Kayla lay, quietly watching Steve sleep. She whispered a small prayer of thanks that his sleep was peaceful. She knew his therapy was not complete, but it had already helped him so much. Unable to resist, she softly brushed the hair from his face.

As her hand ran across his forehead, Steve's eye opened and he smiled as he saw Kayla watching him. "Hi, baby," he said as he shifted to his side. He looked at the clock. "It's still early, Sweetness. What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

Kayla nodded her head. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's okay, baby. I'd rather talk to you than sleep anyway." Steve softly stroked her cheek. "So tell me what's wrong."

Kayla sighed. "I know you don't want me to worry, but I can't help it. I don't like you going up against the ISA like this."

Steve reached out and pulled Kayla to him so that her head was resting on his chest. "I know you're worried, Kayla, but it's going to be all right. You've got to believe that, baby."

"I want to," Kayla replied honestly. "But-"

"No buts, Sweetness," Steve interrupted. "I told you last night. Jack and I have all the bases covered."

"Jack," Kayla said derisively. "How can you trust him to come through? After all that's happened?"

"Because he's trying to make up for his mistakes just like I am," Steve replied. "We both know Jack can be a bit of a screw-up, but he's going to come through this time. He knows how important it is."

"I hope you're right." Kayla was unconvinced. "There's a lot riding on him this time around."

"I know." Steve sighed. "But Jack's come through before when the chips were down. Remember he's the one who found the key when Kiriakis was holding you. He'll come through again."

Kayla did not respond. She wanted to believe Steve was right and she knew she had to trust his faith in Jack. But it didn't mean she had to like it. She pushed herself up so she could look in Steve's eye.

"Maybe I could accept all this better if I really understood why you feel you have to do this." Kayla said, trying to persuade Steve. "We know the ISA is following you. So why can't we just be extra careful for while? They can't keep the surveillance up forever."

"Because as long as they are watching every step I take, I'm never going to be able to do what I need to do to try and help Shane," Steve said forcefully. "Contacting those soldiers is going to be next to impossible with the ISA on my tail."

"I understand that," Kayla replied. "But you can't honestly believe the ISA is just going to go away, even if your plan succeeds."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Steve shrugged. "But they'll know that I'm not going to just play their game. They'll know that I have some games of my own to play." Steve sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Sometimes all you can do is fight back, Sweetness. Maybe that will give me an opening I can use."

Kayla sighed again. She knew Steve was right, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. No matter how much she told herself that it was just her own fear talking, the feeling would not go away.

"Just promise me you'll be careful," she finally said. "If anything seems off or you have any doubts, just call the whole thing off."

Steve looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "All right, Kayla. I promise that if anything goes even a little wrong, I'll back off. I won't take any unnecessary chances."

"And you'll call me as soon as it's over?" Kayla was insistent.

"I promise." Steve looked at her. "But you have to promise to go to work and act like nothing is going on. I don't know if the ISA has anyone watching you, but I don't want to take any chances."

"I promise to do my best," Kayla said. "But it's not going to be easy."

"I know. But you can do it, Sweetness." Steve leaned in and kissed Kayla. Kayla returned the kiss and gave him a small smile. Steve grinned back and pulled her to him and kissed her again, more deeply this time. Kayla felt her body begin to warm as Steve's hands began to wander down her back.

Steve gently rolled her over and his mouth moved down her neck and to her chest. Kayla moaned softly and threaded her fingers through his hair. Suddenly a loud beeping noise startled them both out of their passionate embrace.

"Damn," Kayla hissed as Steve reached over to turn off the alarm clock.

Steve chuckled and rolled back over and kissed her forehead. "Sorry, baby. I guess you should have woken me up a little earlier."

Kayla smiled in spite of her frustration. "Can't we just pretend we didn't hear that?"

Before Steve could answer, Stephanie's babbling came over the baby monitor, as if on cue. Chuckling, Steve kissed Kayla softly again and said, "Maybe we could ignore the mechanical alarm, but I don't think we can ignore the human one."

"I guess you're right," Kayla said as she sat up. "I need to get ready anyway since Marcus will probably be here exactly on time as always."

"Homey is very prompt, isn't he?" Steve shook his head. "Even in the orphanage he was always on time for everything."

"Brrr." Kayla shivered as she got out of bed and threw on her robe. "It must have gotten cold last night."

"The weatherman said a cold snap was coming," Steve said as he quickly pulled on his jeans and shirt. "I guess he was right." He walked over and put his arms around Kayla. "Why don't you go jump in the shower and warm back up. I'll get Stephanie and get the heat on in this place."

"Sounds good." Kayla stepped away and headed for the shower. "I guess I'm going to have to go shopping for some winter clothes for Stephanie soon. Things have been so crazy I haven't had a chance and all she has is summer stuff."

"Hopefully things will be a lot less crazy soon," Steve said, sounding hopeful as he walked towards the door. "A little peace and quiet would do all of us some good."

"I couldn't agree more," Kayla said softly. Walking into the bathroom, she turned on the water and was soon standing under the warm and soothing spray of the shower. Her fears were still there, but she tried to push them down. It will all be taken care of after today. That was what she had to focus on.