's still you. Why can't you just tell me what is going on?"

"So what do you want to know?" Steve yelled back. "How they kept me hooded when they moved me? Or how they tied me down? Or how I can't think about it without thinking I'm back there and want to kill all those people who hurt me? That's what I told her, Kayla. And it's ugly and I don't want it affecting you and Stephanie. And it only gets worse from there. That's why I don't want you to know."

"And those are exactly the things that I want to know," Kayla said, the anger replaced by determination. "Don't you understand that? I don't need you to protect me from the bad things you went through or from the ugliness of what you remember. I need you to let me help you get through them."

"You do help me," Steve said forcefully. "You help me by being here, by loving me, by holding me at night after I've had a nightmare. You and Stephanie help me every day by reminding me all of the things that I have to be thankful for. Can you understand that?"

"Why can't I do both?" Kayla asked, desperate to get through to him. "I will be here loving you and comforting you, but I can also help you if you would just let me."

"No," Steve said, shaking his head. He paused for a moment then explained. "Kim wanted me to talk about the things I remembered today, and you know what happened? I had a flashback and almost lost control again. I won't take that chance with you. I hurt you once and I won't ever take the chance of it happening again."

"I can take care of myself, Steve." Kayla was still frustrated. "I don't need you to shut yourself off from me in order to protect me. I know that you would never hurt me."

"I already did, Kayla," Steve said, the sadness and regret clear in his voice. "I know it was a nightmare, but these memories are like a walking nightmare, and it would kill me if I ever hurt you like that again. Please understand, baby. I can't let that happen."

Before Kayla could respond, the phone rang. She contemplated letting it ring, but knew that it could be about Stephanie. Walking to the phone, she answered, "Hello."

"Kayla, it's Mom," Caroline replied.

"Hi . . . is everything okay with Stephanie?" Kayla asked.

"She's fine," Caroline said. "But you were supposed to pick her up 10 minutes ago. I've got to leave to get my meeting at the church."

"I'm sorry, Ma," Kayla said feeling guilty. "I just lost track of time. I'll be there is just a few minutes."

"It's okay, Kayla," Caroline said. "Kimmie is here and can watch Stephanie until you get here. I was just a little worried myself when you were late."

"Tell Kim that I'll be there soon. Bye, Ma."

"Bye, Kayla," Caroline replied.

Kayla hung up the phone and turned to Steve. "I guess we will have to talk later. I need to go pick up Stephanie. I was supposed to be there 10 minutes ago."

"So I gathered," Steve replied. He reached again for Kayla's hand. "I know you're still upset with me, but please remember that I love you."

"I know that," Kayla said. "And I love you too." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I won't be long."

"Take your time, Sweetness," Steve said. "I've got an errand I need to run. But I won't be late, I promise."

"All right," Kayla said. "I'll see you later." She headed back into the living room and picked up her purse and keys. Sighing softly, she headed out the door.