Kayla quietly opened the door to the apartment and stood back as Steve carried a sleeping Stephanie inside.

A soft smile crossed her face as she thought of how Stephanie had worn herself out playing with her cousins. Kayla offered a small prayer of thanks that the children had remained mostly oblivious to the tensions between their parents.

After Steve, Shane, and Kim had returned, the Brady family had proceeded with Thanksgiving dinner. As was custom, each person had taken a brief moment to say what they were thankful for that year. Given the miraculous returns of Steve, Marlena, and Roman, those thanks had all been very similar, leading to some giggles by the time Bo got around to being thankful for their returns as well. Things grew a little more somber when they got to Kim's and Shane's thanks, and, even as they expressed how grateful they were that Shane was there and they had their family together, Kayla could tell that most of the family was also thinking of Shane's upcoming trial and the chance that their happiness would be short-lived.

"I'll take her and put her to bed," Steve said softly, interrupting Kayla's thoughts.

Kayla nodded and softly kissed Stephanie on the cheek. "Sleep well, baby girl," she whispered.

"I think she already is." Steve smiled before he headed for Stephanie's bedroom.

As Steve walked down the hall, Kayla carried the leftovers her mother had packed into the kitchen and put them in the refrigerator. Despite the difficulties with John, and the tensions between Roman, Steve, and Shane, the dinner had gone smoothly. Thankfully, there had seemed to be a silent agreement not to do anything to upset Caroline's dinner any further.

Kayla left the kitchen and returned to the living room. Steve had not returned, but then she heard the soft sounds of a harmonica playing a lullaby. Either Stephanie had woken up or Steve simply had been unable to resist playing his daughter to sleep.

Turning off the lights, Kayla walked towards the bedroom. She paused outside Stephanie's door and listened for a moment. It felt like she was caught in a dream. How many times had she unconsciously listened for that sound while Steve was gone?

Shaking herself from the moment, Kayla continued her journey to the bedroom. Within a few minutes, she had completed her nightly routine. She was just climbing into bed as Steve entered the bedroom.

Kayla pulled the covers over her and turned on her side, facing towards Steve. He offered her a smile and began removing his shirt and jeans.

"Did Stephanie go down okay?" Kayla asked quietly. She never took her eyes off her husband.

Steve nodded. "She woke up a little when I changed her into her pajamas, but it didn't take long for her to go back to sleep."

"I'm sure that lullaby you were playing helped."

Steve turned off the light and climbed into bed and turned towards Kayla. "I don't know about that. I think she was asleep before I started playing. But I couldn't resist anyway."

"I'm glad you didn't." Kayla reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Steve's forehead. "I was standing outside Stephanie's room, listening, and realized that I should have added that to the list of things I was thankful for."

Steve smiled. "There are a whole lot of things I could have added to that list, Sweetness. I just figured that everybody else might want to eat sometime tonight."

Kayla chuckled. "That's probably true."

Steve stroked Kayla's cheek and seemed to hesitate before speaking. "I . . . I know you're still upset with me, baby-"

Before he could say anymore, Kayla shook her head and put her fingers on his lips. "I don't want to talk about that tonight. We said we would put that aside for the day, and the day isn't over yet."

Steve nodded and lightly kissed Kayla's fingers. "Sounds good to me, Sweetness." He rolled onto his back and pulled Kayla with him. As his arms went around her back, Kayla laid her head on Steve's chest.

They laid together in silence for a few minutes. Kayla could feel Steve's hands gliding softly up and down her back as she gently stroked his chest. She had missed this closeness the last few days and she was grateful to be in his arms again. She knew they still had a lot to resolve . . . if it could even be resolved. But, rightly or wrongly, she just did not want to think about it tonight.

"You know what I'm most thankful for, Sweetness?" Steve's voice was soft and tender.

Kayla raised her head and looked into his eye. "No. What?"

Steve smiled and kissed Kayla's forehead. "The thing I'm most thankful for is that, about five years ago, a young, beautiful nurse looked at this beat-up, cynical, tough guy and saw something nobody else did. And she didn't listen when everybody told her he was a bad dude, even him."

Kayla felt a tear spring to her eye at the emotion in Steve's voice. Smiling, she kissed his cheek softly. "I'm pretty thankful for that too. And I'm thankful that he finally opened his heart and let everybody see what that nurse had always known. That he was good man with a good heart."

"I'm not sure that good man existed before he met the nurse," Steve replied. He held Kayla's face in his hands and tenderly brushed a tear from her cheek. "But I know damn well, he wouldn't have survived without her." He kissed her softly. "So thank you, Sweetness. Thank you for my life."

Thank you for my life. Kayla's heart clinched as she remembered the last time Steve had said those words to her. It was only seconds before his heart had stopped, or so she had thought. Without warning, a sob welled up and she buried her face in Steve's chest as the tears fell.

"Baby?" Steve's voice was full of concern as he wrapped his arms tighter around him. "What's wrong, Sweetness? Please tell me what's wrong."

After a few moments, Kayla managed to collect herself and raised her head. "I'm sorry. I just remembered the last time you said those words to me."

Kayla could see the confusion in Steve's eye. "You don't remember do you?" she asked quietly. Seeing Steve shake his head in response, Kayla took a deep breath and said, "It was when you were in the hospital after the boat explosion. You had come out of the coma and we thought you were getting better, but then you started feeling bad again."

Steve wiped the tears from Kayla's face again, but remained silent.

"Bo went to find the doctor, and I could see how much you were struggling." Kayla's mind drifted back to that awful day. "I held you and told you to take whatever strength you needed from me." She looked at him and softly touched his face. "You were fighting so hard to stay with me. But then you said to tell Stephanie you loved her and then you thanked me for your life."

The tears fell freely again and Kayla could see the tears in Steve's eye as well. "A few seconds after that, you were gone. Those were pretty much the last words you spoke."

Steve tightened his arms around her and pulled her close to him. As her head rested on his chest, he softly stroked her hair. "Oh, baby. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for ever leaving you." He loosened his grip and touched her chin, raising her face to meet his. "But what I said then and what I said tonight is still true. My life would mean nothing without you."

Kayla stared into his eye for a moment, seeing the love he held for her within it. She shifted her body slightly until her face was above his. Then she leaned down and kissed him, trying to pour all the love she felt into him.

The kiss was soft and tender at first, but as it continued, it deepened and sparked the passion within both of them. Kayla felt Steve's hands move up her back and into her hair as he molded her mouth to his.

Finally, they broke apart, both breathing heavily. Steve brushed the hair back from Kayla's face and stared deeply into her eyes, a question in his.

Kayla held his gaze and, in answer to his question, sat up and slowly pulled the nightgown over her head. As Steve reached for her and once more crushed his lips to hers, Kayla lost herself in the feel of his body.

Tomorrow might be about their problems, but tonight would only be about their love.