"Everything's so awkward. I just wish there was a way that this could be resolved without someone being badly hurt." Marlena ran her index finger along the rim of her teacup as if she was attempting to distract herself.

Kim tried to provide support. "Whatever happens, Marlena, you need to follow your heart."

"But what if I don't know what that is?" she asked. "I mean if it turns out that the man in the kitchen is really Roman, how much of my falling in love with the other Roman was because I thought he was my husband? Did I really love him because of who he is? And when you think about it, we really were only together for a few months."

Kim could sense Marlena's doubt. "Is that what you really feel? Or are you trying to justify how you think you should feel if it turns out that the man we've thought was Roman isn't?"

"I . . . I don't know," Marlena said. Lowering her voice, she added, "And then there's the other Roman." She motioned her head to the kitchen, where the curly-haired Roman had gone when he had walked out. "He . . . he seems so angry. And I can't say I blame him. If he's really Roman, how could he accept that his wife - the woman who's supposed to know him better than anyone - loved an imposter all these years?"

"If he really is Roman, he'll come to terms with it," Kim replied. "Roman - whichever is truly Roman - loves you."

"Just like Shane loves you?" Marlena gave Kim a knowing glance.

Kim shook her head. "Let's not rehash that."

Marlena smiled, then looked down at her empty cup and at Kim's. "Here," she said, reaching for Kim's cup. "Let me get you a refill."

"No." Kim shook her head. "Let me do it." She took Marlena's cup, stood up from the couch, and headed for the kitchen. Pushing the door open, she headed for the tea kettle, then stopped and looked around the empty room.

Putting the cups down, Kim rushed back into the living room.

"Marlena . . . did Roman come through here?"

Marlena looked up in surprise. "No. He's in the kitchen, isn't he?"

"No, he's not."

A stunned looked flashed across Marlena's face. "Oh god. . . ."

"Wait, don't panic," Kim said. "Maybe he just needed to get some air. He's probably going stir crazy with all this waiting, so he just went for a walk."

Marlena looked at Kim. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"No," Kim had to admit. "Let me get my coat and purse."

Ten minutes later, Kim and Marlena pulled up in front of the fish market. From the parking lot, they saw Caroline wandering around downstairs in the empty shop. She flipped over the sign in the door to indicate that she would be back later in the afternoon and then headed upstairs.

"He can't be there," Kim said. There was no way her mother would just go about her regular business if a man looking like her oldest son had shown up. Turning to Marlena, Kim asked, "So where else could he have gone?"

Marlena's eyes never left the store. "He's coming here. He's probably on foot."

That was a good point, so Kim sat back and watched the road that Roman would take if he were walking from his and Marlena's house to the fish market. After another five minutes, she spotted him.

So did Marlena. "There he is," she said, opening the car door. She climbed out and made a beeline for Roman, as Kim followed.

"Don't try to stop me, Doc," Roman said. "I'm not going to hide like a criminal anymore. Those are my folks in there and I'm going to tell them I'm back."

Marlena still tried. "We agreed to wait until the test comes back. Why cause them so much doubt and confusion when they don't need to be put through that?"

"There's no reason," Roman said, sounding completely assured of himself. "I know there's no doubt and there's no reason for any confusion. I'm Roman Brady and it's time Ma and Pop know the truth."

"Roman, please," Kim said. "You don't know what they've been through while . . . while you were gone. This would be very traumatic for them."

Roman shook his head. "Today or when the test comes back, there's no difference, Sis. The outcome's gonna be the same. I'm their son, so they can start getting used to that now." He started to push past Marlena, who let out a loud sigh.

"Wait . . . okay." Marlena held onto his arm tightly. "Look, let's do this the right way. If you're going to tell Shawn and Caroline, let me call Kayla and Bo and have them come here, too. It's best if they are here to help your folks get through the shock.

Roman seemed to think about that for a moment, but then nodded. "All right. Go call them. But as soon as they get here, I'm going in."

Kim waited with Roman while Marlena walked off to find a phone. Taking Roman's hand, Kim led him over to a bench overlooking the river.

"I know this is hard for you-"

"Don't act like you don't doubt me," Roman said. "I heard it in your voice earlier. I could always see right through you."

That sure did sound like her older brother. "Okay, I'll admit it. This is pretty hard to understand and it's confusing. Like you just said, you can see through me. But so can Roman - I mean, the other Roman. He didn't look like you or sound like you, but he had the right memories and it felt like my brother was back."

"That's just because you wanted me to be back," Roman said bitterly.

Kim fell silent. Was that it? Was it wishful thinking? She could not believe it. "No, it felt right, and I'll probably never be able to convince you of that, but that's the truth."

"I don't get you," Roman said, sounding bitter. "I come back to find out you married the guy who's probably been in on what ever happened to me this whole time, and now you're taking the side of the imposter. What happened to family loyalty? What happened to my little sister?"

Kim told herself that he was just as confused as everyone else and was trying to understand the Salem he had returned to after a long absence. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Kim said, "Things have changed. I've changed. And whatever you might think of Shane, he did not betray you. That's the last thing he would do." Kim remembered the tongue-lashing Shane had taken from Marlena at Roman's wake. "After we thought you died, he came here because he had to bring down Stefano. He felt responsible for what happened and did everything he could to make sure Stefano didn't hurt Marlena and Bo. And he's put his life and career on the line for this family more times than you can imagine. Shane loves our family; this is his family."

The both fell silent for a moment before Roman said, "Sounds like you love the guy." When Kim failed to stop herself from nodding, he asked, "So why aren't you together then?"

Kim felt her cheeks heat up as she tried to figure out what to say. "It's complicated, Roman. Let's just leave it at that for now." To her immense relief, she spotted Marlena walking toward them. Jumping to her feet, Kim said, "There's Marlena."

Reaching them, Marlena looked at Roman. "I got through to Bo and he's on his way. Kayla wasn't home, but that's because she's already here. Caroline mentioned it when I called to make sure Shawn was home as well."

"Then let's go," Roman said urgently.

"Wait," Marlena said. "Let's give Bo a few minutes to get there, okay."

Roman stomped his feet impatiently, but made no effort to push by Marlena. "Fine, Doc. Just a few minutes."

Meanwhile, Kim took a deep breath. She had no idea how this was going to affect her folks, and she thought of the other Roman, and how betrayed he would feel when he learned that he was left out of the decision. She wished there was some way she could spare him that pain. And she wished she could convince this Roman to wait, but that was obviously a futile task.

And, in that moment, most of all, Kim wished that she was not alone. She wished she had someone to hold her, someone who would give her his quiet strength, someone who would be with her as the Bradys struggled through yet another crisis. She wished she had Shane.