Steve grimaced as he slowly made his way down the stairs to the pier. The run-in with the car might not have caused permanent damage, but it had left him pretty sore. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Steve involuntary shuddered involuntarily. He had spent plenty of time walking along the pier since his return, but he had always avoided this spot. He knew it did not make any sense. He did not remember anything between leaving the party and waking up on the plane, bound and gagged. But he remembered leaving Kayla and Stephanie behind because Bo was in trouble, and he remembered that Bo was on pier 53 with a boat called the River Flyer.

Now, not quite a year later, here he was again on pier 53, again looking for Bo.

Looking down the pier, he could see The Fancy Face moored several slips away. Everything was calm and peaceful and the pier looked pristine. Yet, he could not shake the cold chill that ran down his spine.

Pushing those thoughts from his head, Steve continued towards Bo's boat. As he reached the boat and climbed aboard, he could hear voices below. He was about to call out, but stopped when he realized Bo and Carly were in the middle of an argument. Not wanting to disturb them, Steve turned to leave only to hear Carly telling Bo he could not testify at Kayla's hearing.

What the hell does she mean he can't testify? Steve thought angrily. Kayla's hearing before the hospital board was the following day, and Bo's testimony might be the difference between Kayla being able to return to work or being permanently dismissed. Steve moved closer to the hatch and listened.

"I promised Kayla I would be right there with her," Bo said. "I'm not going to back out on her now."

"I think it's a bad idea if you testify, Bo," Carly said firmly. "This could be very dangerous."

Dangerous? Steve wondered what Carly meant by that.

"I know that," Bo replied. "But I have to go through with it for Kay."

"What about for you?" Carly asked. "I hate the thought of giving Victor anything he can use against you."

Victor? What does the Big Greek have to do with this? This conversation was only making Steve more confused and more angry.

"I know," Bo repeated. "We've been through all of this."

"That doesn't make me worry any less," Carly said.

"I know that too," Bo replied. "I know you're worried and I'm worried too."

"Well then, you just won't testify and then neither of us will have to worry," Steve heard Carly say. That was enough for Steve. Without knocking, he headed down the stairs of the hatchway and entered the cabin.

"Well . . . I'm glad that nobody has to worry anymore," Steve said, staring hard at Carly. "Now why don't you explain why you think he shouldn't help his sister, especially considering that she's in this mess because she was trying to help him?"

"Steve!" Carly said, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to talk to Bo about the hearing tomorrow." Steve glanced at Bo. "I wanted to let him know how much it means to Kayla and I that he's going to be there with her and help her out. I didn't expect to find you trying to talk him out of it. Kayla was all worried about coming between you and Bo, but it looks like you're the one she should have been worried about."

"Take it easy, Steve," Bo said. "You don't know the whole story. Besides, if you were up there listening, then you heard me say that I'm going to testify for Kayla."

"Yeah, I heard that. And you're right, I don't know the whole story." Steve's voice rose in anger. "All I know is that from what everybody has told me, Carly here was keeping some pretty big secrets when she hit town last year, including ones about Lawrence Alamain. And from what I understand, those secrets help put a lot of people in a lot of danger."

"That was a long time ago, Steve," Bo said calmly. "A lot has happened since then."

Steve looked at Bo. He knew his friend was trying to defend the woman he loved, but did he really think he needed to tell Steve that a lot had happened in the past year? Walking over to where Bo stood, Steve looked him in the eye. "Nobody has to remind me of how much has happened in the last year. I know it every time I see how much my little girl has grown, and every time I get another reminder of how my wife spent most of the last year without me."

Steve watched as Bo looked down, then raised his eyes and put a hand on Steve's arm. "I'm sorry. I know you missed out on a lot and I shouldn't have said it that way. I'm just trying to tell you that we've all moved past what happened back then."

Steve gave a sarcastic grin. "Maybe you've moved past it, Bo. But I haven't." Turning back to Carly, he said, "And I really don't understand how somebody who was apparently so easily forgiven for her secrets and lies can't forgive Kayla for hers."

"This has nothing to do with any grudge against Kayla," Carly said. "Yes, I'm still not happy that she kept the truth about Bo having the virus from everyone, but I know that Bo left her no choice." Carly glanced at Bo. "I would never keep Bo from helping his sister just because I was angry with her. If I really felt that way, then I wouldn't be appearing before the Board on her behalf."

"Then what's it about?" Steve demanded. "What could be so important that it should keep Bo from helping his sister?"

Steve saw Carly look at Bo. He turned to Bo and gave him a questioning look. "Is somebody going to tell me what his going on here?"

"Carly's afraid that if I testify for Kayla at the hearing, it might upset Victor," Bo said.

"Why would the Big Greek care about that?" Steve felt more confused than ever.

"It's a long story," Bo said. "Carly is trying to get an annulment from Victor and we're supposed to stay away from each other while that's going on. Carly's afraid that if Victor sees us both at the hearing, he'll use that against us."

"How about you, Bo," Steve asked. "Are you afraid?"

"Victor doesn't scare me," Bo said. "He never has. It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing is going to stop me from being there for Kayla." Bo looked at Carly and repeated, "Nothing."

"Good," Steve said. "And if you need any help dealing with Kiriakis, just let me know. I still owe him for what he did to Kayla."

"I don't need any help with Victor," Bo said. "And you need to focus on your family, not my problems."

"You are my family, Bo," Steve said quietly.

"I know," Bo replied. "But you've bailed me out enough for a lifetime. I can handle this one myself. If you want to help me out, just take care of my sister."

Steve knew that Bo was referring to their shared history and, specifically, to the fact that the explosion occurred when Steve had been trying to help Bo. Steve also knew Bo's request was his way of trying to keep Steve out of any trouble Bo might be in. Nodding softly, Steve said, "Okay. If that's how you want it, I'll stay out of it. But you remember that I'm here if you need backup."

"You always have been," Bo said, holding out his hand.

Steve shook Bo's hand, and they clapped each other on the shoulder. Then Steve turned to Carly. "I'm sorry you're having trouble with Victor and I'm sorry if I was hard on you before. But Kayla told me that you did everything you did back then because you were trying to help your brother, right?"

Carly nodded. "All I wanted to do was keep Frankie safe," she said softly.

"I can understand that," Steve said. "Frankie's like a little brother to me, too. So I hope you understand that Bo has to do what he needs to do to help his family."

Carly nodded again, but did not speak.

"Good." Steve turned back to Bo. "Well . . . I better get home and see how Kayla's doing. She's trying to act like it's no big deal, but I know she is worried about tomorrow."

"Tell her not to worry," Bo said, clapping Steve on the shoulder again. "I'll be there to make sure everything goes fine."

Steve grimaced as Bo's hand landed on his bruised shoulder. Bo did not miss Steve's reaction.

"Are you okay, man?" Bo asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied rotating his shoulder. "Just a little leftover from the other day."

Bo's expression grew serious. "I heard what happened with Kimber. Thank God you were there."

Steve shrugged. "I'm just glad she and Andrew are okay. Hopefully Roman can find some evidence and nail Alamain to the wall."

Bo nodded. "His day will come, man. It's just a matter of time."

It was Steve's turn to nod in agreement. The hope of seeing Lawrence taken down permanently was something they all held onto.

Turning back towards Carly, Steve said a quick goodbye and headed out the hatch, off the boat and back onto the pier. Looking around, he realized that, as much as things had changed in the last year, some things would never change. Bo was still Bo, and he would do everything in his power to help Kayla. Steve gave a small smile as he remembered a time when he had dismissed the importance of family and friends. Now he knew they were the only things that really mattered in his life. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he turned and headed up the stairs and back home to his family.