Kayla leaned back against the wall behind the cot and closed her eyes. The cot moved slightly as Kim shifted positions and gave a soft sigh. Since Cal had left the room a little while ago, the sisters had sat together in stunned silence on the little cot.
What Cal had said about Jeannie was unbelievable. Had he really bribed a doctor to lie to Kim about the ultrasound results? Kayla had always been proud to be a member of the medical profession, but the events of the last year were rapidly diminishing her faith in her colleagues. Lawrence had used Dr. Hopkins to fake Steve's death and now, apparently, Cal had blackmailed Dr. Norris to make Kim believe she was carrying Cal's baby.
It was impossible not to think of how many things would have been different over the past two years if Kim and Shane had known the truth. There would have been no reason for Kim to lie to Shane about the baby, and no reason for Kim to have left town. Whatever issues may have lingered because of Cal would have been resolved as Kim and Shane happily prepared for the arrival of their new child.
Kayla sighed softly as her mind continued to churn. If Kim had never left town, Kayla would probably have never moved into Shane's house and, even if she had, she certainly would not have become involved with Shane. She would have been forced to come to terms with her life without Steve in a much different manner. Better? Worse? Kayla supposed it did not really matter. Either way, she would have been in a much different place when Steve had returned.
She had been honest when she had told Kim that she could not completely regret what had happened between her and Shane. But, now, finding out that it never would have happened - never should have happened - but for Cal's lies, she felt her anger growing. So much hurt and anger had come from the belief that Kim was carrying Cal's child.
Most importantly, Shane and Jeannie had been separated for more than a year of her life. Kayla thought about the day of Jeannie's birthday party and his sadness as he described how he struggled to even look at Jeannie - how he could barely look at Jeannie because he kept seeing Cal. As happy as she was that Shane would learn the truth, she knew that the guilt would nearly crush him when he realized he had pushed his own daughter away for so long. Jeannie was yet another victim of Cal's deception.
Feeling her body tense, Kayla rose from the cot and walked to the other side of the room. She wanted to pound on the walls or scream out loud. And, if she was that upset, she could only imagine what Kim must be feeling.
Turning, Kayla looked closely at her sister. Kim was still leaning against the wall and had her eyes closed, but Kayla could see the tears streaming down her face.
"Kimmie?" Kayla called softly, feeling the anger replaced by concern and compassion for her sister.
Kim's eyes slowly opened and Kayla was overwhelmed by the sadness she saw there. She quickly walked back to the cot, sat down, and pulled Kim to her. Kim released a sob she must have been holding back and began crying in Kayla's arms.
For several minutes, Kayla simply held her sister, rocking her slightly and whispering words of comfort as best she could. Finally, Kim sat up and wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry-" she began to say.
"Don't apologize," Kayla interrupted. "You have every right to be upset. Are you okay?"
"Okay?" Kim repeated, sounding bitter. "I just found out that everything that happened in the last 18 months was the result of a lie. I lost Shane, I got involved with Lawrence, you and Shane. . . ." Kim stopped and shook her head. "None of it would have happened if I had known the truth."
"I know," Kayla said. "I've been thinking about that myself. So many things would be different right now."
"I should have known." Kim pulled away and stood up. "I never questioned the ultrasound. Hell, I never even questioned it when my 'full term' baby was so small at birth."
"Stop it, Kim," Kayla insisted. "It's not your fault. You believed what the doctor told you, and you had no reason to think the doctor would lie." Kayla realized she was speaking as much to herself as to Kim. "It's not your fault," she repeated.
"You're right," Kim said quietly. Kayla looked quickly at her sister, and was shocked by what she saw. Kim's face seemed devoid of emotion, even her eyes had grown cold.
"Kim?" Kayla said softly.
"You were right Kayla," Kim continued. "The only person to blame for what happened is Cal. He's responsible. And now he's going to pay."
"What do you mean?" Kayla asked, afraid of what her sister might be planning.
Before Kim could answer, they heard the key in the lock that signaled Cal's return. Kayla watched as Kim's face again changed, assuming a mask of happiness at Cal's arrival.
"Good evening, ladies," Cal said as he entered the room. He looked straight at Kim and said tenderly, "I just wanted to see if you needed anything before I said goodnight."
Kayla watched in silence as her sister walked slowly towards Cal. Kim had a soft smile on her face and, if Kayla did not know better, she would have thought Kim was thrilled that Cal was there.
"I'm fine," Kim said as she stopped in front of Cal. Slowly, Kim reached her hand up to caress Cal's face. "I wanted to thank you for telling me the truth about Jeannie. I know you think I was happy to find out Shane is her father, but that's not really true."
Kayla choked back her surprise and did her best to remain passive at Kim's actions. She did not know exactly what Kim was up to, but she knew she owed it to her sister to play along.
"It's not?" Cal asked suspiciously. "You mean you wish she was our child?"
"Maybe," Kim said sounding sincere. "If the circumstances were different and we could raise her together. But that's not really possible now, is it?"
Kayla knew Kim was lying, but had to admire her sister's acting abilities. She could tell that Cal was completely unsure if Kim was serious or not.
"Then why did you seem so happy when I told you the truth?" Cal asked bitterly.
Continuing to caress Cal's cheek, Kim brought her other hand to Cal's side, as he put his arms around her. "Because it was just such a surprise," Kim replied. "But after you left, I realized something. The truth made me understand how wrong I was about Shane. This whole year, he's rejected Jeannie because she wasn't his daughter. Now he'll love her because she is. But she's the same sweet child she has always been. Shane doesn't deserve to have her after the way he's acted. This all just proves that I was right to divorce him."
Kayla closed her eyes as Kim's words. She had been afraid that this was part of Kim's plan. Her sister was using those bitter words to convince Cal that she wanted to be with him in the hope that it would be enough to get Cal to leave Andrew and Jeannie alone - and maybe even agree to leave Kayla alive when they left.
She wanted to scream at Kim to stop, to tell her she couldn't sacrifice herself this way, but she held her tongue. Kim was doing what she believed she had to do to protect her children and, if the places were switched, Kayla would do the same and hope that Kim would understand. Besides, there was still time to convince Kim to change her mind. Cal was not going anywhere tonight.
"You really mean that?" Cal asked softly, appearing to be drawn into Kim's spell. "You really don't want him anymore?"
"Why would I?" Kim said, smiling at Cal. "I've got a man right here who loves me so much he wants to take me away from all the pain and heartache in this town."
"You're lying," Cal said, pulling away from Kim. Kayla held her breath as he grabbed Kim's chin and held it tightly. "You're just trying to trick me."
Kim blinked, biting back tears from Cal's painful grip. Kayla was about to jump up and pull Kim away, but Kim spoke again.
"I'm not lying, Cal," her voice soft, tender, and sincere. "It might have taken me a long time to realize it, but you were right. Everyone will be better off if we are together." Holding his gaze, Kim stepped towards him and again put her arms around him.
Kayla held her breath as her sister leaned forward and kissed Cal softly on the mouth. She fought the urge to scream, shout, or maybe even vomit as Cal crushed Kim to him and kissed her deeply.
Finally, the kiss ended and Kim stepped back as if to catch her breath. "That was pretty convincing," Cal said with a leer. "If I had more time, I'd let you try to convince me even more."
With that, he stepped aside and smiled at Kim one last time before leaving the room. As soon as he was gone, Kim turned and rushed to the bathroom. Kayla listened as Kim washed her face quickly, knowing she wanted all traces of Cal's touch gone.
When Kim emerged from the bathroom, she looked better than she had since their ordeal began. "Are you okay?" Kayla asked.
"I'm better than okay," Kim responded with a smile. Opening up her hand, Kim revealed a key. "I'm getting us out of here - tonight."