Kayla finished reviewing the supply requests for the lab and made some notes for the requisition forms she would need to fill out. She made another note to review the supply budget to make sure the lab remained on track.

Since her return to work on Tuesday, Kayla had buried herself in weeks of paperwork, wanting to make sure she knew everything that had happened with the lab since her departure for England in July. The temporary administrator had done a good job of keeping things running, but Kayla could already tell she would need some time to get everything back to her exacting standards.

Fortunately, she had that time. Neil Curtis had made it clear that she was free to start working the occasional shift in the ER and, when it opened, the trauma center whenever she was ready. That open-ended offer would allow Kayla to devote her full energy to the lab until everything was caught up.

In truth, Kayla was grateful for the distraction that the mountain of work provided. It was not that she was unhappy. To the contrary, she and Steve were as happy as they had been since his return. The walls that had stood between them were finally coming down and bit by bit.

No, the work provided a distraction from Kayla's discomfort about the situation with the rest of her family. Although largely unspoken, it was clear that the lines had been drawn with Kim and Shane on one side and she and Steve on the other. Kayla's father and older brother were clearly on Kim's side, while Bo and Caroline attempted to maintain some kind of neutrality.

Even Steve's explanation of his drinking binge and Jack's broken promise had failed to smooth things over. It had seemed to calm Roman and Shawn's direct anger, but it had done nothing to remove their chilliness. So Steve and Kayla had basically avoided most of her family since the arraignment.

She had spoken on the phone to her mother several times during the week, but they were short conversations which ignored the elephant in the room. Bo had also called and stopped by, but he was busy with his own life with Carly and Shawn Douglas. Kayla hated feeling isolated from her family, but she supposed she should be used to it. Things had not been much better when she had been dating Shane.

She understood that her family was upset about Shane's arrest and the charges he was facing. She was upset too. The last thing she had ever wanted to happen was for Shane to face some kind of punishment for bringing Steve home - and giving Kayla her life back. She just wished her family could find a way to understand that Steve had not wanted that to happen either.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. "Come in," she called.

"Kayla, dear," Julie said as she entered Kayla's office. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Of course not," Kayla replied. "I'm just working my way through a pile of paperwork. Getting caught up on everything is a full-time job by itself."

"I'm sure," Julie said, taking a seat in the chair opposite Kayla's desk.

"So what can I do for you?" Kayla asked after Julie had settled in.

Julie's expression was serious. "I needed to talk to you about some information I received today."

"What information?" Kayla asked, concerned by Julie's tone.

"I had a most unpleasant conversation with a man named Tarrington who, I was informed, is the head of the ISA."

"Chief Tarrington called you? What did he want?" Kayla knew she would not like the answer.

Julie looked solemn. "I was told in no uncertain terms that, due to the charges against Shane and his removal from the ISA, Shane's security clearance has been revoked, and he is to have absolutely no access to the lab or any information the lab generates."

Kayla sighed and sat back in her chair. She could not help but think of all the work that Shane had done to get the lab up and running. He had been determined to find a cure to the virus in order to save Peachy and other infected ISA agents. Now he was being summarily dismissed. Then a thought occurred to her.

"I thought the hospital owned the lab? How can the ISA remove Shane from having any connection to its operation?"

"I had that same question," Julie replied. "Apparently, the lab's access to the CDC and other government funding - as well as virus specimens and the things Carly is working on - require certain clearances and ISA approval. And, ironically, Shane conditioned his donations on the ISA having full access to anything developed by our researchers. The agreement also provided that Shane would be the ISA liaison, but gives the ISA the right to appoint another liaison should they so choose. Of course, everyone believed that provision would only apply if Shane no longer wanted to participate in the lab or was otherwise unable to do it-"

"And they've used it to remove Shane from that position." Kayla finished Julie's sentence. "That's just so unfair."

"Yes, it is." Julie agreed. "However, it was also made clear to me that if we did not comply with that directive, and allowed Shane to have any access to the lab, the ISA would consider the agreement violated and cut off most of our research."

"Which would ruin the lab." Kayla ran a hand across her face. There was no way the lab could keep someone like Jordan Bishop if he could not even get sample viruses. And until the lab had some more breakthroughs, it would not recoup the investment the hospital had made in it. "We haven't even come close to the break-even point yet."

Julie nodded. Then, with a slight edge to her voice, she said, "Look on the bright side, darling. Now you won't have to worry about having to interact with Shane at the lab."

Kayla's eyes widened at Julie's comment. "Do you really think I wanted something like this to happen?" she said, unable to keep the anger from her voice. "Yes, I wanted to avoid any more conflicts between Shane and Steve, but not like this."

Julie looked down for a moment and then offered Kayla an apologetic smile. "Of course you didn't, Kayla. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'm just-"

"You're just angry at Steve about what happened," Kayla interrupted. "You're friends with Shane and you believe it's Steve's fault that Shane's been arrested." She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. "Trust me, Julie. You're hardly the first person to make that point to me."

"I guess not," Julie said, eyeing Kayla carefully. "I'm sure this is a difficult situation for everybody. And you should know that I've talked to my grandmother and Jennifer. I know Jack's role in how the story got out."

Kayla sighed. "It doesn't really matter at this point. The only thing that's going to change anything is if Shane can get out from under the charges."

Julie nodded. "I know that Uncle Mickey is doing everything he can."

"So's Steve and, as much as I hate to admit it, Jack." Kayla looked at Julie. "For what it's worth, Steve never wanted this to happen either."

Julie took a deep breath. "I know. I also know a little something about making mistakes and trying to make up for them. I haven't forgotten that Steve was involved in our rescue from that awful island last year and how he helped Bo after he lost Hope." She smiled at Kayla. "I know he's a good man, and I know he'll do whatever he can to make things right for Shane."

Kayla returned Julie's smile. "Thank you. That means a lot."

Julie stood up and gathered her things. "I'll leave you alone to finish your paperwork. Why don't we plan on having a working lunch on Wednesday to go over everything in detail?"

"That sounds good," Kayla replied. "I'll call you Wednesday morning to finalize the details."

Julie nodded and left Kayla's office. Kayla checked her watch and saw that she had some time before lunch. Picking up another pile of documents, she began wading through them. If she was going to be ready for her meeting with Julie on Wednesday, she still had a lot of work to do. She figured she would work through her lunch . . . unless her husband stopped by with a better offer.