Chapter 15
Joey, for the first time in a long time it had seemed, had had a good day.
School had been ok. He had not had maths which was always a bonus and when he got out of school he found his sister and his dad outside ready to give him a ride home.
To his actual home.
The three of them stopped off on the way at the hospital to see his mom who was either beginning to feel a bit better or had got better at faking her smile over the past few days. He sincerely hoped it was the former and not the latter.
After he had seen his mom, what felt at long last, he got to go home.
To his own apartment.
To his own room.
If nothing else said things were getting better, that did. He was surrounded by his thing, the normal every day stuff he had taken for granted before…
And he would have if all truth had been known been happy to stay there that night. But his dad said they were going to have dinner at the pub with the rest of the family to say thank you to his aunt Adrienne for having them.
If it had been anywhere else then he would have protested going, but as it was he did miss his grandma (he had barely been at the pub at all since his mom's accident) and he did want to thank his aunt.
It was time for them to get back to some kind of normal.
That was what coming back to the apartment was meant to be about.
And so dinner at the pub it was.
X x x
Kayla's home – where ever that was always made - Steve feel as if he was home too. He had felt that way at the loft and at the mansion the two of them had lived in when they had got married and even at the hotel room they had stayed in together after his 'return' nine years beforehand.
It was something about the way they felt and smelt.
He had certainly never felt that way about his room under Shenanigans. But even though he had permission to be here – something felt as if it was all out of place or wrong. As if something – or someone - was missing.
Which of course they were.
Sweetness…
If she was here it would make all the difference in the world. It would be make him feel this was where he was meant to be too…
But now as he saw in her living room looking at the pictures of the River Seine which hang above the fire place – he felt a little flat.
The two great saving graces which he did have though, did make this place feel like home.
And they were called Joey and Stephanie.
"Papa, are we going for this dinner?" he heard his baby girl call to him.
He smiled. "Coming!"
Going back to the Brady Pub felt a lot like going home too. He would not deny he missed the Fish Market – but this place had been his father in laws dream (as well as his own suggestion). It was good to see the family business was doing so well, though he, of course, wished Shawn had been about to enjoy it for longer. He had earned it.
Steve winced at the memory of Ava… and why Shawn was not here, enjoying the fruits of his labour. Still, if he had been here, Steve had no doubt around now he would have strung him up for the way he'd treated Kayla…
To his surprise, Caroline gave him a relatively warm welcome, all things considered.
But she had never been backward in coming forward and that was clearly not something which would change with age.
"Now you are not to go running off in to the night again. There two," she said as she nodded to her two Johnson grandchildren "are going to need you. And so does my daughter."
"I know, mama," he said sincerely. "I am going nowhere."
"You best not. I still haven't forgiven you for the last time you broke her heart."
"I never meant to do that." Steve said lowly, suddenly glad his kids had wondered off to greet their aunts and uncles. He registered vaguely that Justin had actually turned up.
"But you did." There was a sharpness he had not wanted to hear in her voice. Then she softened, cupping one of his cheeks. "My daughter needs you."
And I need her…
"She has me," came his solemn reply.
"Make sure she does, Steven Earl."
Caroline had never understood their split. She had said a small pray right then that some good might come out of all this and past wrongs may at last be put right. Her eyes did not leave him till he had sat down at the table him and the rest of the Johnson clan would be eating their dinner at.
X x x
"So I am going to be taking you up on the offer of the apartment if I still can." Jack told his brother.
It was not the end to the day he had been banking on.
When he had reunited with Jen it was as if all his troubles were going to melt away. He had her love still.
Life would be easy. But it wasn't.
JJ and he had a long road to walk and after a chat with Jen it was clear it would be easier for his son to walk it if he had had a bit of space from his dad. Which was all he had had from Jack for the past few years but apparently he needed more…
"Not a problem. You can have the keys tonight." Steve offered as he gave his niece a sorry smile. It was all too clear Abi was not happy either.
She had want her dad back where she saw him as belonging. But that wasn't going to happen.
"Well, there is no need for that tonight." Said Adrienne as she turned to her husband who had joined them for dinner. "Jack can stay another night with us, cant he Justin?"
The lawyer nodded. He was suddenly very aware of his brothers in law watching hm.
"Of course," he said. "It will be good to spend a bit of time with you. I am only sorry I was gone so much of the time this week."
He had been there at the hospital when things had begun… but once he had known Adrienne had her brothers back he had – well, dropped off the radar a bit. And he knew he shouldn't off… but somehow it had just happened.
"Are you?" asked Steve levelly.
His sister sent him an imploring look his way to leave it.
Only for her would he do that. For no one else given the circumstances.
"Yes… but with the two of you home we can all make up for that now," he said as he looked down the table of eight. All the Salem Johnsons were there, asides for JJ and Sonny. The only reason Sonny was missing was due to Ari running a fever.
Adrienne beamed. "That's right. The Johnsons are back in business."
And even if they were not quite there yet, it was not going to be long till they were.
From the bar, Bo Brady watched… and stewed.
X x x
Kayla lay on the ground. She was hurt and she was bleeding and in need have help.
Joey was trying all he could to get to her.
He wanted to run to her side, but his feet would not move. No matter what, he just felt as if he could not get to her.
But what made it all so much worst was how close his dad was to his mom. And how he was doing nothing to help her… he was just standing there. Steve looked blankly at the woman he loved as it seemed to their boy that she was… dying…
As his son screamed his throat red raw, Steve did nothing. He cried and he called for his dad, he scratched and kicked and invisible enemy, then he waited.
His father turned to him and seemed to acknowledge what he was saying, yelling, screaming… then he turned and walked away anyway….
Even as he lay down on the couch to sleep, Steve found his mind was racing. It was full of Adrienne and the trouble she was having with Justin and Jack, Jen and the trouble it was clear they would have with their son. It was full of Stephanie's warning and the hope Joey might have for the future and of course, like his heart and soul, it was full of thoughts of Kayla.
Here he was trying to sleep in her flat without her being with him. It simply was not right.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked at the picture above the fireplace…
She had done the place up nice as she always did. But he knew so little of her life here. He did not even know for sure how long she had been here.
Kayla had forwarded the address so he knew where Joey was he guessed but he did not put a date to it… till recently he had not wanted to think of her and their boy here doing normal stuff – it had hurt.
But now it hurt more as he had no way of picturing her here… how she would look on the couch next to him, what she laughed at when she was watching the TV, whether she still walked about with her hair went after the shower… he didn't know any of it anymore…
Then there was the fact he was lying on her sofa alone, instead of at her side in her bed.
When he was in Kayla's house he knew that was his place. And yet it just had not worked out that way.
He knew that was all his own fault. When all was said and done it came down to the fact he should never have left her…
He saw that as the first of two bottom lines, the second being that he loved her.
Always, he had loved her. He took in a deep breath and sighed as he readjusted his eye patch only to jump out of his skin from the sound of a cry down the hall.
"Dad!"
It took Steve no time at all to get to his sons room. He had never known his boy to have nightmares, but it was clear that was what was going on.
"Son," he said as he went in to the room, sat down on the bed and kissed Joeys forehead, cupping his faced as he called his name. "Joe, I am here buddy, I am here."
For a moment he was not sure if his son was even seeing him. The fear was still in his eyes as he opened them.
Stroking his cheeks, he kissed his forehead again.
"Dad!"
"I am right here, I am right here with you, baby boy…" Steve promised as he put another kiss on his forehead and then drew him in to his arms.
He felt his son cling to him.
"She was dying dad – she was going to die and I couldn't get to her! Yo – no one was helping her"
"No one is going to die. No one," Steve said as he rocked a little. "I promise."
"I want mama home! I want her back here, with us," said Joey as tears ran down his face.
"I know you do. So do I and it is not long now till she will be back. Shhh," he soothed as he held him.
For a moment, Joey said nothing at all as he tried to get his breath. He could feel his dad rubbing his back, almost as one would a baby who needed calming. And something in him screamed to pull back but – but this was his dad.
Whoever that was in his dream, the man he had walked away – it had not been Steve Johnson … his dad was right here.
He was not going to be turning his back on him, on them. On him and his mom…
He was right there. Joey had to believe that, he longed to believe it…
And though he did not want his dad to think he was some sort of baby, Joey just couldn't find it in himself yet to be strong…
His mother had been so pale and so lifeless and his dad just did nothing and everything had changed so fast. It felt as if he had not been able to grab on to anything in so long. But now he had grabbed on to his dad.
At least for then he could hold tight to that.
Steve mean while continued to hug him, and tried to reach back through his memory to the last time he had held one of his kids thus. He guessed it must have been some time back in Africa.
Joe had been so small when the three of them had headed off on the great adventure. He had just been finding his legs and for a time it had seemed to him as if there future was going to be so very bright.
But things had not turned out like that.
Still… they had had some great months before it had all gone so very wrong…. And some hard nights. Joe had not quite been sleeping through the night, especially not when they had first got there.
It had been so hot and the change of environment had been hard for their little boy and he had clung to Kayla and Steve…. But particularly to Steve…
'He is your little shadow…'
He could not count the number of times he had heard Kayla say that to him about their son… He was so, so sorry he had left him…
He had been so wrong. he should never have…
Steve did not know it was possible to feel so much regret. But he knew he was going to feel it till the day he died. He blinked away the hotness in his eyes.
Kissing his sons head, he pulled back.
"How you doing, little dude? You ok?"
His son nodded and Steve was relieved to see his sons eyes were a little less saucer like. But they were also embarrassed. It looked as if there was shame in his eyes. He did not want his son to feel like that. Not with him.
"Yeah – yeah, I am sorry, pop. It was just a bad dream," he said as he lay back against his pillow. He knew that now.
Joey looked utterly drained.
"You do not ever have to say sorry to me for having a nightmare buddy. You want to tell me what happened?"
The young teen shook his head. He did not want to talk about what he had seen. He never wanted too think about it…
"It might help to talk – "
"No!" Joey was surprised by how harshly the word came out of his mouth. There was only one thing that he wanted, one thing that could make all of this better for him. "When is she coming home?"
"Soon," Steve said. And for the first time he knew he was not lying… Kayla was making progress. She was healing, he had noted her bruises beginning to fade.
She was not ill any more even if she did have a condition that was going to take a long time… to get better from.
It was not going to be long until they could bring her home. not now…
"I want her home. I hate it when she is gone."
"I know you do."
"Do you?" Joey asked as he looked at him.
Steve nodded. "Of course, I want your mother to come home."
"But when she does, you're going to stay right?"
"Buddy, you know I am not going to do that. When mama gets home she is going to need her space and me being here – it is just going to make things a lot more complicated."
"It might make things simpler than you think."
"How did you work that one out?"
Joey shrugged. It was just a feeling.
"Have you and mom had a fight?"
Steve shook his head. "No – no we haven't, what gave you that idea?"
"Just when you first got back here it seemed as if you two were kinda close and the last few days – it hasn't been like that."
"Joey," Steve begun taking a deep breathe. "You need to understand that me and your mom - we go way back and there has been a lot of things gone on between us… it makes things anything but simple. But what I will say is this. I am not fighting with your mother. She is my – my dearest friend and I care about what happens to her very, very much."
"You're not going to leave her, are you?" Joey's voice was smaller than it had been since Steve got back as he asked that question.
Steve shook his head. He had no intentions of leaving her.
"I am not going to leave any of you. Not for a long time to come. I promise."
And he knew he was going to have to back up that promise with action. After all the time he had been away it was going to take more than a few words to help Joey, to convince the little dude he had his dad home for good…
But they were going to get there.
Steve would make sure of that.
x x x
"Do you have any idea how much I missed this?"
"Maybe just a little."
The honeymoon suite had perhaps been an extravagance too far in the mind of Kimberly Brady when she had first heard that that was the room which Shane had booked for them in the Salem Inn. But now that they were there alone in the middle of the night, skin on skin, she did not feel that way.
Not even nearly.
Looking back up at the love of her life she felt her lips tug into a smile. All she had to do was look at him and her heart filed with so much joy she was sure it was going to burst.
So far she had had him back for such a small amount of time. Not even a whole forty eight hours yet.
She still had to keep looking at him to make sure he was real. But she was beginning to believe he was. And for that night the only mission which he had was to make her very, very happy. He was already doing a rather good job at fulfilling it.
He had been all day.
The two of them had got up and had a slow, easy breakfast together. And then Kim had had a shower – she had been trying to get clean but when Shane had come in to scrub her back it was clear he had other things on his mind.
By eleven they were out and in the car and on their way to the Kiriakis mansion. Shane could only agree with Kimberly's sentiments about their daughter living in a house with Victor Kiriakis, but for now there was nothing they could do about it. The thought did cross his mind though that if they were to buy a house, put routes down in Salem once more… maybe she would not have too. That was he however, a conversation for another day. For that day all he had had to do was cradle his little grandson in his arms.
"What do you think, daddy?" Theresa had asked as he had held Tate for the first time.
"I think he is the most beautiful little boy I have set eyes on since your elder brother was born."
He could see Andrew in Tate. And of course his mother. He had never had this time with Eve which he was always going to regret that… Holding Tate had brought that back to him.
They had had lunch with their daughter and their grandchild before they had gone on to the hospital to see Kayla.
His sister in law had been looking well for all she had been through. It was apparent she had had a rough time but he had clearly missed the worst period. Kayla Brady was on the mend. They had not stayed for long. Kayla and Kim had had a proper chat while Shane had chimed in, his wife signing for him as and when he had something to add to the conversation, but mainly it had been the two sisters continuing to catch up. However, it was clear that Kayla was tired before long and so Shane and Kim had left her to sleep, bidding her good night with a kiss on her forehead.
And that had given them a chance to go to Chez Rouge and continuing their own catch up.
Once they had exchanged pleasantries with Maggie, they had found a quiet table in the corner of the restaurant.
And then they had got lost in their own world. Shane had asked all about the kids and the time they had been apart and she had just relished his company… She always had. He had never just been her husband… he had been her lover and her friend.
And it was his friendship she had missed the very most when he was gone. It always had been. No one had ever been her friend the way he had been.
That was when they went back to the hotel room… and just loved being together a little more.
Kim smiled like a cat who got the cream, her head pillowed on his chest as he strummed his fingers through her hair.
"A little." she giggled.
"Ok, a lot," Shane corrected as he kissed the top of her head again.
"Same way I missed you," she said as she reached up to press their lips together. Shane hummed, glad to hear it.
"What a first day home this has been," he said contently as he held her. It had not all been all he had dreamt it would be in an ideal world, but for the most part, they could call it a win.
"'Home'? Is that what you think of Salem as? Still?" she asked as she ran a hand up and down his arm.
"No – it is what I think as you as."
"Right answer, Mr Donovan," she laughed.
He chuckled…
"It may be just as well if you did think of this place as home again though… I do not think we are going to be able to go back to LA for a while. Not with the way things are…."
There was too much going on there for them to do.
He nodded. "Well, then we'll stay. But we don't have to decide anything tonight do we?" he asked and she shook her head.
"All we have to do tonight is be together."
And after all the practice they had had at that over the years, she found they were very, very good at it.
The next day she was sure would not be an easy one. They were going to have to go and catch up with Eve and really begin to face up to the fact they shared a little relation with victor Kiriakis.
But that could wait. All of it could just wait.
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