After Kayla had left to give her statement to Roman, Steve had joined the rest of the family in the chairs of the waiting area. Here and there, somebody would make a comment or get up to get more coffee, but other than that, the room was largely silent.
In the quiet of the waiting room, Marlena had filled Steve in about Cal's confession of Jeannie's true paternity. Steve could hardly believe it, but apparently Neil had already confirmed the truth with a review of the ultrasound. Steve briefly wondered why Kayla had not told him herself, but he also knew there had been a lot going on since the rescue.
Checking the time for at least the tenth time since Kayla had left with Roman, Steve sighed in frustration. The hour he had allowed Roman had passed and he was tempted to carry out his threat and go pull Kayla out of the room.
"You know Roman isn't going to keep Kayla in there for one minute longer than necessary," Marlena said, glancing over at Steve.
Steve nodded reluctantly. "I know. But Kayla's been through hell and now she's having to relive the whole thing." And I'm not in there to help her, he added silently.
"Roman knows that, too," Marlena said. "I know it's difficult, but just be patient. I'm sure she'll be through soon."
Be patient. Steve nearly laughed at that.
Marlena must have caught his look because she smiled at him. "I guess that's pretty useless advice, isn't it?"
Steve returned the smile. "Let's just say, it's not one of my stronger suits."
Feeling the need to move around, Steve got up and headed for another round at the coffee stand. Reaching the pot, Steve felt his stomach rebel slightly at the thought of any more of the sludge the hospital was serving at the moment.
Sighing, Steve put the pot back down and turned away. As he did, he spotted a familiar face lurking by the elevators. The figure tried to retreat back into the shadows of the hallway, but it was too late.
This is all I need, Steve thought, moving quickly after the figure. As he passed the elevators, he turned left into the corridor, knowing his quarry would not be far away.
"Don't bother pretending you didn't see me," Steve said when he saw his target leaning nonchalantly against the wall.
"Steve!" Jack said, with forced surprise.
Steve shook his head. Some things would never change and clearly his baby brother was one of those things. "What are you doing up here, Jackson? I thought the press was being kept outside."
"It is," Jack replied with a shrug. "But I have a lot of practice getting around this hospital."
"So you thought you would sneak up here and try to get a story?" Steve did not bother to hide his disdain.
"Not exactly." At Steve's raised brow, Jack shrugged. "Okay, sure, I was hoping to get some more information. The hospital and police aren't saying anything."
"Maybe there is a reason for that, Jack."
"Maybe," Jack allowed. "But I'm not just a reporter. I'm your brother. Maybe I wanted to make sure that you and Kayla were okay."
Steve sighed. He knew that Jack's motives may not have been entirely pure, but he also knew that Jack's concern was sincere. "I'm fine, Jack. And so is Kayla."
"She wasn't hurt?" Jack asked, sounding concerned.
"She's fine," Steve repeated, a harder to edge to his voice. Kayla would never be a subject he was comfortable discussing with Jack.
"Good. . . ." Jack seemed to sense he was treading on difficult ground. "I'm glad she's okay. How's . . . uh . . . how is Shane?"
Steve's eye narrowed again. "What's been released to the press?"
"Just that he was shot and underwent surgery." Jack looked at Steve. "Off the record, I promise. I just want to know how he's doing?"
Steve hesitated. He still was not sure he could trust Jack's promises of keeping things off the record, but figured it would not really matter anyway. "He came through the surgery and is in recovery. It's pretty serious. That's really all I know."
Jack nodded. "Thanks. I hope he's going to be okay."
"Me too." Steve felt the guilt take hold again. "If it weren't for Shane. . . ." He stopped.
Jack looked at Steve curiously. "Look, you and I both know that I'd like to know what happened in that hanger. Can you tell me?"
Steve shook his head. "Any information you need should come from the Salem PD."
"But it's not coming from the Salem PD," Jack insisted. "At least not officially."
"What the hell are you talking about, Jack?" Steve asked, unable to decipher his brother's comment.
Jack sighed. "Rachel Knight was outside with the rest of the press. Then she disappeared for a little while. When she came back, she made a point of letting us know that she had inside information for a big story."
"So you want me to give you an inside source, too?" Steve asked.
Jack did not answer. He just looked at Steve for a moment. Then, finally, he nodded. "I'm just trying to do my job. If she's got inside information, her story will be all over the wires first. But if you talk to me, then I've got one of the very few eyewitnesses."
Steve debated giving Jack the story. It was not like he had promised to keep anything about the rescue confidential and maybe Jack deserved a scoop of his own. He had been sincerely sorry for the problems caused by his article about Steve's rescue, and Jack had come through every time Steve had asked since then. But Steve did not feel right talking to Jack without getting the okay from Roman, Kim or, if possible, Shane. Steve felt he had done enough damage talking to Jack in the past. He did not want to do any more now.
"I'm sorry," he finally told Jack. "It's not just my story to tell and, for now, I just can't say anything."
Jack nodded. "I understand." He grinned slightly. "Well, I don't really understand, but I'll try."
"Don't worry, Jack. When it's time to talk, you'll be the first one I talk to."
"Right." Jack turned and began walking back towards the elevators. "You know where to find me when you're ready."
Steve rolled his eye. "Yeah, I think I can track you down." He hesitated, then spoke again. "Hey, Billy Jack. Thanks . . . thanks for your concern about me and Kayla."
Jack grinned awkwardly. "I'm just glad you're both okay. I knew you would find her, though. Like I said, the other day, that's what you do." He face grew more serious. "My brother, the hero."
Before Steve could respond, Jack turned the corner and got on the elevator. Some hero, Steve thought to himself as he walked back towards the waiting area.
Reaching the chairs again, Steve was disappointed and frustrated to see that Kayla had still not returned. He immediately started towards the staff lounge, intent on pulling Kayla out of there, regardless of what Roman thought about it.
He was halfway to the door when it opened and Kayla walked out with Roman beside her. She gave a tired smile when she saw Steve, and he strode quickly to her side.
"Are you okay, Sweetness?" he asked when he reached her.
Kayla nodded. "I'm fine." She looked at him, concern in her eyes. "Is there any news about Shane?"
Steve shook his head. "Nothing new. He's still in recovery."
Kayla sighed. "I guess no news is good news then. We'll just have to wait." She took a step towards the waiting area.
Steve glanced at Roman, who responded with an imperceptible nod. "Sis," Roman said, stopping Kayla with a hand on her arm. "Why don't you and Steve go home? You've been through hell the last few days and I think you could use some rest."
"I'm fine," Kayla protested. "You need to stop worrying about me."
"That's not going to happen," Roman said.
"I think Roman's right," Marlena chimed in as she walked towards them. "I know you want to be here to support Shane and Kimberly, but you need to take care of yourself too." She smiled at Kayla and lightened her tone. "Besides, this way you can come back tomorrow and relieve us."
Steve could feel Kayla gearing up for another protest, so he pulled her a couple of steps away. "Sweetness, I know you're worried, but there's nothing we can do here tonight. If anything happens, somebody will call us. We can be back here in a matter of minutes."
Kayla still looked doubtful, but finally nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Steve whispered, pulling her to him and kissing her forehead. He pulled away and put his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go home."