Chapter 20
Steve did not really believe Kayla had asked him to stay in her apartment until he woke up on the sofa the next day. He had been sleeping there the whole time but he was never as comfy as it was that night.
Of course, the one down side of sleeping in the living room meant you were bound to get up earlier than if you had a bedroom but he had never been a late riser.
He awoke to the noise of the movement in the kitchen. There was crockery being moved about as well as cupboard doors gently opening and shutting. He wondered if it was Kayla and if she needed any help crossed his mind… with that thought he was up on his feet.
But when he got to the kitchen, he saw it was not Kayla but their daughter.
"Morning, little sweetness," he said as he ran a hand through his hair.
She mumbled her reply and then gave him a smile.
"How did you sleep?" she asked.
"Not too bad," he said as he sat down at the breakfast bar. There was a silence for just too long… "Ok. Cards on the table time. You're not happy with me still being here."
She had no idea how she was meant to answer that.
The little girl in her was. The little girl in her was absolutely delighted.
But the woman and adult had big reservations.
She didn't want any of them to get used to something which was not going to last.
"Mom asked you to stay," Stephanie said with a level head. "So I am not going to say anything against it. But –"
"But you don't want them to rely on me."
Steph shook her head.
"It is not that – I just… I can be here for Joe during the night and I don't want any of us…. To get hurt." He knew that. She had said it already.
Stephanie knew her parents did not want her to have to deal with her the responsibility of her brother in the middle of the night in the unlikely event something did go wrong. It was not as if he was a baby but still…
"I am not setting out to hurt anyone. And I won't make the same mistakes." Not again. The mistakes of the past were staying there.
She nodded. The problem was he never did set out to hurt anyone.
But it hadn't stopped it happening again and again.
It happened in the past.
"I should hope not," she tried to lighten the mood. She knew she had to at least try and see this from her mother's point of view. "but I do have to go back up to Chicago to tie up a few loose ends so may be it is a good thing you are here," she conceded.
"Well, you are not going to be heading out there today, are you?"
She shook her head. For that day at least she was not going to be going anywhere.
"Good, because your uncle Marcus is going to be here in a while!"
Stephanie felt a smile cross her face. Marcus had always been her favourite of her parent's friends, and she had a lot of love for him too.
"You're kidding me right?"
"No – no, he is going to be here in the flesh."
"And I take it he is coming back to help mom?"
"Yeah, that was why I called him. I thought he might be the second opinion we know and trust."
She gave a nod. He was that all right.
"I had better go get dressed then!"
X x x
It had been near a quarter of a century since Marcus Hunter had been in Salem. That could only be called far too long, especially given that this was one of the only places in the world he had found he could call home. It was also the only place where he did have a family to call his own, thus when he had got a call to return it had brought him straight back.
Steve, after all, was not the brother he had never had. He was the brother he had always had and the two of them could not be tighter.
But he was not coming back just for Steve. He had a strong friendship with Kayla in her own right and since his Homey had told all that had gone on, he had been worried about her.
They had been through such a lot together over the years.
After all, he had been one to get her better after the Deveraux's had been poisoning her. She and Steve had been towers of strength for him when they had all gone to South Carolina. And then in the darkest time in both of their lives they had had one another to turn too.
Honest to god, Marcus did not know what he would have done without Kayla and Stephanie when they had lost Steve. He was kind of sure in fact that he would have gone a little mad.
As it was lines had been blurred and crossed due to the over whelming grief.
But they had got through it and they had stayed close all the years when she too had moved out and away from Salem. In fact it had been to him she had turned when she had first thought of training to be a doctor.
Their long history had brought him back to the two of them when they needed him most… he was only sorry it had taken something so extreme to get him to return. He should have paid a visit to Kayla and to Joey long ago. He had just got so caught up in and with work.
Work which had once more lead him to cross paths with one Mr Steven Earl Johnson.
Still, he was now on sabbatical from all that and he was going to stay for as long as it took for them to get Kayla all better. That was a promise.
X x x
By the time Kim and Shane got to the pub for lunch that day, they gave the appearance of having been pulled through a hedge backwards.
Or having gone through a storm.
One they would name Hurricane Eve.
What was meant to be a nice catch with their eldest child had turned in to a shouting match.
Just ten minutes after they had got their granddaughter had arrived. She had had to pick up something which she had forgot when she had moved out and the tension in the room had been almost tangible, a physical presence from the moment which she walked in. But it was when her mother had tried to act as if there was nothing all that wrong between them had Paige had lost it.
As much as she was always going to abhor what Eve had done with JJ and to Paige as well, without really knowing why, Kim had felt a little sorry for Eve as her daughter had given a list of her crimes to her dad.
Shane's pride and his love had meant ever such a lot to her ever since she had come in to their lives. Kim would partly always see the desperate teen when she looked at her, with her ribbons and masses of hair.
When Paige had said what she had done, Eve had tried to defend herself which Kim could only call a tough gig. As for Shane he had just been blindsided by it all.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Flabbergasted," He admitted.
He did not know how his daughter could do something like this. He knew he was a long way from being dad of the year himself but he did not think he had ever hurt one of the kids like this. In fact he knew he hadn't as he would know it if he had.
"Just take it easy." His wife soothed.
But as he tried to imagine the pain he knew his granddaughter was in, Shane knew one thing he was not going to be was taking it easy.
"How on earth could Eve do it?"
And he swore to god that when he got his hands on young Jack Junior Deveraux it was not going to be a pretty site at all.
They had to stay put. Shane saw that then more than ever just then, they were required by the entire family. Yet the option of just taking Kim and running back to LA had never looked so good – even though deep down he knew it was no option at all.
"We are going to get through this the way we got being thing else."
"That is not the point is it?" Shane sighed at his wits end. This was one thing which they should not have to get through. It should never have happened.
She agreed gently as she put one hand over his.
There was not a lot to say.
"The two of you look as if you dropped a dollar and found a cent," said Caroline upon seeing her daughter and son in law.
Somehow, she did not think that was so far off of the truth Kim mused.
"We just got back from seeing Eve and… well, Paige turned up."
"Well, say no more," the land lady nodded.
Her daughter looked at her in surprise.
"Do you mean to say you know what has gone on between them?"
"I am afraid your Paige has not made much of an attempt to keep it quiet."
That definitely matched what they had just witnessed.
"Why don't I get you a pot of tea?"
Shane nodded in thanks to his mother in law. That did sound like a bit of a good idea.
"So… house hunting tomorrow?" Kim murmured softly.
Once more, Shane nodded. It was quite clear there nice quiet life was about to give way to some thing which was a bit more chaotic.
X x x
"Oh my god, you have no idea how good it is to see you!" laughed Stephanie.
As soon as she had heard the knock on the door, she had gone running to it, knowing when she opened up it was going to be Marcus Hunter standing there.
She was not disappointed.
Her father's oldest friend was stood there in a pair of jeans, T Shirt and a light summer jacket. He looked a little tired, but happy – and only happier once the door was opened.
Her uncle laughed as she jumped into his arms and he could not resist spinning her round. He had always done so when she had been a little girl. But, of course, she was no little girl any more. As hard as it was to admit to himself, Steve's and Kayla's little sweetness was a grown woman. Which was difficult to admit to himself when he could swear it was just the day before that they had found her in Australia and brought her home…
"Not half as good as it is to see you, how you doing, baby girl?" he asked.
He put her down and she drew back for a moment, "I – I am doing ok. You know the last few weeks have been a little scary but things are on the up now."
He nodded. He got that. "I wish you guys had called me sooner. I would have got the first plane I could, I am so sorry I wasn't here."
"We know you would have and I am sorry we did not let you know sooner too," she admitted. "There has just been so much going on."
"Well how about you let me in and then you can tell me all?" he suggested.
She nodded. As soon as Marcus was in the apartment he was pulled into another long embrace. This time by Steve.
He had heard his Homey's voice he had come straight to him and he did not think he had ever been so glad to see him, except maybe back in the hospital when he had been afraid that Kayla was being poisoned. He had turned out to be right and just as he had known he was going to, Marcus had helped him get Kayla all better.
He really was the best friend he had ever had.
"Thank you so much for coming dude, we need you here," Steve said as he held on to him.
"The way that I heard it, you needed me hear long ago. Now what did you think you were doing, holding out on calling me like that?" Marcus scolded lightly.
It was as Steve drew back that he shook his head. Now that Marcus mentioned it, he found he did not have an even nearly decent enough answer for him.
Steve looked ashamed of himself as they released one another. 'Womb to tomb' was so much more than a phrase to them. It wasn't a silly motto which they had made up when they had been young boys in the orphanage together.
It was an oath, a bond. It had got them through the worst of times and had been there as a promise during the best of times.
Steve realised if Marcus had been through half of what they had been through lately and then waited till after the event to call for help then he would give him hell for that.
Thankfully, if Marcus knew anything at all it was that Steven Earl did not think straight when something was up with Kayla Caroline. It was only when she was well that he could be clear sighted about anything.
"I don't know," Steve admitted as Marcus put a hand round the back of his head. Affection had never been short between the two best friends. It was not so long since they had seen one another – but it had been too long at the same time.
"And here is my little homey, put it there partner," Marcus said as Joe came up to greet him.
He was as little sad to say he had not managed to build the bond he had with his friend's younger child that he had got to have with their elder. Of course, when Steph had been a tiny little baby they had all lived in the same town and they had moved in the same circles and they had been in and out of each other's houses and it had been easy.
But it had not been like that for Joe. When he had been born Marcus had been living in a different city to him all together.
Still here was a chance to set that to rights.
And the two of them knew one another well enough to share a high five.
Then Marcus greeted the last member of the family.
Kayla gave him a slightly shy smile as he approached her, embarrassed. The last thing in the world she ever liked to do was cause any disruption to someone else's life and he had flown into help her. But it was great was to see the face of an old friend. A best friend.
She reached up and put her arms about him as he did the same and for a moment they just held each other.
"God it is good to see you, girl," he said as he kissed the two of her forehead. He had not been here for the event but he was all too aware of how close they had all come to losing her. Painfully so.
The two of them broke apart after a long moment.
Steve realised in that instant that Marcus was maybe the only man in the world he could bare to see hold Kayla so without feeling the fiery hot jealous which ran through his veins at the thought of her and any other man but him.
Their long years of friendship had secured that.
Still Marcus kissed the crown on her forehead one more time before he really let go.
He was really there. And she was really there. And they were all really there together, and that was going to take a bit of getting used too.
As he realised Kayla, Marcus sighed. It was good to be home.
"Why don't I get you a drink?" Stephanie offered.
"That would be awesome," Marcus nodded appreciatively. "Then the four of you can sit me down and give me the low down."
For that day a talk was going to be enough, he thought to himself. In time he was going to want to see all of Kayla's medical notes from the crash. But what he needed more than anything just then was just a little time to readjust to being back, not that it was going to take long.
He sat on the sofa, Kayla sat by his side and she soon leaned in to him. He knew if by hell or high water he could help her, then he would.
X x x
"Morning grandma!" said Ciara as she raced in to the pub.
It was Saturday morning, which of course brought the weekend and no school. After she and her mom had had their little chat about her going to see her dad, they had called up Bo. He had been only too delighted when Hope had asked if he was free to spend a little time with their daughter that day.
Even if he had not been then he would have cancelled whatever he had been doing to make time for her. Nothing was more important…
"Morning my darling," said Caroline as the two of them shared an embrace. "Now a little birdy came and told me you were going to come and spend a little time with your father today, is that right?" she asked with a smile.
As glad she was to have Bo home it had been hard on her to see her youngest child struggle with his own emotions. She could not argue against the way he had been treated for it had been all of his own making. But she was his mother and it had been hard for to watch all the same.
"It is," she said almost shyly.
A pounding of footsteps on the way down to the bar told Caroline that her son had heard the voice of his daughter and was now racing down to meet her.
And sure enough within seconds, Bo was there.
But this time was not going to like the last time. He had promised himself that. He had to start playing this smart if he was going to win her round to him again.
So even if he had raced down to the bar, he did not race across to Ciara when he saw her. When he had hugged her the time before - it had just all been too soon and too rushed for his little one. This time he took the chance to nod to Hope in greeting before he crossed to their child and simply kissed her head in greeting.
"How you doing, little one?" he asked, the familiar endearment slipping out before he could stop it.
Ciara did not seem to mind though.
"Good."
"That's good," he said as he turned to Hope.
"And how are you?"
"Well," she nodded civilly. There was no need to be unkind about these things for as long as he was in town. She knew the two of them should sit down and work things through. She had to put her own hurt aside for the sake of their child. But thankfully for her that was not the right time to do it, with Ciara and Bo having scheduled a met up.
"Right, well, you just ring me when you are ready to come home ok?" she said to her daughter.
She had nothing to do later that day so there wasn't anything for Ciara to race home for if she was having a good time with her dad. Ciara was more than old and capable enough of working out her own visitation schedule with her dad.
"Will do," Ciara said as she gave her mother a kiss good bye.
"Have fun, baby."
Ciara nodded as she crossed to Bo's side.
"So what do you want to do today, kiddo? We can do anything you want…."
"Well, at first I thought maybe we could go to the mall so you could buy me three years' worth of birthday and Christmas presents."
Caroline could not resist a snigger. No matter what Ciara was not going to make this easy on Bo.
"And then?" her father asked.
"It turned out to be a kind of nice day so instead I thought we could go to the park and throw a baseball around? I – it's kinda silly, but I want to an umpire and Rafe has been helping me out but he has been a little busy –"
"I do not think that is silly in the least."
And deep down nor did his daughter. But it had felt strange – and if she was honest, a little scary - to confide something like that on her dad again. So she had wanted to make it sound less than what it was so if he had thought it was a silly idea then it was not going to hurt her so much.
But she still knew her dad well enough to know the tone in his voice apparently. And the look in his eye.
"You don't?"
"Baby I think you would make a wonderful umpire… I mean not always fair but which one is?"
"I do tend to play favourites."
She was not going to lie.
Bo sniggered. "Right – to the park it is."
"Yup. I have got my mitt and a ball in my bag so all you need is money for ice cream."
"Well, you guys have got a plan by the sounds of so I am going to leave you to it," smiled Hope.
Chase had a basketball game or something which Aidan was going to watch that day and so she was going to head to the station. If she was lucky then she was going to get through a pile of paper work.
What surprised her was thought if she had had the chance then she would have jumped at the chance to join Bo and Ciara.
That was all far too complicated for then. there was no way then two of them could yet spend time with their child together till they had worked through some stuff.
Still, it would have been nice.
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