Shane looked across the table at Andrew, who was poking his fork around on the plate.

"Don't tell me you don't like apple pie?" Shane said. "That's the all-American dessert. And you know Alice Horton will be disappointed if you don't finish it."

Andrew looked up glumly.

"Hey, Sport, what's wrong?"

"Why can't you and Mommy live in the same house like before?" Andrew asked. "Why can't it be like in England, when we were all together?"

Shane sighed. Andrew had been back and forth between Shane and Kim for much of the past year, so the time at Donovan Manor was bound to have confused him.

"Andrew . . . sometimes mommies and daddies don't live together. I know your mom stayed with us in England, but that was so she could be close to Uncle Steve and Aunt Kayla. But now that we're back in Salem, it's going to be like it was before we went to England."

Andrew stared down at his plate. "I don't like it. I saw you so much in England. . . ."

"Hey . . . we'll do things together here, Sport. I promise." Shane tried his best to reassure his son, and even decided to spoil a surprise he had planned. "In fact, I had Worthington make arrangements to send Jester to Salem, and he should be here in just a few days."

That brought an excited smile to Andrew's face. "Jester's coming here? And we can go riding?"

"Absolutely," Shane said. He looked back at Andrew's plate. "Now why don't you finish that pie so Alice doesn't get upset."

"Oh, it will take a lot more than that to upset my grandmother, Shane, darling." That came from the unmistakable voice of Julie Williams.

Shane immediately grinned, stood up and turned to her. "Julie, it's wonderful to see you." It was. Julie had become a good friend since she returned to Salem. She had also been a tremendous influence on Eve, whom Julie had taken under her wing, and had played a bit of a role as confidante when Shane was trying to sort out his feelings for Kayla.

Julie hesitated momentarily when she saw Shane's face. "I'd give you a kiss, darling, but I don't see a spot where it looks like it wouldn't hurt." She said that in a teasing voice.

"Honest, it looks a lot worse than it feels," Shane said. At her questioning look, he added, "Just a little accident."

"In your line of work, there's no such thing." Julie paused. "Shane, I do need to discuss something with you."

"Oh . . ." Shane turned to Andrew, then back to Julie. "Julie, I don't think you've met my son, Andrew. Andrew, this is Mrs. Williams, a good friend of mine and Eve's."

Julie leaned over. "Why hello, Andrew."

Andrew hesitated, then said, "Hello, ma'am. It's very nice to meet you."

"Of course. He's your son. . . ." Julie looked at Shane and rolled her eyes. "He would be ridiculously polite."

Shane chuckled and whispered, "Trust me, that's not always the case." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some change, before turning back to Andrew. "Sport, I need to talk with Mrs. Williams for a few minutes. How about you go play a few of those games over in the corner?"

"Can I?" Andrew jumped out of his seat.

"Sure." Shane handed Andrew a few quarters. "Just stay where I can see you."

"That's some boy," Julie said, as Andrew ran off. She took his seat across the table from Shane, who returned to his seat.

Shane nodded as he watched his son. "He sure is." Then he turned back to Julie. "But you didn't come over here to talk about Andrew. What's on your mind?"

"The immunology lab, Shane," Julie said. "I always suspected your interest in it was not purely motivated by your oh-so benevolent nature, but now that the virus affecting the ISA agents has been cured, what happens next? We still have a world-renowned immunologist in Jordan Bishop on staff."

Shane had never really thought about what would happen with the lab after the virus was cured. He knew that Neil Curtis considered the immunology lab a jewel in the crown of University Hospital, and Shane had always supported the hospital. They had even named a wing for him after his "death," and he was still trying to get Neil to change the name. Shane found it quite morbid to pass the "Shane Donovan Memorial Wing" while he was still alive.

"I don't see any reason to close the lab," Shane told Julie. "Assuming you wish to continue your support, I'm happy to keep up my contribution. And I'm sure we could talk to Kayla about seeking some additional grant money."

Something in Julie's expression told Shane that he had said something wrong. "About that. . . ." Julie said. "We, uh, may need to find a new administrator for the lab."

Now Shane was confused. "What do you mean? Kayla's done an excellent job."

"Oh." Julie had a nervous look that was very at odds with her normally poised demeanor. "I guess you haven't heard."

"Heard what?"

Julie sighed. "Kayla's been suspended from the hospital. Apparently, to hide that Bo had the virus, she switched her blood for Bo's."

"I gather that's a bad thing?" Shane asked.

"Yes. It violates hospital procedures and state regulations," Julie said. "Kayla could lose her nursing license. She has a hearing before the hospital board later in the week. I'm sorry, but I was sure you knew."

Shane was shocked. How could Kayla keep that secret? She had kept secret that Bo was sick, and now this. But then his surprise went away. Shane no longer had a right to expect Kayla to tell him anything. "No . . . I didn't know," Shane said. "Things have kind of changed between me and Kayla."

Julie nodded. "I heard. It's pretty hard to keep a secret like someone coming back from the dead in a town like this." She gave him a sympathetic look. "How are you holding up, darling?"

Shane smiled. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I feel a bit guilty about all of this," Julie said. "After all, I did push you to admit how you felt about Kayla. Maybe if I hadn't-"

"Julie, please. . . . It's hardly your fault." Shane shook his head. "I'm a big boy. I can handle it. And from what I hear, Kayla's very happy."

Julie laughed. "Oh, Shane, darling. . . ." She did not finish the sentence, but reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "You know, if you ever need to talk, I'm here. I know a thing or two - plus a lot more - about having your heart broken."

Shane felt his cheeks flush a little. He hated being pitied, but he knew Julie was just trying to be supportive. So rather than get angry, Shane just said, "You're a good friend, Julie, but I really am fine." Then he made a point of looking over to where Andrew was playing and added, "I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I promised Kim I'd get Andrew home early."