Steve unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment. Kayla was nowhere to be seen but he soon heard her in the kitchen and could smell dinner being prepared. Taking off his jacket and tossing in on a nearby chair, he called out, "Sweetness, I'm home."

"We're in the kitchen," he heard her reply.

Walking into the kitchen, Steve saw his daughter in her playpen playing with a stuffed animal while Kayla prepared a salad at the counter. Stopping only to give his wife a quick kiss on the cheek, he walked to the playpen and picked up Stephanie.

"How's my little Sweetness," he said, kissing her on her chubby cheeks. "Did you have fun at Grandma and Grandpa's today?"

Stephanie babbled back at Steve, then grabbed his cheek and said "Papa!" Steve let out a hearty laugh, knowing he would never tire of hearing Stephanie say that word. Kissing her again, he put her back in the playpen and turned back to his wife.

"Dinner smells wonderful, Sweetness," he said, wondering if she was still mad at him.

"Thanks," Kayla replied with a small smile. Pointing at a small plate on the counter, she said, "Why don't you feed Stephanie her dinner while I finish preparing ours?"

"All right," Steve said, figuring any further conversation would have to wait. He took the small plate from the counter and set it on the table, then pulled Stephanie's high chair to the table. Picking up Stephanie from the playpen, he set her down in the high chair and watched as she dug into the pieces of hot dog on the plate. In between the hot dog bites, he also tried to get her to eat her peas and carrots and could hear Kayla giggling behind him as Stephanie seemed more interested in throwing the food than eating it.

"You think this is funny, Sweetness?" Steve asked, as he dodged another handful of carrots.

"Who me?" Kayla said innocently.

"Yes, you," Steve replied, pulling Stephanie from her high chair and carrying her over to Kayla. "Come on, little Sweetness, give Mama a big hug and kiss."

Kayla squealed and dodged the attack from her food-covered daughter. Steve's loud laugh mingled with Stephanie's infectious giggles as they chased Kayla around the kitchen. Finally, Kayla gave up and accepted a kiss from her daughter.

"Okay," Kayla said, trying to catch her breath. "Why don't you take this little monster and give her a quick bath." Looking at the bits of food on Steve's face, she giggled and said, "You could probably use one too."

"Ha ha," Steve replied. "Let's go get cleaned up, baby girl." Steve carried Stephanie into the bathroom and quickly ran her bath. As he bathed her and then put her in her pajamas, Steve could not help but feel slightly amazed. For so many years, he had believed that a wife and children were things that happened to other people, not to someone like him. Then he had thought it had all been taken from him. Now, here he was giving his daughter a bath and about to sit down to dinner with his wife. Once again, he vowed to do everything in his power to never let it be taken from him again.

Carrying a now-clean Stephanie back into the kitchen, Steve deposited her in the playpen with her toys and sat down at the table. Kayla carried the lasagna to the table and sat down.

"This looks great, Sweetness." Steve dug into the salad and lasagna. "I guess it's my turn to cook tomorrow."

Kayla nodded, but did not say anything. Sighing, Steve looked at her. "I guess you're still mad at me, huh?"

Kayla looked up. "I'm not mad, Steve. I'm just . . . frustrated . . . a little hurt, I guess. I know that you want to protect me, and I love you for that. But I'm not sure I can just accept being shut out of everything you are going through."

"I know," Steve said. There really was nothing else to be said. He understood how frustrating it was to be shut out. He remembered when Kayla had been dealing with the emotional aftermath of the rape. All he had wanted to do was take away her pain, but she had been unable to really open up to him. There were a lot of reasons for that, some of which had been his fault, but things did not really get better until he had stepped back and let her deal with some of it on her own, with the help of a counselor.

Taking Kayla's hand, Steve looked into her eyes. "I wish I could tell you what you want to hear. I wish I could do what you want me to do. But, I can't. Not yet."

Kayla sighed and nodded. "Then I'll wait," she said with quiet determination. "But don't expect me to pretend that I'm okay with it. I don't want to fight anymore, but I'm not going to lie about how I feel."

"I don't want you to pretend or to lie," Steve said. "And I don't want to fight anymore, either. We're just going to have to try and work through day by day."

Kayla nodded again. They ate in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kayla spoke again. "So . . . what was the errand you had to run today?"

Steve started a little at her question. He had expected her to ask, but their conversation about his therapy sessions had almost made him forget his visit to Lawrence. For a moment he was tempted to lie, knowing she was not going to like the truth, but he also knew that he could not expect Kayla to be honest with him if he was not honest with her.

"I went to visit Lawrence Alamain," he said, then braced himself for the storm that was likely to follow.

"You did what?" Kayla exclaimed. "How could you do that without telling me?"

"Hold on, Kayla," Steve said, raising his hands. "I didn't tell you before because there were a few other things going on and I am telling you about it now."

Kayla's eyes narrowed, but she took a breath and then spoke more calmly, "Okay, you're telling me now. So why don't you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Nothing happened," Steve said. "I went to the prison. They brought him out. I introduced myself and let him know that he better stay away from my family."

"So you threatened him?" Kayla said.

"No, I didn't threaten him," Steve replied. "I warned him. Don't you understand, Kayla? You, Bo, Roman . . . Donovan . . . you all know the guy. He destroyed my life and took me away from you - and I've never even seen his face. I needed to see him and size him up so I had a better idea of who I was dealing with. That's why I went."

"I just want him out of our lives," Kayla said. "He's taken too much from us already."

"I know, baby." Steve nodded in agreement. "But we can't hide from him either. We both know it's possible he might come after me, or you and Stephanie. I need all the information I can get about him to prevent that from happening."

Kayla did not respond. Instead, she got up from the table and began gathering dishes. Steve could see the unshed tears in her eyes. Standing up he went to her and put his arms around her, stilling her movements. Speaking softly, he said, "I promise that I won't let anything happen to you or Stephanie. And I will do everything in my power to keep him from hurting anyone else we love."

Again, Kayla just nodded, but he could feel her relax a little in his embrace. After a few moments, he stepped back and helped Kayla clear the table. They worked together in silence until the food was put away and the dishes were in the sink, and they started cleaning the dishes.

Suddenly, Steve remembered Kayla's meeting with Neil earlier in day. Mentally kicking himself for not asking about it earlier, he said, "Baby, you never told me what happened in your meeting with Neil."

Kayla sighed but remained focused on the dish she was washing. "He told me that the hospital board hearing was scheduled for five days from today." Her tone was emotionless. "So I guess that's when we'll know what happens with my career at University Hospital."

Steve's heart sunk. He knew how much Kayla's nursing career meant to her - how much it was a part of her. Forcing an optimistic tone into his voice, he said, "No, that's when this whole mess will be cleared up and you can go back to work."

That brought a small smile to Kayla's face. "I hope you're right, Steve."

"Of course I'm right," he said, giving her a grin. Taking the dish from her hands, he set it on the counter, turned Kayla to him, and drew her into his arms. "It's going to be okay, baby. No matter what happens we're going to be okay."