Kayla sat quietly on the couch after Steve had left, trying to process her emotions. There was love, fear, anger, bitterness, and more love, all jumbled together. A part of her wanted to support Steve's decision because she knew that he was just doing what he thought he had to do to protect his family. Another part of her wanted to grab Stephanie and Steve and run away, to take that trip they had planned before and let somebody else - anybody else - deal with Lawrence Alamain.

She knew that was selfish. Lawrence was a threat to her whole family, but part of her almost did not care. All she wanted to do was put the fear and the hurt behind her, run away with her husband and daughter, and find some corner of the world where there was no Lawrence Alamain or Victor Kiriakis. Was it really so wrong to want to find some peace after all they had been through?

Kayla sighed and ran her hand down her face. She knew it was just wishful thinking. Steve would never run from the fight and, truth be told, neither would Kayla. She could have run after Steve's "death" but she had stayed in Salem and insisted on going to Alamain's country with Shane.

An ironic chuckle escaped Kayla's lips and she thought about how mad Steve would have been if he had known what she had done. He had even been angry when he had found out what had happened after he had returned.

Unbidden, another memory floated through Kayla's mind. Bo was at the Emergency Center with a gun, having every intention of killing Lawrence. Kayla had stopped him, insisting that more violence would not bring back Steve. The irony did not escape Kayla. She had saved Lawrence's life and now her husband was going to risk his life to stop Lawrence's latest plan.

The harsh ring of the phone startled Kayla. She scrambled to grab it before the sound woke the sleeping toddlers in the other room.

"Hello."

"Kayla Johnson?" the woman on the other end asked.

"Yes," Kayla replied.

"This is Shirley Abrams from the State Board of Medicine."

"Oh," Kayla said, her nerves suddenly on edge.

"I wanted to let you know that the board has rendered a decision in your case."

Kayla remained silent, willing herself to breath.

"The board has decided to reverse the suspension imposed by University Hospital and reinstate your license - effective immediately."

Kayla nearly collapsed, but tried to compose herself enough to respond. "Thank you for letting me know. This . . . this means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," Ms. Abrams replied. "You should be aware that you will be on probation for six months. However, if there are no further incidents, your record will be cleared by the board."

"Of course. Thank you again for the news"

"Goodbye, Mrs. Johnson."

"Goodbye."

Kayla hung up the phone and collapsed on the couch. She had not realized just how scared she had been about losing her license until just now. And, just like that, the fear was lifted. She had her license back. No, she had her career back, and that meant she had a part of herself back as well.

She could not wait for Steve to come home so she could tell him. She knew he would be happy for her and she vowed to try and accept the reality of his reinstatement to the police force. Maybe she could not be happy about it, but she could do her best to support him just as he had supported her throughout her suspension.

Kayla smiled when she heard a knock on the door. She was not sure why Steve would knock, but she was sure it had to be him. She pulled open the door and stopped in surprise when she saw Kim standing there.

"Kim," she said, unable to hide her disappointment.

"I guess you weren't expecting me," Kim said with a wan smile.

"I thought it was Steve," Kayla admitted as she let Kim into the apartment. "But now that you mention it, what are you doing here so early?"

"I . . . I just decided to take the rest of the day off," Kim said, avoiding Kayla's eyes. Kim looked around and asked, "Where are the girls?"

Kayla's eyes narrowed as she observed her sister. Something was definitely going on with Kim, and there was more to the story than just deciding to take an afternoon off.

"They're still napping," Kayla finally replied. "They should be up fairly soon, though."

"Oh." Kim's eyes darted around the apartment.

"Why don't you have a seat and we can visit until they wake up. I feel like we haven't really talked in forever."

"I . . . I can't. I really should just get Jeannie and be going."

"What's going on, Kim?" Kayla asked.

"Nothing," Kim quickly replied. Too quickly. It was a dead giveaway that the "nothing" was definitely something.

"Come on, Kim. This is me." Kayla stared at her sister. "I can tell something is really bothering you."

Kayla watched as Kim's eyes filled with tears and she slowly sank onto the couch.

"Kim?" Kayla's voice was filled with concern as she quickly sat next to her sister. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Kim said, hesitantly. "A few days ago, I got a strange package with Shane's keys in it. I didn't think too much of it at the time and I had forgotten all about it with . . . with everything that has been going on the last few days."

Kayla nodded, knowing exactly what her sister was referring to.

"Then today - at the clinic - I got another package." Kim took a deep breath. "It was an old shirt of Shane's. It was filthy and torn and . . ."

"And what?" Kayla prompted.

"It had bloodstains on it, and on the shoulder, I'm sure it had a bullet hole." Kim looked at Kayla, the fear clear in her eyes.

"A bullet hole?" Kayla was confused. "Are you sure it was Shane's shirt?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I recognized the label from the shop where he has them custom made."

"And the bullet hole was in his shoulder?"

Kim nodded.

"This just doesn't make any. . . ." Kayla stopped and her eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Kim asked.

"Was it white?" Kayla asked.

Kim nodded. "Why? What are you thinking of?"

"The wilderness camp that Saul Taylor was running as a cover for Alfred Jericho," Kayla replied. "After Steve found Shane in that trailer, and they escaped, Shane was shot in the shoulder."

Kim nodded slowly. "I remember you telling me about that."

The room was silent for a moment. Kayla glanced at Kim and knew they were both thinking the same thing - why would somebody have sent that shirt to Kim? Suddenly, another thought occurred to Kayla.

"You said you got a package with Shane's keys in it?"

Kim looked up. "Yes, a few days ago. It had an old key ring of Shane's on it. That's how I knew they were his."

"Steve told me that he found Shane's keys on the grounds of the wilderness camp not too long after he first got there. He said Saul took them, but that was one of Steve's first clues that there was something going on in that camp."

Kim and Kayla shared a look. "So both of the packages are related to Jericho," Kim finally said. Her hand went to her mouth as the pieces finally fit together. "Oh my god, Kayla. What if it isn't Lawrence who's trying to kill Andrew? What if it's Jericho?"

Kayla shook her head. "That can't be. Jericho was killed in that explosion."

"We thought Shane died in that explosion too, remember?" Kim said bitterly. "If he survived, why not Jericho?"

Before Kayla could respond, Kim got up and headed into the other room. She quickly returned with a half-asleep Jeannie and gathered her things.

"I have to go. I have to talk to Shane."

Kayla nodded and gave her sister a quick hug. "Call me if you get any more information, okay? And please be careful."

"I will." Kim quickly left the apartment.

Shutting the door behind Kim, Kayla returned to the couch. All this time, they had been focused on Lawrence. They had forgotten that there were always other enemies lurking. Kayla heard Stephanie's cries and got up to get her. As she headed into the other room she again wondered if there would ever be true peace for her family.