Kayla sighed with relief as she signed the last of the forms necessary for her official reinstatement to the hospital. It seemed impossible that simply being allowed to return to work would require so many forms, but there were insurance forms, security forms, confidentiality forms, and forms she thought were just to keep the human resources people busy filing. So she had settled down at the table in the staff lounge and worked her way through all of them. The paperwork was now done, and she would be able to return to work on Monday - finally.

The only real question was where she would be working. She knew she could return to the lab administrator's position. Not only had Shane mentioned it at the airport, but Neil had mentioned it when she had stopped by his office to pick up the paperwork. As with Shane, she had been noncommittal, promising to stop by and talk in more detail about her schedule after the paperwork was finished.

Kayla had so many mixed feelings about returning to the lab. She was proud of the work she had done to get the lab up and running and there was an immense satisfaction to see how successful it had become. But the lab was also tied strongly to Shane and to the period after she lost Steve. Even without the ongoing conflict between Shane and Steve, Kayla had mixed feelings about returning to a job tied so closely to a period of her life that was often very painful.

And there was the ongoing conflict between Shane and Steve - one that seemed to spill into every interaction between the two. Steve had told her about finding, and slugging, Shane at Wings after being rejected for reinstatement. It seemed every time the two of them were in the same room, they came to blows. She could not see how that was going to get better if there was a constant possibility of Steve finding her together with Shane at the lab.

"Kayla, darling, how wonderful to find you here." Julie Williams' voice filled the room as she made her usual, energetic entrance into the room.

"Hello, Julie." Kayla smiled at the older woman. In the previous year, she had gotten to know Julie quite well and had grown very fond of her. "What brings you to University Hospital today?"

"Truthfully, I was looking for you." Julie smiled broadly and took a seat at the table. "Neil told me you were probably in here filling out all kinds of paperwork for your reinstatement. Congratulations on that, by the way."

"Thanks," Kayla replied. "And Neil was right - I just finished the last of the paperwork. I think filling out the paperwork took longer than my suspension." Now that it was over, it was easier to joke about.

"Good. Since you've finished your paperwork, it's a perfect time for us to talk." Julie got straight to the point as usual.

"All right." Kayla had a hunch what this was about, but waited for Julie to continue.

"I'll get straight to the point," Julie said with a smile. "Shane told me that you have some reservations about returning to the lab administrator's position. I would like to know what it will take to remove those reservations."

Kayla could not help but smile. Julie always made everything sound so easy. "I don't think it's quite that simple, Julie."

"Of course it is, darling," Julie replied, undeterred. "You tell me what your reservations are - and I'll fix them. It's exactly that simple."

Kayla sighed. She wasn't sure she wanted to have this conversation with Julie, but she also knew that there was no way to avoid it now. "Okay," Kayla hesitated as she tried to come up with the best way to approach the issue. "First, as much as I've enjoyed working at the lab, I miss traditional nursing. I got into nursing because I wanted to treat patients."

"That's understandable." Julie said. "You're one of the best nurses in this hospital." Julie was silent for a moment, then smiled. "What if we arrange the schedule so that you can work one day a week in the Trauma Center when it opens? In the meantime, I'm sure Neil would be perfectly happy for you to work a shift or two each week in the hospital."

Kayla thought for a moment. Putting the lab together and getting it up and running had been more than a full-time job, but even before her suspension, she had been spending more and more time assisting with the research and less time dealing with actual administrative work. There really was no reason why she couldn't spend one day a week in the Trauma Center or hospital.

"I guess that could work," Kayla finally responded. "Assuming the Trauma Center is agreeable to that kind of schedule."

"Leave that to me," Julie said confidently. "I'm quite sure they will be thrilled to have you working there." She gave Kayla a look. "What else?"

Kayla knew there was no way to avoid the real issue now. Still she hesitated. As much as she liked and respected Julie, Kayla still was not comfortable discussing Steve and Shane with her.

"Kayla, dear." Julie's voice was full of compassion. "If you're trying to figure out how to tell me that you are not comfortable working at the lab because it would require you to work with Shane on a regular basis, don't worry." She gave a small smile. "I already know. I was with Shane when your husband paid him a visit at Wings a couple of days ago."

Kayla cringed slightly. "I'm sorry that Steve attacked Shane in your restaurant. He shouldn't have done that." No matter how good of a reason he had to be angry.

"No, he probably shouldn't have," Julie replied. "But that has nothing to do with you, so you shouldn't be apologizing for it."

Kayla couldn't help but scoff slightly. "I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with me. Steve and Shane wouldn't be at each other's throats like they are if it weren't for me."

Julie looked closely at Kayla. "Let me give you a little advice. . . . Regrets are a waste of time and energy. We'd all love to go back in time and make different decisions sometimes, but we can't. So focus on what's in front of you, not behind you."

Kayla nodded, wishing it were only that easy. "What's in front of me right now is the fact that I can't let a job, even the lab administrator's job, come between me and Steve. And the truth is that I just don't know how he would handle me working so closely with Shane again."

"What if you didn't have to report directly to Shane?" Julie asked. "I'm a substantial investor in the lab and I'm sure we could work things out so that most of your interaction was with me and not Shane."

Before Kayla could respond, the door to the lounge opened and Steve walked in. "Hi, Sweetness," he said with a smile. The smile faded slightly as he saw Julie. "Hi, Julie. . . . I didn't realize you were here too. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. I can wait outside."

"Nonsense, Steve," Julie said as she stood up. "Kayla and I were just trying to work out some details regarding her possible return to the lab." She turned and looked at Kayla. "Think about what I said. If you decide to return, I'll take care of all the other details."

Kayla nodded. "Thanks, Julie."

"You're welcome, darling." Julie turned back to Steve. "Steven, it's always a pleasure."

Steve smiled weakly. "It's good to see you too, Julie. I'm . . . uh . . . I'm sorry about the other day."

"It's already forgotten," Julie replied with a wave of her hand. "You two have a nice day."

After Julie left the room, Steve walked over to Kayla. He kissed her cheek and then sat in the chair next to her. "So why is Julie acting like there's some question about you returning to work at the lab?"

Kayla was surprise by Steve's question at first, but then she realized that, since he was not around when the lab had been built, he did not realize how involved Shane had been. "Because I'm not sure that going back to the lab is a good idea right now," Kayla said, deciding to be as open and honest as she could.

"Why not, baby?" Steve asked. "You said you put a lot of time and energy into getting the lab established. Why would you leave now?"

"Because Shane's the primary investor in the lab." Kayla watched Steve carefully for his reaction. "He and I worked pretty closely together when the lab was built, and going back might mean that we have to work together again."

"And you think that will upset me, right? That's why you aren't sure about going back?" Steve's voice was calm.

Kayla nodded. "I know how you feel about Shane right now, Steve. You can't tell me it won't upset you if you drop by and find Shane and me together."

Steve took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "I guess I can't blame you for thinking that way, Sweetness. I sure haven't given you any reason to think anything else."

"Are you trying to tell me it wouldn't bother you?" Kayla couldn't hide the doubt in her voice.

Steve shook his head. "No, baby. I can't lie about that. It would bother me. But that's something I need to learn to deal with. Whatever I think of Mr. ISA right now, I trust you." Steve leaned forward and ran his hand down Kayla's cheek. "The last thing I want to do is stand in the way of you going back to a job that you love."

Kayla felt a momentary twinge of guilt. She had not been nearly as supportive of Steve's decision to return to the police force. "Thank you," she said with a small smile. "Your support means a lot to me. I . . . I wish I could have been as supportive of you when you wanted to go back to the PD."

"It's okay, baby," Steve replied. "I understood how you felt and you did support me by letting me do what I needed to do. Now I'm going to do the same thing for you. If you decide to go back to the lab, I'll understand and I'll figure out how to deal with Donovan." He looked into her eyes. "I promise I won't do anything to embarrass you or cause trouble for you at work."

"I know you'd never do that," Kayla said quickly. "I was never worried about that."

"Good," Steve said. "It's settled then. So why don't we get out of here and I can buy you lunch?"

"That sounds great." Kayla stood and then leaned down and kissed Steve tenderly. When she pulled away she said, "Wait here for a minute and I'll be right back."

"You can't kiss me like that and just leave, Sweetness," Steve protested. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take this stack of paperwork back to Neil and let him know I'll be back at the lab on Monday." Kayla gave Steve a knowing look. "And I think lunch should be takeout. I think we've got some things to take care of at home."

"Oh, baby," Steve said as he stood. "I love the way you think."

"I thought you might." Kayla kissed Steve again, grabbed the stack of forms, and dashed for the door before they started something they couldn't finish. She giggled as she heard Steve give a little groan when she walked out the door. Maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting get back to normal.