Chapter 19

"Hey, here he is – the third musketeer," said Jack as Steve came into the apartment.

The elder of the two brothers game a wry smile as he realized he was going to have to tell his siblings at his change in circumstances.

His first concern though was to check on his sister.

She was sitting on the sofa but she looked better then she had done earlier that day. She had obviously changed and had a shower – but still she looked as if she was in a state of shock.

That did not stop her trying to put a brave face on her pain though. She had always tried to do that.

"How is Kayla? You guys get her back from the hospital ok?" Adrienne checked, as he sat by her side and gave her a hug.

"Yeah – yeah, we did. I think she is just looking forward to school let out time."

Adrienne grinned. "Of course she is."

If she was anything like Adrienne would be she was probably bursting to have her baby back in her arms.

And she knew they were similar in some ways.

"So is that why you have come over? To unpack before Joey gets back?" Jack asked.

There was no doubt in his mind that Steve was going to spend a lot of time between the two apartments from now on. They were both where his family lived and even if he could not be with Kayla and the kids all the time then he was still going to be going over to help them out whenever he could.

Or at, least that was what he thought until Steve gave a sigh.

"Actually guys there has been a bit of a change of plan. Kayla wants me to sleep over there, just to make sure nothing - nothing goes bump in the night I guess." He explained. "I hope the two of you don't mind?"

"Mind…. Steve that is great news," Adrienne said as her own sorrows were the moment forgotten. She wrapped her arms tighter about him.

This was a positive thing.

"Yeah – that is really something!" Jack agreed.

If they were living in the same place may be they could work towards something else too.

"It is – I am not sure how happy little sweetness is going to be about it all but I could not say no to Kayla."

"Of course you couldn't. You have to put her first."

He nodded, he appreciated that. "Listen, nothing changes here. I can still pay my half of the rent of this place until Jack and – and, you baby, have your selves sorted." He said as he gave his sister a kiss on the forehead.

"I think that may take a while," admitted Jack. He was yet to see hide or hair of his son. There was no reason to think he was going to get to live in the Horton homestead soon.

"And I do not think I am going to be going anywhere soon either." Adrienne sighed.

She did not see how she and Justin were ever going to come back from the night before. She had been stupid to think they were on the return journey to a nice place when the truth was they had never been so far on the outs. And it had been so embarrassing to be caught by Elsa like that, all over Justin…

She must have looked so desperate.

"Well it is like I say, as long as it takes. And you never know Kayla might get sick of me and I might find myself over here sometime soon."

"With the rest of the washed up Johnson kids," Jack murmured.

But Adrienne shook her head. She knew her sister in law and she knew her brother.

And she knew this was only ever going to end one way.

"No, you won't."

They weren't like her and Justin. It might take some time and some fights but Kayla and Steve were going to make it.

X x x

'I asked your father to stay here with the three of us.' signed Kayla as Stephanie put her second cup of tea down I front of her.

Unlike the one before though, this one was iced instead of hot.

Stephanie hesitated for a moment before she nodded her head. She could not deny to herself that she did not want her mom and dad to get things confused between them once again. Them starting back up could only confuse matters, as it always had done in the past.

And why on earth should this time be any different?

But these were thoughts which she could reveal to her father alone. Her mother was still …well, she did not want to put any more pressure on her when she did not have too.

'I hope you don't mind.'

'Why should I mind?' she asked. 'If you want him here.'

'I do.'

She had always wanted Steve by her side. The two of them….. She had wanted that for a long time.

She put her head in her hands for a minute as she felt the same familiar swirl of emotions tumble round in her. The joy to have him close. The fear he would leave her again. The anger he left to begin with. And then the everlasting love which had ruled most of her adult lift.

How did one sign all of that?

All she knew as him being here made some sort of sense to her. It made the world make sense.

She could remember a time not so long ago when Stephanie had accused her of being pathetic over Steve. When their daughter had been a teen she had had cause to be sick of hearing how special their love had been.

But all Kayla wanted was just one more miracle from it.

'You can tell me if you are unhappy about any of this.'

Stephanie shook her head. Her mother was home. How could she possibly be unhappy?

If the last few weeks had taught her anything it was that she had to pick and choose her battles. And she was not going to pick this one.

Kayla had been entirely focused on her daughter until she saw Stephanie's eyes turn to the door and a wide smile spread on her face.

She may not have been able to hear him in the room, but she knew when her son came in to it.

She may not have hear him call her name and say how happy he was she was home to feel it. Joey stayed snuggled into her side a long time after he had got back from school, well past the time he normally would have gone off to his room to play video games. Kayla's ribs ached long before her son shifted from her side but she refused to break the moment. And so when Steve returned to the apartment, to find mother and son wrapped up on one another and Stephanie sitting in the arm chair next to them with a book and a diet coke, he felt an over whelming peace in his soul, the like of which he had not experience since his son was a tiny baby.

And he had been such a tiny little peanut.

Steve shut the door, took up residence in the opposite arm chair to his daughter and felt his heart swell with pride and Joey and Kayla signed to one another.

There was still a lot Joe had to learn… but learn he would.

X x x

Hope had just got a coffee when she was joined by her daughter in the kitchen.

"Hey you, you how was school?" she asked with a smile.

"It was good," she said with a shrug. "Did you know Aunt Kayla was getting released from the hospital today?"

"I didn't till I go to work then I saw Uncle Roman. He said grandma is really excited."

"Joey was too."

"I bet," she said as she head over to the kettle. "Hot chocolate?"

Ciara nodded. She was definitely going to need something to get her through this conversation. She had a feeling her mother had sensed that though. Begrudgingly she would admit her mother was good at doing that. Knowing when she needed stuff even when she had not known she had needed it herself.

But she needed a run up to this…

"So how was your day?"

"Oh, ok honey, nothing really happened. Just desk work, it was kind of boring actually," Hope admitted as she leaned on the breakfast bar opposite her daughter. "So… you going to tell me what you really want to say, Ciara Alice?"

A small embarrassed smile crept on to the little girl's cheeks at being double named but she did not protest.

The two of them were alone after all.

"Is it ok…. I mean… It's just because –"

"Honey," Hope smiled as she put her hands on her daughters. "just say it."

"I want to spend some time with dad has weekend. Like real time. I am not going to yell at him or anything, I just want to hang out with him for a bit. Is that ok?"

Hope felt her lips tug into a sad smile. Sad because she had thought for a moment it was not going to be ok.

"I have no problem with you spending time with your dad. In fact I think it would be really good for you."

Deep down she was sure she needed Bo's reassurances. Hers weren't working any more. Ciara needed to know her father loved her and she had to hear it for him, even if she didn't know it.

"Really?"

"Really." She said as she leant over and gave her a kiss on the head. "I know the last few years have been so, so tough on you."

"On us," Ciara corrected her. Everything that they had had to go through with Bo they had gone through together.

Hope sighed and smiled, and then kissed her daughter on the top of her head again. For all the fact her little girl could be a cheeky and even petulant young girl, she was also as sweet as pie some times.

And she was kind of her best friend. She could only hope the two of them were going to carry on like this as Ciara headed in to her teen years.

"So can I ask you what changed your mind, what brought this on?" asked Hope.

"I just had a chat with Joey and he thought it might be a good idea."

Hope nodded. That made sense.

"He can be a pretty smart kid."

"When he wants to be," teased Ciara.

Hope kissed Ciara again, only to be swatted away this time as the moment had passed. With that, Hope pilled out her phone.

"Shall I see if your daddy is free Saturday then?"

Ciara nodded. Hope made the call. And Bo jumped at the chance.

X x x

"You know when the two of us were in Dubai I think we shared a smile about once every ten seconds… but now you can barely look at me," said Elsa as she sat on the bed.

She had thought her coming here was going to be such a great surprise for Justin. She had thought he was going to have missed her and relieved to have her in his arms again.

But that was not the case.

"Of course, I can look at you," he said as he turned to face her to prove his point.

"Are you saying there is not someone who you would rather see here?"

Then he could not look at her.

She felt something in her break shattered.

"Of course, I do not want to see anyone else," he lied.

She heard it, but still she could not let go.

"You know the two of us love each other – and that means we are going to be able to work this out."

They had said they loved each other. Over and over.

So it did not matter if they were living close to the woman who would be his ex-wife… they'd make it.

Maybe it was something in her tone that, made him feel a sympathy for her then because he got up, came to her side and cupped her cheek, which she was glad of. For just a moment she could see him.

The old Justin. Her Justin.

Justin gave her a smile, a kiss on the head but did not agree.

Something in Elsa's world shifted… and she did not know if she was going to be able to shift it back… but she wanted to. Very much…

"Listen, I have to go out on business this afternoon. Why don't you get to know the house? You could have a swim," he suggested as he picked up his brief case, kissed her forehead.

"Ok."

He did not wait for her to add anything else before he left the room.

Once outside of it, Justin felt the same familiar panic he had felt the night before when Elsa had turned up. That was not meant to have happened, needless to say.

He could not lie – or at least not to himself – he had enjoyed what the two of them had shared in Dubai. It had been special to him and she had been special to him.

But she was a part of the job and he should not have followed him home.

Adrienne. She was his real life… his wife. Them, their long history, their boys…

She was everything.

He would have to find a way of ending it with Elsa before he could started repairing the damage. That was not going to be an easy job – especially considering that Jack and Steve were around. They had always been protective of their sister, especially the latter.

He might have been a stupid man, but he was not so stupid as to not realise the truth.

To the Johnson clan, he was going to be public enemy number one.

He sighed, and had been just about to leave the mansion when he heard a voice clear behind him.

"Uncle Vic?"

He did not turn to face him. He did not need to in order to see the look on his face.

"A school boy error Justin…. Bringing the mistress home." Kiriakis' weren't meant to be smarter than that. Justin wasn't sure what Maggie would make of that attitude but he knew he had to with stand the verbal beating all the same. Still, as ever, Victor kept it short and to the point. "Get your little tramp out of this house."

Justin nodded. The family house was for the family. Victor might not like Adrienne, but raising four Kiriakis boys had meant she had earned her place.

Ciara came swimming here, Arianna Grace was baby sat here and this was where Maggie now held court for any Hortons in need.

This was no place for Elsa and the ache in Justin's heart drove that home to him better than his uncle ever could. He left the house with only one question on his mind.

How to save his crumbling marriage.

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