"I guess he was angry," Kim said to Marlena. She was standing inside Marlena's office. Her friend was seated behind the desk.
"Yes, he was angry," Marlena replied. Her words were curt and there was an edge in her voice, indicating she was angry too. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" Marlena asked. "How could you keep such a secret from me?"
Kim tried to explain. "We all dealt with it years ago. Shane and Ro - I mean John. . . . They made up. John and Shane are like brothers, Marlena. Yeah, John was angry. We were all angry, but we love Shane and we knew he would never have done anything to deliberately hurt us. And we understood his choice. He chose to save his brother; that's something we all would have done."
Marlena said nothing for a minute. "Maybe the choice was understandable, but Shane never told us. Roman was alive all that time, and I suffered every day I woke up believing he was dead. And Shane knew. Why didn't he tell us?"
"I don't know." Kim knew that did not sound right.
In a sharp voice, Marlena asked, "What do you mean you 'don't know'? How couldn't you know?"
"I don't know," Kim repeated. "I never asked. Maybe I didn't want to know, or maybe it just didn't matter. I loved Shane and wasn't going to let this destroy us." When Marlena responded with silence, Kim begged, "Please, Marlena. You know Shane. He had to have reasons."
Another period of silence followed, but finally Marlena nodded. "Okay. I do know Shane. It's hard for me to understand, but . . . you're right. He had to have some reasons." She frowned slightly. "But I don't know if Roman is going to be so accepting."
"We have to try," Kim said. She needed to find a way to get her brother to trust Shane. The Bradys had been through too much trauma; they needed to find common ground and come together.
With a resigned look, Marlena picked up the phone and dialed the house. She exchanged words with the nanny, then asked if Roman was there. Obviously, she did not like what she heard, because she quickly hung up and looked at Kim. She was on her feet and gathering her purse before she said, "He's on his way to Shane's."
Needing no further prompting, Kim followed Marlena out the door as they raced downstairs to Marlena's car. Ten minutes later, they arrived at Shane's. The first thing Kim noticed was that the front door was open.
Reaching the entrance, Kim heard raised voices coming from the library. With Marlena close behind, she rushed into the room.
Roman had Shane shoved against the wall next to the fireplace. Simmons was next to them, trying to break Roman's grip on Shane's collar. Kim could tell Shane was trying to fight back, but he was not strong enough to free himself.
"Dammit, Roman," Shane gasped. "I'm trying to tell-"
"I don't want to hear it, Donovan," Roman shouted. "You left me in that hellhole."
Simmons yanked on Roman's arm, hard enough to jar his hand loose, but Roman swung it at the butler, who went sprawling backwards over the edge of the couch. Not looking back, Roman adjusted his grip on Shane, this time grabbing him around the throat.
"Roman!" Marlena screamed, but he did not seem to hear them. He was too focused on Shane.
Kim and Marlena raced towards them. She could see Shane's face turning red from the strain. His hands latched onto Roman wrist, as he tried to escape the choking hold.
"Stop it, Roman!" Kim cried. "You're hurting him!"
"I'm gonna do a lot more than hurt him," Roman yelled back, even as he kept his eyes focused on Shane. "You're a traitor, Donovan! First you sold me out and then you sold out this country. I don't know what bull you've sold my family, but I'm not buying." He raised his right hand, which was balled into a fist.
"No!" Kim and Marlena shouted in unison as they reached Roman. Marlena managed to grab his hand, which distracted him just long enough.
The next thing Kim knew, Roman screamed in pain. He let go of Shane and staggered backward, his hands over his groin. He looked at Shane in disbelief, then doubled over on the ground and curled into the fetal position, his hands still cupping himself protectively. Meanwhile, Shane stumbled forward, leaned heavily on the desk, and gasped for breath.
"I . . . didn't want . . . do that," Shane rasped. "I'm. . . ." He broke off coughing. "I'm not your enemy."
Still on the ground in obvious pain from being struck, Roman was having none of it. He managed to roll onto his hands and knees, and looked up. "Should've figured you for a cheap shot artist too."
"That's enough!" Marlena yelled. She and Kim had stepped between the two men. "You're going to stop this, Roman Brady."
"Get out of my way, Marlena," Roman growled as he unsteadily rose to his feet.
Marlena shook her head. "I'm not going to let you do this. Shane's my friend, and if you'd just listen, I'm sure there's an explanation. I was here when we thought you'd died, and I saw the guilt on his face."
"You don't have-" Shane started to say, but his words cut off as he began to cough again.
"No, she doesn't." Roman started forward, but Marlena and Kim blocked his path. "Get out of my way," he snarled.
Neither of them moved.
"Get out of my way," Roman repeated through gritted teeth. Both of his hands were balled into tight fists.
Kim spoke first. "No," she said, forcing her voice to remain calm. She had hoped they might be able to talk rationally, but that obviously was not going to happen now. "You need to leave this house, Roman. And when you've calmed down and are willing to listen, we'll discuss this. But I am not going to let you lay another hand on Shane."
Red-faced, Roman shook with rage. For a moment, Kim believed he might push her and Marlena aside and continue his assault. Kim stiffened, as if preparing for a blow, knowing that Shane was in no condition to defend himself.
"Fine," Roman snarled. He punched the air angrily. "Go ahead and defend him. I don't know what BS he's told you, but I'm not going to get sucked in by lies." He glared at Kim and then at Shane before he turned and limped out of the room. A moment later, she heard the front door slam.
Marlena looked from Kim to Shane and then back at Kim. "I . . . I guess I'd better go after him,"
Kim nodded, but before Marlena could leave, Shane said, "Marlena . . . please. . . . Believe me when I say I'm sorry. I thought I was making the right decision at the time; I didn't know Drew had turned, and I thought we'd have another chance to get Roman. If you give me a chance to explain-"
"I can't right now," Marlena said. She looked to Kim as if she was struggling to avoid raising her voice. "I'm going to find Roman and make sure he doesn't do anything rash. Maybe when things blow over, we can talk, but . . . but right now, I can't even think about it." Before Shane could say anything else, Marlena headed for the door. Kim decided it was best just to let her go.
The immediate crisis over, Kim turned to Shane. He had one hand on the desk, helping him stay steady. Kim was about to ask how he was, but then she heard a groan from behind her.
Simmons, she thought, remembering that he had fallen in the melee. She turned and saw the butler getting to his feet. He wobbled slightly as he shook his head dizzily.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked, rushing over and taking his arm. She helped him to a seat on the couch.
"I think so, Madame," he said before looking at Shane. "I'm sorry, sir. I tried to stop him, but he pushed by me so quickly. I guess I'm not as strong as I used to be."
"None of us are," Shane said, grimly. "It's okay, Simmons. I doubt the Great Wall of China would have stopped Roman,"
Kim looked over her shoulder and saw the glum expression on his face. "Are you all right?" She knew that Shane probably felt embarrassed at being unable to defend himself, but he just nodded and turned away toward the window.
Turning back to Simmons, she asked, "Can I get you anything?" When he shook his head, Kim said, "Why don't you go lie down for a bit?"
"But Master Andrew will be home from his friend's soon." Simmons started to rise, but fell back again.
"I'll take care of Andrew." Lightly, Kim added, "I am capable of it, you know. So . . . you . . . bed. You're off duty for the rest of the day and tonight."
She helped Simmons stand up, put an arm around his waist, and ignored his grumbling protests that he was fine as she assisted him to his quarters. "Now you stay here," she ordered after helping him to the bed. Once Simmons was settled, Kim returned to the library. Shane was staring at the fireplace, but he turned when she entered.
"Is he okay?"
Kim smiled. "Judging from the way his complaints increased as we got closer to his room, I think he'll be fine."
Shane said nothing, but she could tell he was upset. Probably more at himself than at Roman.
"There was nothing you could do," she said. "You're still recovering.
He shook his head angrily. "That's no excuse. . . . This is the second time someone's just barged their way in here and pushed me around."
Kim walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You were badly hurt and you need time to get better. And you will. . . . Besides, you weren't exactly helpless. I think my big brother's going to be walking a bit gingerly for the next few days."
Shane hardly seemed mollified, but he nodded and kissed her lightly. "Thank you for being here."
"There's nowhere I'd rather be," Kim said. She reached up and caressed his cheek. "This will all blow over, Shane. I know my brother and he'll stomp around and blow a lot of hot air, but Marlena will get through to him and then we'll work it out."
"I hope so." Shane sighed and stepped toward the desk. "I'd better call Wings and cancel."
For a moment, Kim was confused, but then she remembered their plans to see Eve sing. "Oh, Shane. . . . Eve was looking so forward to us coming tonight."
"We'll go another night," Shane said. He picked up the phone, but Kim ran over, snatched it out of his hand, and set it down.
"Don't cancel just yet. Simmons will probably be fine with a little rest, and we can take the children to my parents tonight." She took Shane's hand in hers and looked into his eyes until he averted his gaze. That and his seeming eagerness to cancel their reservation told Kim everything she needed to know. "You can't keep hiding in the house. Salem is full of our friends and going out will do you good. Plus Eve's counting on us."
She expected Shane to protest, but he did not. "Okay," he said. "You win."
"Good." Kim grinned and then gave him a light peck on the check. "I knew I would. Now, you go get ready. I'll call my folks, check on Simmons, and fix something in the kitchen for him to eat."
Kim kept smiling as he walked toward the door. He stopped just before reaching the foyer and looked back at her. She continued to smile until he nodded and disappeared through the doorway. Once he was out of sight, Kim's grin faded. She knew Shane was struggling with his physical condition, and having another family conflict hanging over them was the last thing they needed. Kim also knew that the situation with Roman would not be so easily resolved. And they were only weeks away from Shane's trial.
It was almost overwhelming.
But she took a deep breath and reminded herself that she and Shane had been through a lot in their years together. This is just another hurdle, Kimmie. You've been over the tough ones already. She smiled - this time with a genuine smile - as she picked up the phone and called her parents. Yes, she and Shane had been through a lot, but she knew one thing.
They were together now and, together, they could get through anything.