Leaning back against a tree in the clearing with Kayla standing in front of him, a good distance from where the funeral service was taking place but close enough to see it was winding down, Steve reached in the inside pocket of his suit coat for his harmonica.
Playing a low, subdued tune, seeing Kayla glance back at him over her shoulder, he stopped only to see she was smiling at him.
Raising her right hand, moving her thumb to point at her chin, she fanned out her fingers, swept them to the right past her face, then closed her thumb and fingers together near her chin. Mouthing the word "beautiful" as she made the sign for it.
"Yeah?" Steve mouthed back as she nodded.
Lowering her hands, she pressed the tips of her thumbs together, then moved her joined hands forward a few inches.
"Keep going," she mouthed as Steve smiled, doing as asked as Kayla turned back around but leaned back against his chest, close enough to hear his heart. She didn't have to be facing him to feel nervous energy coming off him in waves, but knowing he was trying to combat that by playing the harp and that she was the only one aside from him within earshot of the music helped Kayla relax, too. As much as she could, given that her feet were killing her.
When his wife winced and started shifting her weight from foot to foot, Steve lowered the harmonica and frowned.
"Getting restless, Sweetness?" he whispered as she shook her head.
"No. I'm just-"
"You know, I thought my blowing a little harp was enough to-"
"It was. Is," Kayla whispered back. "Just wish it had the same calming effect on my feet," she muttered, pulling her stiletto heel from the divot it had made in the grass as Steve clicked his tongue.
Slipping his arm around Kayla's shoulders, he pulled her to his right side, letting her lean against him more so there was less pressure being put on her feet.
"I warned you about switching to heels when we left the house, baby."
"I know, Steve. I was there," Kayla muttered.
"There'd be lawn, Sweetness. You knew that."
"I thought the service was going to be indoors."
"Wish it had been," Steve muttered back. "Like I said, would be a hell of a lot easier to sneak out of a back pew than-"
Seeing her aiming to swat at his chest, Steve caught Kayla's wrist, then brushed his lips on the back of her hand.
"Hitting me so close to the church garden, baby? The big dude wouldn't be happy about seeing that," he smirked as Kayla took her hand back.
"Not sure the big dude was happy seeing me make out with you in the church garden," she reminded before her smile faded. Glancing at the mourners, she bit her lip, watching them get up from their chairs and approach the casket.
Dropping her wrist, Steve moved to wrap his arms around his wife again.
"At least we'd set a precedent for that, Sweetness," he said as Kayla nodded in agreement, then curled up on his shoulder.
When the group was nearly through placing flowers on the casket, Kayla stood straight and motioned for Steve to follow her into the clearing so they could follow suit and pay their respects.
Walking after her across the lawn, once they reached the chairs, Steve shoved his hands in his pocket to hide their shaking and tried to ignore that his heart rate was attempting a one-minute mile. It became more of a struggle, though, when Kayla hesitantly reached for the only flower variety left to place on the casket, a long-stemmed yellow rose.
Breaking into a sweat, stopping short, Steve reached for his pocket square to wipe his brow while trying to catch his breath. Not realizing the face of his watch had caught the light and, by extension, his wife's eye.
Looking to her left, seeing Steve turn and power walk away from the clearing; not wanting to draw attention, Kayla didn't call after him but swore under her breath once she was a reasonable distance from the casket. Taking her heels off, she took off after him.
"Steve? Steve?!"
Hearing Kayla calling for him from the other side of the garden wall, leaning against it, Steve somehow managed to get his breathing back in check. The uphill walk hadn't exerted him, but the panic attack he'd emerged from had, and he'd be damned if he sent his wife into one as well.
"Steve, where are you? STEVE!"
"Over here, Sweetness," he called.
"God, what the-"
"You weren't in the mood for hide and seek, baby?"
Rolling her eyes, Kayla reluctantly slipped her heels back on.
"No, not particularly!" she snapped, looking up at Steve with a glare only to see him bracing himself on the garden wall, leaning against it for support.
"Oh my God, Steve!?"
Her eyes going wide at how pale and shaky he was, Kayla ran up to stand in front of him, anxiously stroking his damp hair back to feel his forehead.
"Baby? Steve, what happened, what-"
"You're the MD, Sweetness," he interrupted. "Shouldn't I be asking you twenty questions?"
"Shh, come over here with me. C'mon."
Wrapping her arm around him and navigating them to the closest bench, once Steve was seated and steady, Kayla sat beside him and gave him as much of a once-over as she could. Checking his pulse, finding it elevated, she swore and stood up, mumbling about getting her medical bag right as Steve grabbed her hand.
"Steve-"
"I'm okay, baby."
"Who'd you just say was the damn MD here?!" Kayla snapped before bowing her head.
"Kayla-"
"I'm sorry. I just-"
"I know," Steve sighed. "But I promise you, Sweetness. You don't need to go running for your bag and running tests. All I was feeling was just a little on edge. Can't tell me you weren't having similar symptoms standing back there-"
"We're not talking about me," Kayla interrupted. "When I caught up to you and saw...you know, if you're just expecting me to let this go, I-"
"For now, Sweetness, can we just..."
Hearing the plea in his voice, shaking her head, Kayla resumed her spot next to him on the bench. Realized with a shudder once she sat down, it was the same bench Steve found her sitting at when he was still going by Nick Stockton.
"Kayla?"
"Yeah, what-"
"You cold, baby? Saw you shivering there just now. I-"
"I'm fine, Steve," she sighed as he helped her into his suit coat anyway.
"Guess I'm just a little on edge, too,"
Going into his arms right as he moved to hold her, once they both managed to somewhat settle down, Kayla was the first to pull back and promptly rechecked Steve's pulse.
"So am I gonna live, Sweetness?"
"Not if you don't tell me what sent your stress level into the stratosphere and made you run over here."
"Kayla."
"C'mon, you're calmer now and...I know I'll be once you tell me what's-"
Trailing off, gripping Steve's hand, she peered back over her shoulder.
"Baby, what-"
"We just left Victor Kiriakis' funeral, Steve," she hissed, surveying the rest of the garden and their immediate surroundings.
"If there's some old or new threat here playing hide and seek with us, too, and you're trying to protect me by not telling-"
"Kayla," Steve sighed. "If there'd been any of vintage Vic's associates within a foot of that clearing you think we'd be within a mile of the service? You think I'd have stood by and let you put a fucking rose on the casket?"
"Stood by?" Kayla scoffed. "You were turned around and halfway over here before I even had the chance to-"
Seeing his head bowed and his hand start to quiver under hers, her voice trailing off again, Kayla swallowed hard, then reached with her free hand to thumb a tear off her husband's cheek.
"Steve…?"
"Didn't want yellow roses for the casket spray, Sweetness," he said roughly, still looking down and away. "Would've chosen anything else. Even would've settled for seeing them in white or pink. But Stephanie and Joe worked with the florist and told me they picked out your favorite. By the time everyone got to the cemetery, saw that there wasn't a hell of a lot that I could do."
Her turn to look down and away now, swallowing back the lump in her throat, knowing she'd already shed enough tears at this particular spot, Kayla let out a slow breath and wiped at her eyes.
"I know something you can do right now."
"You do, baby?" he asked, meeting her gaze as Kayla chewed her lip.
"Mm hmm. Get us the hell out of here before we both completely lose it."
Lightly laughing out of pure relief more than anything, getting to his feet, Steve reached out his hand, but when Kayla tried to grab it, he shook his head.
"What? I-"
"Shoes first, Sweetness."
"Steve, we're just walking to the car, I-"
"You asked me to get us the hell out of here, baby. No way it's gonna happen if you still have those damn things on your feet," he said knowingly as Kayla sighed but relented, slipping the heels off and handing them over before Steve held up his end of the bargain and helped her off the bench.
"I don't suppose you'd carry me so I could avoid walking barefoot across the lawn and the parking lot and-"
"You just said we're walking, baby. Plural, as in not just me," Steve said, getting a pout.
"Besides, think you're better off playing the carry me card when you and Kim and Roman break into a bottle of the good stuff at the reception and you start forgetting which way's up."
Her pout more prominent now; Kayla brushed past Steve to the parking lot only for him to bump into the purse hanging off her shoulder. Seeing something flutter out of it, frowning curiously, he bent down to pick it up off the pavement.
"Sweetness…" he called as Kayla reached the Bluesmobile.
"What?"
Rummaging for the car keys in what she realized was a not fully zipped and less-full purse, Kayla's eyes flicked up to see Steve holding a folded envelope.
"What are you doing carrying this?"