Kim stared around the bedroom - the guest bedroom - and sighed. It felt so odd being back in this house, but it particularly felt strange to think of herself as a "guest."

Or a prisoner. She shivered as she thought about what Shane had said earlier in the day. Lawrence was trying to hurt Andrew. That man would stop at nothing.

She tried to set aside that thought as she looked around the room once more. The last time she had slept in this room was when Shane had amnesia and she had insisted he take their bedroom, because being in his own bed and bedroom might help him remember his past. It was funny, she thought, as she remembered that time. Kim had been so steadfast and resolute that Shane would remember and they would be together again. And when he did remember, there had been so much joy. They had made love in their bedroom and pledged they would be together forever.

"I guess in Salem, 'forever' is about five months," Kim muttered, as she pulled the last items out of her suitcase and set them on the dresser. She took the empty case and stepped into the hallway.

"Oh, Madame Brady, please let me take that for you." She looked up to see Simmons heading toward her. "I've already placed Master Andrew's case in the attic."

"And where is Andrew?" Kim asked. As much as she did not want to act panicked, she knew Shane would not have claimed Andrew was in danger without reason.

"He's fine, Madame," Simmons said. "He's in his room playing video football - I mean what you call soccer." He harrumphed at that, and Kim knew he was wondering why Andrew did not just get a soccer ball and go play outside.

"Thank you, Simmons." She smiled at the butler. He was such a fixture here, just as he had been at Donovan Manor when she had first visited. "I don't know what we would do without you," she said.

"Bring over Worthington, I suppose," Simmons said, and Kim was surprised to catch a slight edge to his voice. "Master Andrew has told me all about him."

Kim laughed, stepped toward the butler, and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Trust me, Simmons, nobody could ever hold a candle to you. After all, who would tell us all about the trouble that Shane got into when he was a boy?"

Simmons grinned. "It's nice to have you home, Madame."

As he walked away with her case, Kim tried not to feel pain at his words. Home. This had been her home, but it was Shane's home now, and she was just a guest. The thought weighed on her as she entered the makeshift nursery that Simmons had set up for Jeannie. Or maybe it was not so makeshift, as the room probably was much the way it had been when Stephanie had stayed here. Still, the nursery was comfortable and right next door to Kim's room, so she tried to set the thought aside.

In the crib, Jeannie stirred and then began to cry. Kim crossed the room to the crib and lifted up the baby. The smell told Kim the reason for the cries. "Guess it's time for a diaper change, isn't it?"

Kim quickly got Jeannie cleaned up and the diaper changed. She then decided to take Jeannie downstairs to the library where Simmons had set up her playpen. A few minutes later, Kim was on the floor of the library waving Jeannie's favorite stuffed bunny as Jeannie crawled around on the floor laughing.

"That's quite a picture."

Kim jerked her head around and saw Shane standing in the doorway of the room. He had a tight-lipped smile, but it dissolved as he watched Jeannie. "Oh . . . Shane. . ." Kim said. "I hope you don't mind that Simmons set up her toys down here."

"No, that's okay." Shane crossed the room toward his desk.

"I mean, I know how uncomfortable you are with Jea-"

Shane cut her off. "I said it's fine."

The room fell silent except for Jeannie's gurgling as she reached the stuffed toy on the floor. Meanwhile, Kim studied Shane. He looked tense and it reminded her of how he would get before missions. He would get wound up so tight that he seemed ready to explode, like a coil that has been drawn out and is ready to snap back. As he leafed through some papers on his desk, Kim noticed that the knuckles on his right hand were slightly red.

"I guess I don't need to ask what happened with Lawrence," she said, shaking her head. "Do you really think roughing him up is going to solve the problem?"

Shane set down his papers. "I just made sure Lawrence got the message, Kim. He knows that he can't come after our son without retribution. He'll think twice before he tries anything-"

"No, he won't," Kim said, angrily. "That's not how Lawrence thinks. He doesn't think of the consequences to him; he just thinks of how he's been slighted. You beating him up just gives him more reason to come after you."

"Good," Shane snapped. "Let him come after me. I can defend myself; Andrew's just a boy."

"To Lawrence, hurting Andrew is going after you. He's a sociopath, Shane." Kim took a deep breath. While she was unpacking, she had spent some time thinking about Lawrence and how his mind works. As she thought it over, what she had initially considered "crazy" when Shane suggested it no longer seemed unbelievable to her. "A sociopath doesn't consider the consequences of his action. He doesn't have remorse or empathy. So killing a child means nothing to Lawrence, as long as it inflicts pain on his targets. Don't you get it? Lawrence doesn't care about fighting fair."

Shane said nothing, but just stared at her, his expression unreadable.

"I know you're trying to protect us," Kim said, with a soft smile. "You'd never let anything happen to us. And I know how hard it is for you to do nothing." That was probably the hardest thing for Shane. Attacking Lawrence made Shane think he was doing something, even if it probably made things worse.

"Well . . . I can't do anything about it now, can I?" Shane said with a sigh.

"No, I guess not." Kim nodded and turned back to Jeannie, who was holding onto the leg of the sofa and trying to pull herself to a standing position.

She could tell that Shane was watching the baby as well. When he spoke, his voice was softer. "Looks like she's almost ready to walk."

Kim nodded. "It's just about the right time. She'll be one on Tuesday."

There was a long silence, but Kim did not turn. She could picture the expression on Shane's face. He was probably remembering when Jeannie was born and how he had brought Andrew to Los Angeles to turn over custody of their son. Kim had refused to see Shane and did not even know that he had come to the hospital until months later. That was also when Kim had her doctor return the cameo to Shane.

From behind her, Shane finally said, "I guess you probably want to have a party for her. You're welcome to have it here. In fact, that probably would be safest."

"I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable," Kim said.

"It's okay." Kim could detect the tension in Shane's voice. "This is your home for now. And it's Jeannie's home as well." She heard some papers shuffling and then Shane passed by her with a handful of files. He did not turn to face her, but added, "I'll let Simmons know, and you can talk to him about getting whatever you need."

She watched him walk through the door, noting how his shoulders were slumped and his head was down. Then she looked at Jeannie and wondered how a child as wonderful as her daughter could cause the man she loved so much pain.