Chapter 36
As Steve settled back into his bed, he felt exhausted but happy. He had spent the afternoon with Kayla and Stephanie, watching Stephanie play and, in a burst of energy he was now paying for, he had even gotten onto the floor and joined Stephanie and her toys for a little playtime.
Worthington had interrupted them only once with his tray of food. Steve had protested, but Kayla had insisted he eat and he had never been able to tell her no. Worthington had also delivered a file folder to Kayla, apparently on instructions from Shane. It only took Steve a moment to realize the file folder was his medical chart from the hospital in Cyprus. He had watched as Kayla read through his file and had seen the tears spring to her eyes as she read.
When she finally looked up, Steve had tried to lighten the mood, asking, "So am I going to live, Sweetness?" Kayla had not seen the humor in his comment and he had heard the fury in her voice as she talked about his malnutrition, the wounds on his wrists and ankles, the evidence of repeated rib fractures, and the blood tests that indicated he had suffered from numerous infections. Steve hated hearing the anger and fear in her voice as she realized the extent of his injuries and illnesses.
But that had not been the end of it. Reaching the end of the file, he had seen her eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in anger. "I don't believe it," she had said. "I just can't believe it."
"What don't you believe, Sweetness?" Steve had asked.
"The blood with the antibodies that fight Alamain's virus. It came from you," Kayla had replied with an edge to her voice.
"How do you know about that virus?"
"Shane funded a research lab in Salem to find a cure for the virus. I was the lab administrator for a while. More recently, I've been working with Carly Manning to develop the cure. The day that Shane called me to come here, we got a shipment of blood that was supposedly from the CDC. It had antibodies that indicated the person had been given the cure to the virus. Carly is working on reverse engineering that cure from those antibodies."
Steve had closed his eyes to fight off the memories of the terror and anger he had felt when the military doctors had strapped him down and sedated him in order to steal his blood. Maybe it had been worth it if it had helped Kayla find the cure.
"Don't worry, baby. I'm fine now. Hopefully that blood will help somebody else."
"Not just somebody else, Steve. Bo has the virus, and so does Miss Peach."
That news had come as a shock and had led to a long conversation about their family back home. Bo, Roman, her parents, his mother, and Jack and Adrienne. Kayla had tried to catch him up on everything. He had been shocked to hear his mother had killed Nick Corelli, but angry that she was now in Bayview after an insanity plea. He was happy to find out that Jack and Jennifer had finally married; Steve figured his little brother would never get his crap together enough to finally settle down. He was shocked to find out that Adrienne and Justin had moved to Texas with their boys. Everything Kayla told him was just a constant reminder of how life had moved on without him.
Under Kayla's gentle, but persistent urging, Steve had told her what he remembered of his rescue and the basics of his hospital stay. She had again tried to ask about his time in the compound and the other places he had been taken, but he had dodged the question with a kiss and a timely cry from Stephanie. She didn't need to know the details of what he had been through and he had no desire to relive them. He was back with his family and all he wanted was to forget that he had ever been away.
After settling down Stephanie, Kayla had insisted that Steve go up and rest. When he had protested, she had pointed to the sheet of doctor's instructions provided and told him that the doctors had specifically ordered that he get plenty of rest, have several small meals a day, and avoid all strenuous activity for at least a month. Sighing, Steve had agreed, but only if she came with him. She had helped him up the stairs and to his room -- no he corrected himself, it was their room. They found Kayla's and Stephanie's bags already in there, with a crib set up for Stephanie in an adjoining room.
Steve now eyed his wife as she returned from Stephanie's room. "Is Little Sweetness asleep?"
"For the moment," Kayla answered. "Playing with her papa must have really tired her out. It looks like it also tired her papa out."
"Maybe just a little," Steve replied with a smile. In truth, he was exhausted, but he didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to miss another minute with Kayla and he knew that sleep would bring the nightmares again.
"Well, why don't you lie back and take a little nap," Kayla said, sitting on the bed beside him. "I promise I'll be here when you wake up."
"I've got a better idea. Why don't you snuggle in here beside me and take a little nap too."
Kayla smiled and took his hand. "That sounds wonderful, but I have a feeling that little girl in there isn't going down that easily, so I better stay where I can keep an eye on her."
Steve started to protest when his words caught in his throat. Looking down at Kayla's hand, he saw a ring, a ring with a large, green stone on her finger where her wedding ring had once resided. He touched the ring with his thumb, wondering who had given it to her and what it might mean. He looked up at Kayla with his unasked question in his eyes.
Kayla's eyes were wide. With surprise? Fear? Guilt? He wasn't sure what to read in her expression. She seemed to struggle for words and then said, "It's just some costume jewelry I picked up. I . . . uh . . . took my wedding ring off a few months ago. I thought you were gone and . . . I . . . just didn't know what else to do."
Steve's fear eased, but did not leave him entirely. He could not shake the feeling that there was something Kayla wasn't telling him, even though she was the most honest person he had ever known. A cry from the other room interrupted that thought. Kayla quickly jumped up and gave him a kiss. "I'll be back soon. Try to get some sleep." She gently touched his face and then left the room.
Steve couldn't fight his exhaustion any longer. He drifted off to sleep with her kiss still lingering on his lips and a nagging fear that there was something important that he didn't know.
OMG I love it! So much emotion. So much angst. FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC!!!!!!!
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