Steve passed Simmons and headed into the library. Across the room, at his desk, Shane was flipping through a file folder containing notes about Lawrence.

"Anything there you haven't seen in the last 50 times you've looked at it?" Steve asked.

Shane looked up, closed the folder, and stood up. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, well I'm here," Steve said. He looked around and saw that it was just the two of them in the room. "John's not here?"

"He's doing me a favor," Shane replied. "He'll be back soon." His tone suggested that Steve probably should not ask what that favor happened to be.

Instead of asking, Steve nodded. "I'll just wait for him so I don't have to go over this twice." He walked over to the window and looked outside. The sky was a darkening gray and the weather report had said Salem might get sleet or snow later in the day. It made Steve think of a movie where the ominous clouds signaled approaching danger.

"I understand congratulations are in order."

Shane's voice caused Steve to start. He turned around, a bit confused.

"Congratulations," Shane repeated. He had circled the desk. "The baby?"

Steve was momentarily taken aback. It had not dawned on him that anyone knew, but then he realized how stupid that was. Kayla would have told Kim, who, of course, would have told Shane.

"Kayla was here yesterday," Shane said.

For an instant, Steve felt that old resentment begin to rise. Stop it, Steve said, feeling like an idiot about his reaction. Kayla loves me. We're having another child. Steve smiled and held out a hand. "Thanks, dude."

As they shook hands, Shane's brow furrowed. Steve got the distinct impression he was being examined, before Shane looked away and walked back to the desk.

"What?" Steve asked.

Shane seemed to hesitate then appeared to take a deep breath. "Look, if this changes things," he said. "You don't owe me anything."

You're wrong about that, Donovan, Steve said to himself, but he knew better than to argue with Shane about that. "Even if I didn't owe you, I do owe Alamain. We have some unfinished business, so don't you worry about me sitting this one out."

Steve could not read Shane's reaction. He said nothing further, but sat back down and reopened the file folder. Steve was about to ask what Shane was thinking, but the library door opened and John entered.

"Hey, what did I miss?" John asked.

Shane looked at Steve, as if waiting for him to answer first.

Steve decided against mentioning the baby. There were other things to focus on right now. "Nothing, dude. We were waiting for you."

For the first time, Steve noticed that John was carrying a box, which he set down on the edge of the desk. Shane reached over, opened it, pulled out each of the two guns from inside, and examined them before looking back at John. "You didn't have any trouble?"

John shook his head. "Abe agreed that the Salem PD had no basis for keeping them. I'm not sure Roman would agree, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

As Shane took the guns and locked them in his desk, Steve realized that those were the guns Shane had at the hangar. One of those gun killed Winters, Steve thought. And saved my life.

Trying to get his mind back to the present, Steve looked at John. "So did you get anything new?"

John grimaced. "Nope. We're basically still where we were - Lawrence is out there somewhere and he could drop his poison on us at any minute." He looked expectantly at Steve. "What about you?"

"I've got Jack looking into the sale of the refinery site," Steve said. "He said he should find something out today." He glanced at Shane. "And I hope you don't mind, but I told him to try to get me here if I'm not home."

Shane bobbed his head. "That's no problem."

"There is one thing Jack told me about," Steve added. He told them what Jack had mentioned about the unusual ships. That plainly got the other men's attention. "The weird thing is that nobody seems to know where they're docking."

Shane and John exchanged a look. "Cover of darkness?" John asked.

Nodding, Shane said, "If they're using small boats to unload."

"That would be a bitch to do," Steve pointed out. He had spent enough years on ships and hauling freight to know how difficult it would be to do. They would either have to load the boats on deck and then lower the full boats into the water, or they would have to risk transferring the cargo onto a boat already bobbing in the water.

"It may be inefficient," Shane pointed out. "But that would allow them to avoid inspection by a harbor master."

Steve had to admit Shane was right. "Why don't I go down to the docks and ask around. Maybe someone down there's been involved in the offloading and can tell us where they're moving stuff."

A strange look flashed across Shane's face, but it disappeared so quickly that Steve had to wonder if it was just his imagination. Shane shook his head. "No, I need you to do something else for us."

"What do you mean?" Steve began to protest. "The docks are gonna be the best place for information-"

"That may be," Shane said, hesitantly. "But John can ask around the docks. I need you to do . . . to do something else."

Steve scowled, but then he remembered that he had agreed to take Shane's orders. "Fine. . . . What is it?"

"I need you to go to the hospital and snoop around a little," Shane said. "We need to know if there is any unusual activity at the lab-"

"But Kayla's no longer working there." Steve had no idea what point there was to this. Besides, he could do more at the docks.

But Shane was insistent. "If there's any new ISA intelligence, the most likely indication will be at the hospital. That and the Field Office, but I don't think we're getting back in there anytime soon." Apparently seeing Steve's frustration, Shane added, "Look, Steve. . . . Of the three of us, you have the best excuse to be wandering around the hospital and lab. You can say you're just looking for Kayla."

"Why can't you be at an appointment?" Steve asked.

"I could," Shane agreed. "But I can't cover nearly as much as the hospital as you. All I'm asking is for you to scout it out and just see if there's anything to suggest something out-of-the-ordinary is going on."

Steve was still annoyed. "Why not just call Carly and ask her?"

"Johnson. . . ." John's tone was disapproving.

"All right," Steve said, making no attempt to hide his frustration. "I'll do it. I just don't see-" He stopped short. He had agreed to follow orders. With a sigh, he walked over to the coffee pot and began pouting a cup. "I'm just frustrated, all right. It's like we're just sitting here, waiting for Lawrence to make a move. . . . And I hate that all our family and friends are in the dark about thiat."

Finishing with his cup, he turned back and was surprised to see Shane nodding.

"I know how you feel, Steve." Shane looked away for a moment. Then, in a low voice, he confessed, "Last night, I told Kim she should take Andrew and Jeannie and go away for awhile."

Steve's jaw dropped. Hadn't Shane been the one going on and on about how they couldn't tell anyone?

"What did she say?" John asked before Steve could even finish being surprised.

"She refused, of course." Shane looked slightly amused. "She asked me if that's what you were telling Kayla, which, of course, you're not. And when I told her no, she said she wasn't leaving."

Steve felt a little warmth rising in his cheeks. He shuffled from side to side. "Um . . . actually, I kind of suggested the same thing. I told her to see Justin and Adrienne in Texas."

"And what did she say?" Shane asked the question before John could.

"What do you think? She won't 'run away,' and she's a nurse and she'll be needed here if something happens." That's my Sweetness, Steve added silently. "I swear. You know how we always hear them talk about how the Brady men are stubborn. I think the Brady women have them beat."

John laughed. "A lot like the Kiriakis women." As Steve and Shane turned to look him, John shrugged. "Guilty as charged. Isabella's not leaving either."

Steve began to chuckle and, a moment later, was joined by Shane, then John. Soon, they were all laughing, the tension lifting momentarily.

In the back of his mind, Steve tried not to think about how crazy this whole situation was. Some madman was about to drop poison on Salem - possibly on their family and friends; they had no idea where Lawrence was; and it was just the three of them because nobody else in Salem knew about the threat.

And I'm laughing that my pregnant wife wouldn't leave town.

He wondered if Shane and John had just had similar thoughts, because they also abruptly stopped laughing. The tension returned and everyone grew somber. There was nothing funny about this.

Steve looked at Shane, who stared back and then looked to the door. Steve got the message.

With a sigh, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, "The hospital, I know. Looking for Kayla, right? I'll let you know if I find anything out."