Collateral Damage (Read 56,457 times)

[jwsel]

Chapter 30

"I know it's hard," Shane said. "But, please, just let me talk to Kayla first. This is going to be a tremendous shock to her but, if you let me have an opportunity to prepare her, it might cushion the blow."

Steve was sitting on the edge of his bed and grimaced. He was wearing some of the new clothes that Worthington had arranged. Shane could tell they were not what Steve would have chosen, but Worthington probably had been unable to find a leather jacket on such short notice in the local shops. At least, Steve had not complained. In fact, he had not even made a snide remark about the clothes, so Shane took that as a sign the clothes were satisfactory.

"I promise it'll just be a few minutes," Shane said. "Just long enough for me to explain. Then I'll bring them up here to see you. Okay?"

"Fine," Steve finally said.

Thank god, Shane thought. He had had nightmares envisioning Kayla throwing herself into his arms, not realizing Steve was there. It was bad enough that Shane had played on her insecurities about Kim to get her to England. The last thing he wanted to do was cause problems for her reunion with Steve.

Shane figured that, sooner or later, they would have to tell Steve about his relationship with Kayla. Too many people in Salem knew about it, and it would be disastrous if Steve learned about it from Marcus or one of the Bradys. However, Shane believed the decision about when to tell Steve belonged to Kayla. She had to decide when the time was right, and she might feel that it should to wait until Steve was stronger. So, for now, Shane needed to help avoid any inadvertent disclosures before she was ready.

"All right," Shane said. "I'll be back shortly." He walked out of the guest bedroom and headed downstairs.

Kayla, Kim and the children were waiting in the foyer. He couldn't help think that Kayla looked beautiful. Even eight hours on a plane did not diminish her beauty.

Stop it, he told himself. She's not yours anymore. Shane had been stabbed before, but that thought cut him more painfully than any knife. Dammit, you're supposed to be happy for her. True, but he was realizing that it was going to be a lot harder to let her go than he anticipated. With a deep breath, he forced a smile to his face.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, just as Andrew let out a loud, "Daddy!" and raced up to him. Shane's fake smile turned genuine as he crouched and hugged his son. Andrew started chattering, tossing out a string of questions -- "Is this really your house?"; "Did you live here when you were a boy""; "Is there really a lake out there?"; and "Are you the richest man in England?"

Shane tried to keep them straight. "Yes"; "yes"; "well, it's really a pond"; and "definitely not." He looked over at Kayla and Kim. Kim was smiling at them. Kayla was looking down at Stephanie, trying to soothe her. At that moment, the maid entered the foyer and Shane said to Andrew, "Listen, Sport, Daddy needs to talk with Mummy and Aunt Kayla." He motioned to the maid. "This is Mrs. Batson, who'll be staying with us while you're here. Why don't you go into the kitchen with her and have some cookies and, later, I'll start showing you all the places where I used to play when I was your age."

As the maid led Andrew out of the room, Shane turned to Kayla and Kim and took a moment to steady his nerves.

This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought. But there was no way he could prolong telling her any longer. Shane took a deep breath and steeled himself against the pain.

Remember, he reminded himself, you're supposed to be happy for them.

[MrsM]

Cliffhanger!! Can't wait to see Kayla's reaction!!

[DancingDays]

Ahhh!!! Don't leave us hanging!!!

[jwsel]

Chapter 31

Steve sat impatiently on the side of the bed. In his head, he understood why Shane had told him to wait there until he called for him. The news of his return from the dead would undoubtedly be a shock to Kayla, and it would be easier for her to hear the news and the necessary explanations from Shane before seeing him. It made perfect sense. At least, that is what Steve kept telling himself, even if he couldn't make his heart believe it.

His heart wanted only one thing -- to run down the stairs and straight into Kayla's arms. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be running anywhere for a little while, but he would have crawled down those stairs if he had to. His memories of Kayla had been the only thing that kept him going during those endless months of hell. Every time his body had been ready to give up, every time he thought he couldn't take one more second of it, Kayla's face had appeared in his mind. He could see her eyes filled with love for him and he could hear her voice telling him to hold on, that she loved him and that he couldn't stop fighting. She had kept him alive and somehow given him hope even when all rational thought told him there was no hope left.

And there was Stephanie. For the thousandth time since Shane had first given it to him, Steve looked at the picture of his daughter again. He had sworn he would never be a man who would abandon his children, that his kids would grow up with their Papa loving them and supporting them. He already had failed to keep that promise to Stephanie. Maybe it wasn't his fault, but he had failed anyway. His daughter had spent nine months without him there to protect her and love her. He made a new promise that he would do whatever he had to in order to make it up to her. Steve's arms ached to hold his little sweetness as much as they ached to hold his wife. And they were both so close, just down those stairs.

Steve told himself to wait. It had been only a minute or so since Shane had left, even if it did feel like hours. How long could it take Shane to tell Kayla the news anyway? A few minutes at best, right? Even Shane would know to cut the fancy words short at a time like this, wouldn't he?

Taking a deep breath, Steve slowly stood and looked in the mirror again. The black casual slacks, white button down shirt, and black vest were not the faded jeans and t-shirt he would have preferred, but at least it wasn't a suit. He had been pleasantly surprised when Worthington had presented him with numerous casual options. He guessed Shane must have been very specific about the types of clothes to request, and Steve now had a several sets of pants and shirts to replace the fatigues he had worn from the base.

Continuing to look in the mirror, Steve tried to ignore how bad he looked. He had never held any illusions about himself, but Kayla had never cared about the patch or the scar, and he had grown accustomed to seeing himself through her eyes. But he couldn't deny the truth now. His face was gaunt and the dark circles had not completely faded away. His hair had been trimmed by the barber Shane had brought out yesterday, but the shorter hair only made him look like more of a stranger to himself. The new clothes were nice, but they hung loosely on his body, a reminder of how skinny he was. As much as Steve tried to ignore it, a small voice in his head kept asking -- would Kayla still want him, still love him when he looked so different?

Shutting that voice away for the moment, Steve instead walked to the door of his room, hoping to hear something that would indicate that it was time for him to come downstairs. He listened intently, but all he could hear was the slight buzz of conversation.

What could be taking so long? How long does it take to say "Hi, Kayla. I know this will come as a shock, but Steve's alive and upstairs." Okay, maybe that was unfair. It might take a little more introduction and explanation, but really it should be over by now. That small voice spoke up again. Maybe something is wrong, maybe she doesn't want to see me, maybe this isn't good news to her.

Steve tried to force that voice down again. Surely, Shane would have told him if there was some reason to believe that this would not be good news for Kayla. Granted, Steve had not directly asked Shane questions about Kayla's current life, but Shane would have mentioned something, wouldn't he? Steve knew now that Kayla had believed he was dead for the last nine months. He couldn't help but wonder if she had moved on with her life without him. He couldn't blame her if she had, could he? Steve wasn't sure how to answer that question. His head said that he couldn't, but his heart hurt just thinking about Kayla with another man. He didn't even know if it was true and Steve wanted to kill him -- whoever he was.

Steve couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care what Shane thought was best. He had to go downstairs and see Kayla. He had to know the answers to all of the questions spinning in his head. He had to know if he had been rescued from hell with a chance of resuming his life or whether he had simply exchanged one hell for another.

Taking one last deep breath, Steve looked again at the image in the mirror. He gave an ironic chuckle and said, "Ready or not, here I come, Sweetness." Turning from the mirror, he slowly made his way to the door of his room and out into the hall.

[DancingDays]

Oooooh!!!! Here it comes!!!!! ;D

[MrsM]

I. Can't. Wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gapeach]

Oh no..... can't wait to read the next chapter (or the next one after that). Hopefully Shane will have an opportunity to tell Kayla and Kim that Steve is alive before he (Steve) makes it down the stairs. Sure do hope that Steve doesn't catch Kayla and Shane in a compromising situation!!

[fluffysmom]

Kayla may not be the only one surprised.

[jwsel]

Chapter 32

Kayla had always tried to avoid putting Shane in awkward situations when Andrew was around, so she waited until the maid escorted Andrew out of the foyer before she approached Shane. Physically, he seemed fine and she breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled at him.

Holding Stephanie, Kayla could not exactly give him a big hug, but she reached out with her free hand and gave him a one-arm embrace. "I was so worried about you," she said softly. "I missed you so much." At her touch, she felt Shane tense up, though he wrapped an arm around her shoulders for a moment before pulling away.

There it was again; he was distancing himself from her. What was wrong?

From where she stood, next to the door, Kim spoke. "Shane? Is everything okay?" Obviously, Kim had detected his odd mannerisms as well.

"Yeah," he said slowly. He almost sounded nervous. "Um . . . Everything's fine. Actually, it's better than fine." He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'd better start at the beginning and try to explain."

"Explain what?" Kayla asked. She reached out a hand to touch his arm, but he pulled it back. Just what is going on?

"Please, let me explain."

"Does this have to do with your mission?" Kim asked.

Shane nodded. "Everything." He paused. "Let me start by telling you that what I'm going to say can't be repeated to anyone. I could -- no, I would get in a lot of trouble if it got out. And I mean very serious trouble."

Kayla looked at Kim, whose face showed an equal amount of confusion. Trouble? What was Shane talking about? Kim nodded.

"Go ahead," she said. "We'll keep it a secret."

"Okay." He seemed to think for a moment, as if he was struggling to figure out what to say. "This mission . . . It was a rescue mission. To find a man." Shane hesitated. "God, this is hard to explain."

Kayla stepped close to Shane. "We can talk about this later if you want. There's no need to do it right now."

"Actually, there is," Shane said. Kayla saw him glance sideways toward the staircase. "Um, anyway, this mission. It was a success and we got the man out."

Why is he so nervous? Was it the mission or is it me? Kayla wondered. All of those uncertainties that had plagued her since Shane left Salem came flooding back. "Stop it," she said, interrupting him. "Before you say another word, I need to know something. You've been acting so strange, even before you left Salem." Kayla no longer cared that Kim was in the room. She needed answers now. "Have your feelings for me changed, Shane?" She reached out, took his hand and looked up at him.

What she saw was a very small, but sad smile on his face. With his free hand, he reached out and caressed her cheek. Then he pulled that hand back. "Everything's changed, Kay. Everything."

Kayla felt her a hollowness in her stomach. "What do you mean? Tell me."

"The man. . . . " Shane said. He looked up at the ceiling, obviously struggling for words. "He changes everything. You can be happy again."

"Shane!" Kayla's voice rose and she clenched Shane's hand tightly. "What do you mean 'I can be happy again'? Who is this man?"

From behind her came a voice. "It's me, baby. It's me."

Kayla turned toward the voice and saw, at the top of the staircase, the man she truly loved.

"Steve?"

[MrsM]

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fluffysmom]

Wow. Perfect timing for Steve to appear. I can hardly wait for the reactions.

[DancingDays]

Tears. Seriously.

[jwsel]

Jun 5, 2012 22:46:31 GMT -5 DancingDays said:

Tears. Seriously.

I hope you've kept your Kleenex.

I'm trying to figure the best way to post. My goal is to post 3 chapters per day, but that can be difficult when I'm at work for most of the day and cannot upload. Sometimes, I'll post two chapters in one post, but from an author's standpoint, it really is nice to get reactions to the chapters individually, especially when there are slight cliffhangers. Are people keeping up with the scenes when I upload even though there is no fixed schedule? I'm open to suggestions.

[jwsel]

Chapter 33

As Steve neared the top of the stairs he could hear voices, although he could not make out the words at first. Then he heard it, the voice that lived in his heart. "Shane! What do you mean 'I can be happy again'? Who is this man?"

Unable to hold back any longer, Steve called out "It's me, baby. It's me."

He watched as Shane pulled his hand away from Kayla's and as Kayla turned towards the staircase. He saw the shock register on her face as she saw him and heard her softly say his name. Kayla's eyes and face had always shown her every emotion and this time was no different. He watched as the shock gave way to confusion and she turned back quickly to look at Shane. He could not see her face, but he saw a strange look pass across Shane's face -- it almost looked like guilt for a moment.

Before Steve could fully process that thought, Kayla had turned back towards him again. Steve had not even known he was holding his breath, but when he saw the look he had been waiting for -- one full of nothing but love for him -- he finally started breathing again.

As Steve made his way slowly down the stairs, he took the opportunity to drink in the vision of his wife. She had changed since he had last seen her. Her hair was much shorter and she was wearing jeans and a casual shirt. He could count on one hand the number of times Kayla had worn jeans since he had met her but they looked good on her now. Memories flashed before his eyes with each step he took -- their first kiss, the first time they made love, their wedding on the yacht, Stephanie's birth. Yet he could not remember a time when she looked more beautiful than she did right now.

Kayla seemed rooted in the spot as he slowly approached. He saw Kim hand off her daughter to Shane, then quietly approach and take the squirming Stephanie from a seemingly oblivious Kayla. Steve could see how much Stephanie had grown and he smiled as his daughter pointed up at him from the comfort of her aunt's arms.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Kayla finally took a step towards him. Her eyes had not left his from the time he had started down the stairs and their gaze remained locked as she approached him. Steve could see the tears in Kayla's eyes and could feel the ones in his own.

Kayla stopped in front of him. Slowly, Steve reached out and cupped her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Don't cry, Sweetness," he said softly. "Everything's okay now." Kayla remained silent, but reached her own hand up and placed her hand on his cheek. Steve could feel the jolt of electricity from her touch and knew that she felt it too. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, tasting them again after so long.

When they separated, Steve saw a small smile cross Kayla's face. She gave a little laugh and softly said, "Steve."

"Steve smiled back and through his own tears, said "That's right baby, it's really me. Happy Anniversary, Sweetness." He leaned down and kissed her again, wanting to prove he was real. When the kiss ended, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, laughing and crying at the same time.

Steve wrapped his arms around his wife, his Sweetness, and let out a laugh of his own. Holding her close, his face in her hair, Steve finally felt alive again. They might be in some mansion in England, but it didn't matter. He had Kayla in his arms, and he could see his daughter just a few feet away. As far as Steve was concerned, that made this home. Steven Earl Johnson was finally home.

[fluffysmom]

Fantastic chapter! I could picture that entire scene happening. The reunion was definitely worth waiting for. I loved Stephanie looking up toward her papa.