Steve carefully opened the door to the apartment and grimaced when he saw that the lights were on in the living room. He was carrying a sack with Kayla's Christmas present and he had hoped to beat her home.

Kayla had left the house early that morning with a full day of shopping planned. Shawn and Caroline had agreed to watch the children while Kim, Kayla, Marlena, and Carly did their Christmas shopping. Steve had figured it was a good time for him to get some of his own done too.

Slipping the small bag inside his jacket, Steve quietly hung the jacket in the closet just inside the door before loudly announcing, "Sweetness, I'm home."

Steve smiled as he heard rustling noises from their bedroom and within a few seconds, Kayla appeared in the living room.

"What are you doing back there, baby?" Steve asked with a knowing grin.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Kayla replied with a smile. "Just stay out of that bedroom until I say otherwise."

"But maybe I had plans for that room, Sweetness." Steve let his eye wander over Kayla's entire body as he walked purposely towards her.

"Well I guess you're just going to have to put those plans on hold for the time being," Kayla scolded, although Steve could tell her heart wasn't really in it.

"You sure about that, baby?" Steve asked as he reached her. "I think you might like my plans." He leaned down, kissed her gently, and then kissed her again with more urgency.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kayla finally answered when they broke apart. Then she smiled impishly and continued, "But there are other rooms in this house, you know?"

Steve laughed and picked Kayla up, carrying her to the couch and placing her on his lap. He nuzzled her neck as he asked, "So I take the shopping trip was successful?"

Kayla nodded, moaning softly as his lips found her favorite spot. "I've still got a few presents to buy, but most of the family is taken care of." Then she lifted her head and looked at him. "Where were you when I got home?"

Ignoring her question, Steve resumed his exploration of Kayla's neck. "Is Stephanie still at your parents' house?" he asked between kisses.

"Yeah," Kayla replied. "She was taking a nap when I got there, so I decided I'd bring everything home and pick her up later."

"So we have the whole house to ourselves?" Steve leaned over, laying Kayla onto the couch. "Don't you think we should take advantage of that?"

Kayla laughed and pushed back against his chest. "You're impossible, Steve Johnson." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You still haven't told him where you were today?"

"You don't give up do you, Sweetness?" Steve asked, smiling at her determination. Sitting back up he said, "If you must know, I was running some errands of my own."

Steve didn't miss the shadow that crossed Kayla's face as she sat up and faced him. She took his hand and caressed it lightly for a moment before she spoke. "I know that you want to protect me and I know that the way I reacted yesterday probably didn't help things, but I really wish you just tell me the truth."

Steve looked at Kayla in confusion. "What do you mean, Kayla? I am telling you the truth."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Come on, Steve. Don't you think I've figured out by now that 'running errands' is code for something. In this case, probably meeting with John and Shane. And if that's what you are doing, just tell me. As hard as it is to face the fear, it's even harder when I feel like I'm being shut out."

"Sweetness," Steve said softly, looking into Kayla's eyes. "I promise you, I'm not shutting you out. And I'm sorry for making things so crazy that you don't know that." He brushed her cheek gently with his hand. "I haven't talked to Shane since I saw him yesterday."

"Oh. . . ." Kayla looked down at their hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

Steve shook his head. "It's not your fault. I've given you a lot of reasons to jump to those conclusions with the way I've handled things lately." He tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "Remember yesterday when we talked about why I wanted to help Shane and John?"

Kayla nodded, looking at Steve with a curious expression.

"Well," he continued. "I didn't tell you all of the reasons. I want to help Shane get out of those treason charges and I definitely want to stop Alamain from carrying out whatever he has planned." He smiled at Kayla. "But I also asked Shane to let me in on his plan because I realized you were right."

"Right about what?"

"About not being able to do everything on my own," Steve replied. "You'd have thought I would have learned my lesson long before now, but I guess I'm a slow learner. But you were right about the lab and my plan to go to Mauritius. They were both stupid ideas. But, as usual, I was jumping into something without thinking about the consequences."

"You were just trying to protect us all from Lawrence. I understand that."

Steve smiled at Kayla's automatic defense of him, even from himself. "Yeah, I was, baby. But I was going about it the wrong way. And, as a result, I got you fired from the lab and had myself talked into what was probably a suicide mission." He took a deep breath. "You know I can't promise you that I'll never be in danger again. But I can promise you that I'll never forget that you're counting on me to come home."

Kayla smiled and kissed Steve on the cheek. "Good. Because I will always be here waiting for you." She leaned back and looked him in the eye. "You know, you're not the only one who has been doing some thinking."

"Yeah?"

Kayla nodded. "I won't pretend that I'm not still terrified about you and Shane and John going after Lawrence. I don't think the fear of losing you again will ever go away. But I also know that I can't stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is just going to be okay because I wish for it. And, I can't ask you do that either."

"So you understand why we have to do this?" Steve asked, realizing how much he needed to hear that from his wife.

"Yes, I do," Kayla said. "You're a good man, Steve. And I'm proud of you for wanting to fight for us, for our family, and to keep all of us safe. I can't promise to stop being scared of what might happen. But I can promise that I'll try to support you in any way I can."

Steve's heart swelled with love at Kayla's words. "Thank you, Sweetness. You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that." He pulled her to him and nestled her against his chest. "I know I can't take all your fears away, but just remember that Shane and John and I've been through a lot of scrapes together. We'll get through this one too."

Instead of answering, Kayla turned and lay back on the couch, pulling Steve with her. Then she kissed him, deeply and passionately. When they broke the kiss, Steve looked down at his wife, swimming in the love and desire he saw in her eyes.

She reached her hand behind his head, preparing to draw him down to her lips yet again. "You better get through this one, Mr. Johnson. But, just to be safe, maybe I should give you a reminder of what you have waiting here at home."

Steve smiled and kissed his wife with every ounce of love he held in his heart. As their hands worked quickly to remove their clothing, Steve knew that nothing was going to stop him from keeping his promises to Kayla. Not even Lawrence Alamain.