Find Me – Chapter 122

It was Steve’s first look at his wife this close up in this timeline.  She was beautiful.  And shocked.

Stephanie ran into her father’s arms, which automatically dropped the bag and opened to embrace her.  His arms were in the here and now and knew what to do when his daughter ran into them, but the rest of him was not sure what at all to do with this eventuality, because as far as he was concerned Kayla should have been there by now.  This was the ninth day after arriving in Ava’s bed, and his primary Kayla’s awareness was still out there somewhere.  This should not be happening.  Nevertheless … it was.

“See, Mama, here he is!  I told you, it’s Papa!”

Kayla tried to speak but succeeded in producing only silence.  The look that passed over her face as she did it, however, was enough to begin snapping Steve out of it.  Because he’d seen that look before.   It wasn’t the look of joyous relief that he saw in 1990 Kayla on the roof after he’d died.  This was the overwhelmingly stunned look she gave him in the cemetery in 2006.

“Steve?” And that was as far as she got before she lost her footing on the way to passing out. 

Steve was lightning quick.  In less than a second he covered the short distance between himself and the stairwell that Kayla was about to tumble down and captured her with a very strong arm around the waist.  Now she lay in Steve’s arms on the very same floor he had just been playing choo-choo with Stephanie on. 

Stephanie had never seen her mother faint before, and she started to panic.  Steve, now in complete control, calmed his daughter down and promised her that he’d be able to wake Kayla up.  Stephanie nodded, even amidst her tears.  He sent her downstairs to close up the house since he couldn’t very well leave Kayla there, and asked her to get some water for her mother.  Steve stroked his wife’s face and called to her gently.  Stephanie was still in the kitchen fetching water when Kayla’s eyes opened. 

“Steve …  Steve … ?”  He only nodded at first, taking this very slow. 

Kayla blinked her eyes closed.  “Am I dreaming?”

“You can ask me that as many times as you like in all of our lifetimes, baby, but it’s never going to be true.”

“It can’t be,” she kept her eyes closed.  “You’re not really here.  You’re dead.”

“No, I’m not dead.”

Kayla snapped open her eyes and really looked at the man who had her in his arms in the middle of the floor.  The blazing green eye staring back at her was filled with the authentic essence of the man she hadn’t seen, let alone been held by, in ten years.  She sat up very quickly, and Steve reacted by holding her tighter to steady her. She stiffened with a nervous rush.

“Y-y-you …this isn’t real … You’re not real.”

Steve cupped her face with his right hand while continuing to hold her with his left.  “Kayla, it’s me.  I am real.”  Kayla sucked in her breath and scooted back out of his grasp.  “How?  How are you here?”  She plowed her hands up along the sides of her head and thought surely she must be losing her mind.

“He was working.”  Stephanie appeared with her mother’s water, and Kayla fought to find some control in her daughter’s presence.  “Very, very secret,” she whispered.  “His boss wouldn’t let him come home, but he’s home now.” Steve watched his wife very carefully as Stephanie outed him.”

“Working …”

“See, he was home with me the whole time!  So you didn’t have to worry.”

“Ho … home with you?  He was home – here – in the house?”

“Stephanie,” Steve interjected quickly, but his daughter was quicker

“I found him last night.”   Steve rubbed at his forehead.

“What?”

“I thought he was a ghost.”

Kayla looked to her husband now with an incredulous eye.  “What is she talking about?”

“Stephanie,”he increased his tone just a bit, “I think I should have a talk with your mama, here.”

“Right.  Uh … sorry, Papa,” Stephanie said a little guilty for breaking her pinky swear.

“Baby, no one is mad at you.”  He had to keep this situation under control.  “Right, Sweetness?” 

Kayla’s brow drew up into something so heart-rending at his use of the nickname she’d only heard in her dreams for the last ten years that Steve could barely take it.  It got worse when she started to tremble.

“Shh … Kayla, you need to calm down.  I know you’re in shock, so drink that up,” he motioned to the water she’d absently taken from Stephanie.  “Go on, now.”  On automatic, she did what he said.  Then she took another, and Steve tried again.  “None of this is Stephanie’s fault, and no one’s angry at her.  Isn’t that right?” he looked expectantly at his wife.

“Right,” Kayla agreed softly.  When she finally turned to her daughter, she found a halfway rational voice again while her insides twisted into knots.  “Absolutely, Baby Girl, no one is mad.  Shocked,” she said with a pointed glance to Steve before turning once and for all back to Stephanie, “but not angry.” 

Now she finally got up. Steve went to help her, but Kayla put up her hand to stay him.  “I can manage,” she whispered.  She went to Stephanie and caressed the hair back off her face like Steve had done so many times to her.  “You found him last night?”  She stole a glance back at Steve, not sure what to make of any of this.  “Tell me again how that happened.”  Stephanie explained how she’d heard noises from the room above for a few days and once and for all had to find out if they really did have ghosts.   “Why didn’t you come get me?”  Stephanie shrugged.  She didn’t really have a good answer.  “He could have been a burgler or something, you know that?  You could have been in real trouble.”

Steve’s stomach lurched.  She was right.  Stephanie made a very rash choice to come up here on her own and check out the noises in the attic.  Because he could just as easily have been one of Dimera’s men ready to engage Plan B.  Steve fought with everything he had not to pass out, himself, as the heinously doctored photos of Kayla flashed into his head.  

“Ok, but at least I took the sage with me.”

“What?” Kayla huffed in amused confusion.

“Monster spray,” Steve clarified, reaching for the memory to push out the darkness.  “Sage.  From the spice rack.”  Now Kayla let out the first genuine laugh.  It lit something inside of Steve exactly when he needed it most, and Kayla saw his countenance change when it did.  She had to look away, because she was still afraid to believe any of this. Steve used some humor to further diffuse the dark.  “You’re in big trouble, too, ‘cause that’s a plastic jar, baby.  You know that stuff keeps better in glass, didn’t I teach you anything?”  Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect than intended; rather than a smile, he got a glare.  Steve took in a long breath and rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure where to go from here. 

“Stephanie?  Were you really sick this morning,” Kayla asked, “or were you faking it to stay home with your … daddy?”

“Um …”

“O—Ok.  It’s ok.”  Kayla was trying to hard to stay in rational control, but Steve could plainly see her struggling to keep it together and desperately wanted to help his wife.  “Your, um … daddy’s right—”

“Papa.  I call him Papa like we always did.”

Kayla smiled mildly and nodded.  “Your papa’s right, no one’s mad at you.  It’s ok.  Kind of extenuating circumstances, huh?”  Stephanie nodded.  “Right now, though, I need to talk to him for a little while. 

Stephanie crossed her arms and got a confused look on her face.  “You say you’re not mad, but you look kinda mad.”  Before Kayla could suss out an answer, Stephanie laid it all out on the table with a single question.  “Aren’t you happy to see him?”

“Little Sweetness …” Oh my god, Kayla said to herself as her heart skipped a beat, “… Your mama’s happy to see me.  She’s just real confused right now, ‘cause it’s been a long time.”  Kayla didn’t dare look at her husband, because she was barely holding it together.  But she had to triage her shock for the moment and nodded with as much conviction as she could. 

“Don’t you worry.  I’m not mad at—anyone.  I just need some time with your papa, ok?”  Kayla stroked her thumb down Stephanie’s cheek then tousled her hair with another smile.”

“Ok,” Stephanie replied, pretty much convinced.  She was overjoyed to have her parents together.  She ran back to Steve to hug him fiercely, did the same for her mother, then started down the stairs.  

“Little Sweetness …,” Steve called after her.  Kayla’s heart fluttered, again.  “… It’s ok that Mama knows now, but you can’t tell anyone else.”  Kayla laid a confused look on her not-dead husband, which did not get past him.  “I’ll explain it to you,” he said directly to Kayla before looking back to Stephanie, “but for now, no calls to your friends or Aunt Kim or Grandma Caroline or anyone.  Like we talked about, ok?”

“Yes, I promise.”  Steve nodded with a smiling dismissal, and their daughter disappeared back downstairs to follow her mother’s instructions to clean up and get dressed for the half-done day before filling the rest of it with mindless television.  Steve knew it was not going to be this simple, but for now he was confident that their little family secret was safe for at least the rest of the day. 

Now alone for the first time, Kayla’s glassy eyes watered with the emotion that she’d been barely holding back.  Her hands began to shake, and Steve caught them in his before the water glass she’d been clutching the whole time like a lifeline could slip from their weakened grasp. 

“Shh … Calm down, baby …”  He took the glass from her and set it down before re-capturing her loosely clasped hands in his.  “I know you’re in shock right now, but you gotta try to—”  Steve stopped short as Kayla slowly reached her right hand up to Steve’s cheek.  She touched her fingertips gingerly across his smooth skin beneath the edge of his patch and stared with a truly tangible fear – not of him but of believing he was real.  “Marcus fixed me.  Remember?  No more scar.”  Rather than answer, she used more of her hand to stroke Steve’s face, taking in its contours down and across his jawline.  Steve wanted to do so much to assure her that he was real, but he realized that her touch was doing that for him, so he let her do what she needed to do.

Kayla breathed Steve’s name, as she finally used a more solid touch to explore him.  She took his hand in hers and turned it over to inspect it front and back.  What she saw there made the tears pooling in the rims of her eyes spill over her bottom lashes. 

“I’m dreaming,” she insisted to herself.  “You’re not real.”

Steve took her hand in his and held it to his heart.  “You’re wide awake, Sweetness.  And I promise you I’m real.”  He didn’t know what made him do it, but with his free hand, he pulled aside the neckline of his t-shirt.  Kayla gasped softly when she saw the dagger tattooed onto his chest.  Her fingers shook as they followed the lines of ink that she’d committed to memory like an indelible imprint so many years ago.

“Oh my god,” she cried, and Steve heard the acceptance in her voice.

“I’m gonna prove it to you.”  The kiss Steve captured Kayla’s lips in wasn’t just monumental for her, it was a game-changer for him, too.  If he’d known what kissing these lips was going to do to him he might not have done it.  But it was too late now, and Steve was blown away by the indescribable feeling kissing her gave him.  This Kayla hadn’t seen Steve in ten years.  Hadn’t felt his touch, let alone his lips.  Hadn’t been called Sweetness.  The love of her life had been lost to Kayla, and now this kiss proved to her that it wasn’t so; and the joyous, terrified, longing love he felt when their lips met positively overwhelmed Steve.  He became dizzy with the unexpected feeling and knew that if he didn’t pull away that he’d lose his footing, and very likely his will.  Steve let his hands take in the contours of Kayla’s slender neck, his thumbs stroking gently at her jawbone while he enjoyed the final moments he’d allow himself to kiss her like this; then he pushed her gently backward, their lips parting. 

Kayla was visibly affected.  She touched her fingers to her lips and stumbled back, catching herself to somehow remain upright through this moment of incredulity.  Steve, on the other hand, was realizing that the white rabbit he’d been chasing since the moment he’d entered the house wasn’t going anywhere.  In fact, it was now more insistent than ever.  Because that kiss was not like the one in the cemetery in 2006 when Kayla was desperate to will his memories into him with a kiss he never should have forgotten.  No, this kiss was a manifestation of something different for Kayla – her pain.  It and the hope he felt beneath it were so acute it was impossible for him to ignore.  And that same need he’d felt earlier that week to put Kayla out of her loneliness now settled upon him in a way he knew would not be going away for as long as this jump without her proper awareness lived.

“You’re really here,” Kayla said wondrously. 

“I am.”  He was so moved by what he felt in his wife he felt his heart in his throat.  “I really really am.”  He sat them down on the couch as much for himself as for her and took Kayla’s hand in his.  “I know this is a shock to you, Sweetness.”  Kayla swallowed, deeply affected by the continued use of this nickname, “but there’s an explanation.”

“I can’t believe this.  How?  How can anything make any sense here?  I was there.  You died in my arms.  You thanked me for your life, you told me you loved me … and then your heart stopped beating … right there as I held you and begged you to stay with me.”

Steve nodded and fought to stay in control of this very important conversation, because her quite understandable reaction was so much harder for him than he ever thought it would be.  Anticipating how she’d take this was one thing; experiencing it live and in person was quite another.  “I know.  All of that is true, I remember every bit of it, except my heart never stopped beating.” 

“I – how is that possible?!”

“A lot has happened, and—”

“A lot has happened?” she repeated.  “Steve, ten years have happened.  You died ten years and almost two months ago.”  Steve nodded, trying to find the words to begin to explain it to her.  “Where have you been?”

“Shh, baby, I’m gonna tell you, but trust me, we don’t want Stephanie overhearing any of it.”

“But Stephanie said you … were …” Steve watched as the gears moved in her head.  “… working …?”  Even ten years removed from a Kayla he knew, Steve could tell she was coming into more rational thought.  “Stephanie found you up here yesterday.  What is that all about, and why didn’t anyone come tell me?  How long have you been lurking in my attic?”

“I thought this was your loft,” Steve tried to communicate knowing affection, but it came out as a cocky leer.

Kayla huffed out a miffed little breath.

“Calm down, baby, I’m gonna explain it to you.”  She adjusted on the couch and crossed her arms in front of herself, settling in for quite the story.  Her edgy attitude was the best thing that could have happened in that room, because her vulnerability was no longer stealing his focus by taunting him to love her pain away.  “Gonna explain it all to you.”  Only suddenly Steve sensed something that was was very strong.  Something only a parent would understand.  And that was his child lurking at the bottom of the stairs.  “But first we’ve gotta take care of the ears listening in the kitchen.”

“I am not!” Stephanie called.

“Stephanie Kay!” Kayla yelled as they both got up to see for themselves.  “How did you know?” she whispered quietly to her husband.

“Little Mis Ghost Hunter?  She found me in no time flat, baby, we must have been nuts to think she’d just quietly hang out with the TV,” he said pointedly.  Then he made his way down the stairs, settled on one near the bottom, and sat opposite her.  “Listen,” he said gently, I know this is real exciting, having me back and all.  It’s exciting for me, too.  I remember holdin’ you in this hand right here.”  He held out his left hand and stared at his palm.  “You were this tiny thing, and now here you are, not so little anymore.  And I know you wanna know what’s goin’ on.  But Stephanie, you’ve had two days to get used to me.  Your mama, here, she’s had like two minutes.  So you need to let me have a very private talk with her, now.  Ok?”

Stephanie nodded. She wanted her parents to spend time together, it wasn’t that she was jealous of her mother getting time with him.  It was just that this was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her, and she was afraid that if she didn’t know the whole truth that if he disappeared again she’d never know where to look for him.  But she could see that he really meant business, here.  So, she relented for now, hugged her father, and then her mother, who’d been looking on at this conversation with awe, and forced herself to go to the livingroom to watch TV.

“You … did that like you’ve been a her dad her whole life.”  The pain of Emily’s loss hit him hard with that statement.  Steve took a beat to swallow that down. 

“Come on,” he motioned her back upstairs.  When they got there they both bounced a little nervously on their feet.  “You ok?”

“I dunno. I think I’m a little numb.”

“I’m sorry, I know this is a lot to take in.  Let’s talk for a minute, here.”

“This is going to take more than just a minute, don’t you think?”

“Yep, you’re right, Sweetness.  That’s why we’re gonna do our talkin’ tonight after Stephanie’s asleep.”

“Oh no.  No, no, no, no, no, no, you can’t leave me hanging for another,” she glanced at her watch, “six hours!  I—when—where did—have you—”

“Shh.  Baby, listen, I’m gonna explain everything, I promise you.”  He had no idea how he was going to do that, because there were two timelines to choose from, and this was a Kayla that couldn’t hear all of either of them.  “But you gotta be patient so I can do it right. When we’re not rushed,” he shifted his eyes down the stairs.”

Kayla nodded.  “Yes, you’re—you’re right.  I just … I just …”  Suddenly, Kayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  She’d been through his death and lived.  Now her husband was back, literally an answer to her prayers, right here in her very own home.  She had to pull herself together.  So, she did.  “Ok.  I’m ok.  Just tell me one thing.  Are you ok?”

Steve smiled and caressed her face with his palm.  Kayla held on to it.  She had no idea that she’d asked such a loaded question.  “I will be.”

Kayla turned her face into his palm and kissed it, closing her eyes to the feel of him.  “Ok, I’ll … wait.” 

Steve couldn’t help it, he took her in his arms and held her.  “That’s my girl.”  When she started to melt into him, he let her.  Because he needed her to.  Kayla literally inhaled him, and Steve got weak.  This was something he’d  always wanted.  Even before he’d gotten his memories back, the thought that this woman had suffered for 16 years thinking her husband was dead had eaten at him. He’d wished he could have taken that pain away before he remembered he loved her, and he would have done anything to do it once his memories had fully downloaded.  Now he was here, able to split the duration of her suffering almost in half.  He knew this wasn’t his Kayla, but the way she felt as he held her against him told him otherwise, his love for her so strong.  

“Why do we have to keep you a secret?” 

“You said tell you one thing.  That’s one question over your quota.”

“I’m not kidding.”  Steve closed his eye in frustration, beause he did want to get this overwith, but there was no way to answer that without going into detail.  “I mean it, Steve, why?” 

“Not two seconds ago you said you’d wait.”

“For the details.”

“That’s a detail!”

Kayla stepped back from Steve, much as she wished she could hold on to him for the rest of her life.  “You cannot just show up back from the dead and expect me to go on business as usual!  You’ve got to give me something!”

He brooded with his hands on his hips, trying to figure out what to say.  “What you need to know right now is that Alamain faked my death.  I tried to get away, but they had me all drugged up in a warehouse for months before …” Steve had to stop or this was going to become a full disclosure conversation, and they did not have time for that.  The second he said the name Dimera he knew this short conversation would be impossible, so he kept it as simple as he could.  “Sweetness, I’ve been under someone else’s control for the last ten years.  In one place or another, I’ve been locked up, drugged out, or not in my right head.  Got away a week ago.  Been watching you and Stephanie ever since, making sure these people don’t find you and use you against me.

“Use us against you?  My God, Steve!”

“Yes, because as far as they’re concerned their good little soldier is AWOL, and they’re lookin’ for me.  I can’t take a chance that they might come lookin’ here.”  Steve was whispering now, because just in case she’d snuck back like Harriet the Spy, he was desperate not to scare his daughter with the fully-leaded version of the story he’d told her.  “As long as they don’t think I’m here, you’re safe, and I gave ‘em every reason to believe I’m not.  That’s why we can’t tell anyone about me.  Not yet.  I think I covered my tracks real well, here, baby, but we gotta make sure every duck is in a row before we out me.” 

“We need to call Shane!  The ISA!”

Steve adjusted his patch and pawed at the back of his neck.  “Yeah, we probably do.  But not today.  You just gotta trust me, here. Can ya do that?”

“I dunno,” she threw up her hands, “yeah?  My world is upside down, Steve, I don’t know what to do about anything.  I don’t even believe I’m talking you.  Saying your name.”

“Kayla,” Steve said in a warning tone.  “It’s me.  Your Patchman.  You trust me.”

Kayla laughed mirthlessly.  “Ok,” she shrugged.  “So, now what?”  Just then her cellphone rang.

“Now,” Steve replied very confidently, “you answer your phone.”

Kayla fumbled for it in her pocket and blanched when she saw who it was.  “I don’t need to take this,” she insisted. 

“The hell you don’t.  Act normal or this is gonna go south real quick.”  The phone continued to ring.  “If that thing goes to voicemail you’re just gonna bring on more attention, so get it overwith.  Go on.”  Kayla was not happy about this but answered it at the last minute.

“He … hello?” 

ACT NORMAL! Steve mouthed significantly. 

Ok! She mouthed back. “Yes, hi, Sam … No, I didn’t, ah, get a chance to look at the display before I answered.”  This time Steve could hear the other end of the conversation. It was faint, but he heard it.

“You ran out of here so fast, is everything ok?”

“Yes!  Yes, I just – my sitter had left a message that Stephanie was sicker than I’d thought.  So, I had to get home.  Sorry for rushing out like that.”

“Nothing to apologize for, I was just concerned, you’ve never done that before.”

“Well, thank you for that.  I, ah … I’ll make up the time.”

“Don’t be silly, you put in enough hard work here, you run circles around the other interns, you’re fine.”

“Ok, well, thanks for that, too.

“And I think the boss has a thing for you, so that always helps.”  Steve couldn’t help it, he seethed a little. 

Kayla’s eyes had been avoiding his for the duration of this call, but now they shifted to her husband’s to see if he had heard this other man show this interest in her.  He decided not to let on that he’d heard any part of this, let alone that he knew who Sam even was and kept his features entirely neutral.  Kayla chose to let that sentence just sail over her with no more than a mild acknowledgment.

“Well, thank you for that, too.  Ah … I should go back to my daughter, she’s … in the other room.”

“What does she have?”

“What?”

“Her symptoms.  How is she presenting?”

Steve forgot for a moment that he was pretending not to hear the other end of the conversation.  “Flu,” he whispered.

“Flu,” Kayla repeated.

“Huh.  Thaaaat’s … not real likely, Kayla, didn’t you say she had her flu shot?”

Kayla shot a look at Steve that said to stop helping her.  “Stomach flu.  Bug.  I mean she has a stomach thing.”

“Food poisoning?” 

Kayla rolled her eyes and pulled at her hair.  “I think something just didn’t agree with her – Sam, I’m real sorry, I need to go, I—”  Kayla stopped abruptly as a thought occurred to her.  And that thought was that there was no way she was going to work tomorrow.  “—I think I’m coming down with it, actually.”

“No!” Steve stage whispered.  “Hell no, baby, you are not pulling this hookey sh*t again.”  The again stuff  went right over her head, as it should, she was not the Kayla that did this at age 18 with her new boyfriend in 1979.  “Jesus Christ, what is it with females named Brady!”

“Shh!” she silently mouthed to him.  Then to Sam she continued, “I think I need to go lay down.”

“Kayla, let me come over there, I’ll check you both over, make sure you don’t have food poisoning.”

“No, no,” she said quickly, “I’m fine – we’re fine.  It’ll be fine.  I just need to lie down.”

“Well, at least tell me your symptoms.”  Sam sounded very concerned, and Steve wasn’t sure if he was relieved or jealous that someone cared about her enough to sound like this at the concept of a simple illness.  What he did know was that this was getting really complicated really quickly.  “Are either of you vomiting?”

“Ya know what?  I think I’m about to.”  Her tone was annoyance, and Steve couldn’t help but crack a smile, it was funny.  But laughter was the last thing on Kayla’s mind, she wanted this conversation to end. 

“That’s it, I’m coming over.”

“No, Sam, you’re not.”

“Don’t eat or drink anything, this sounds like food poisoning. You were fine at work, and you know bugs don’t work like that.  This kind of acute stuff means you both ingested something making you sick. I’m going to check out your entire refrigerator when I get there.”

“Sam, I mean it, do not come over here!”

“And Kayla, I mean it, do not eat or drink a thing, I’ll be there in 20 minutes with bottled water.”

“Oh dear lord.”  But Sam didn’t hear that, because he’d already hung up the phone. 

“Kayla?  Do not tell me he’s seriously coming over here.”

“Ok, I won’t tell you that.” 

Steve stopped pacing for a moment and looked at her hopefully.  “Really?”

“No, he’s on his way.”

“Sh*t.” 

They both flew down the stairs.  Kayla’s the one who spoke first.  “Stephanie!  You need to get your PJs back on.”

“Huh?  I just put clothes on.  I was gonna take Papa out to see the car.”

“You know Dr. Granger?  My friend at work?”

“Yeah,” she replied warily.  Stephanie knew just who that was, he asked her mom on a date the other night.  She was glad about that at the time, but now he suddenly felt like the enemy. 

“Well, he’s on his way over here.”  The words spilled out in a frenzied rush.  “He thinks you and I are both sick.  He doesn’t know you were faking it, because he doesn’t know about your papa, and we have to keep it that way.”

“No!  I don’t want him to come here!”

“I don’t, either, but we have to pretend and just play along, ok?”

“Why?”

“My work.  Remember?”  Steve did not think through these words, because they were not helping his daughter’s fears that he’d be taken away again.  “They can’t know I’m here.  We’ll tell everyone soon, but not yet.”  Stephanie couldn’t take it any more and finally burst into tears.  And not just tears, but hysterics.  “Stephanie?!” Steve cried.  “What’s wrong?!”

“They’re gonna take you away!  They can’t do that!  Please, Papa, please don’t let them take you back to work!”  Steve couldn’t help it when his own tears stung the back of his eye.  He knew Sam was on his way, but he had to fix his daughter first.  He reached for Kayla’s hand, and the two of them embraced her in a family clutch that went a long way to helping calm everyone down.

“Listen to me.  Sweetness, Little Sweetness, everyone.  No one is taking me away ever again.  Until the slipstream does.  No one.  Very soon we are going to be able to live as a family with everyone in the world knowing that your husband … your papa … is alive.  But not today.  This Dr. Sam guy is not my work, he’s Mama’s.  But he can’t know about me.  So, you just pretend to be sick like you were doin’ this morning, and as soon as he leaves, I’m gonna make us the best dinner you’ve had in your whole life.  Ok, baby?” 

Stephanie’s hysterics were just this side of hyperventilation, but she’d calmed down impressively to sniffles.  Which actually were going to be very convincing when Sam got there.

“Ok,” she sniffed, her breath still catching in her throat.  Her parents sent her to her room to get back in her pajamas and instructed her to act like she had a stomach bug.

“How ‘bout, you, baby?” he said to Kayla.

Her eyes were red from having watched her daughter break down, but she was in control.  “I’m ok.”

“You can do this.  Just act like you would have if you didn’t know I was alive.” 

Kayla nodded.   “I’ll get rid of him as soon as I can.  Ok, I’m going to get my robe on.”

“Wait, what?” 

Kayla stopped halfway down the hall.  “I’m just changing into my robe.”

“Why?  You, uh … really need to change?”

“You said act like I would if I’m really sick.  When I don’t feel well, I lay around in my robe.”  Steve placed his hands on his hips and worked the muscle in his jaw.  Kayla raised her eyebrows at this show of what she thought might possibly be jealousy.  “Yeah.  Right, that—makes sense.  Go ahead, I’ll, uh, just disappear now.  Upstairs.  Out of sight.”  Steve turned to go, but Kayla called to him.  “Yeah, baby?”

“I’m not dreaming?”

Steve smiled.  “Nope.”

Kayla went to him and leaned her lips up toward him.  He reacted as nature always intended when Kayla leaned in for a kiss by doing the same, but instead of kissing his lips, she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his patch, lingering her lips there for several moments.  It touched Steve so deeply his breath caught in his throat.  Nothing from the moment he’d arried into this timeline had affected him so profoundly as this gesture she’d just shown him. 

“God … Kayla …”

“Promise me you’re going to be here when he leaves.”

“I’m going to be here for the rest of your life.” 

Kayla ran her finger over the spot her lips had just touched and smiled.  Then without another word, she headed to her room to change.  Steve tore himself from the spot he’d about rooted himself to and forced himself to ascend the stairs as thoughts of this doctor seeing Kayla in her robe began to fester within him.  He removed all evidence of his existence to the backside of the couch and settled down upon it to listen to the unsolicited housecall.  

Not five mintues later the doorbell rang, and Kayla got right down to business.  She opened the door for Dr. Sam Granger, and he immediately launched into the third degree of Diagnosis 101.  Steve was able to listen to everything except whatever was going on in Stephanie’s room.  He knew, now, that the creaking floorboards were a dead giveaway to activity here in the attic, so he dared not move unless he felt like he needed to dart behind the couch.  Apparently, whatever he learned upon whatever examination he did of Stephanie yielded enough to leave her alone and instead moved on to Kayla. 

To his credit, Sam didn’t try to put her to bed, but he did insist on taking her temperature, feeling her glands, and listening to her heartbeat.

“Sam, did you forget you’re oncology not infectious disease.”

“I think I know my stuff enough to diagnose, Dr. Johnson, don’t you?

“Yes, I just – it’s an upper GI thing, not upper respiratory.”

“Yes, well, I do agree that you don’t seem sick enough for this to be food poisoning.  But if you just ingested it, it might be just starting to manifest.  I’m going to take samples of what’s in your fridge.”

“Sam, that’s really not necessary.”

“Kayla, you were right about Stephanie, she’s flushed, rapid pulse, she’s definitely got something going on, and if we catch it now, we can prevent it from getting any worse for her and from it progressing in you.”  The sound of Sam’s voice was a weird mix of serious doctor with a lovesick crush.  “Let me feel your belly.”

Steve’s green eye finally flared in full-on jealousy.  “Get your hands off my wife,” he seethed.

“Sam, really.  This is not food poisoning or, you’re right, I’d be on the floor of the bathroom by now.  It’s just a little indigestion at this point,” she expertly lied, “and this level of attention for this little bug is, frankly, silly.”

Now Sam got a little annoyed.  “Kayla, you ran out of that hospital like your life depended on it.”

“Do you have kids, Sam?”

“No.”

“Then I have two words for you. Over reaction.”

“Me?  Or you?”

“I meant me, but ya know what, you too.”

Sam exhaled heavily.  “Ok. You win.  But you promise me you’re going to stay in bed when you’re not taking care of your daughter, ok?”

Kayla held up three fingers.  “Scout’s honor.”

“Oh really?  You were a girl scout?”

“Sure was.  And you know what they say, we’re always prepared.”

“I thought that was the boy scouts.”

“Ya know, I think it’s both,” Steve could tell she was starting to lose her patience, “so, the longer you stand here coddling me, the less time I’m going to get in bed.”  There was a strange silence that Steve couldn’t interpret, but he got a very uneasy feeling from it.  As it happens, his instincts were right on, because Sam was processing Kayla in her bed and liked what was being processed.  “So, thank you for coming,” she motioned him toward the door while forcing herself not to glance at the stairs.  “I’ll call you in the morning to let you know if I’ve come down with this bug not.”

“No, I think—”

“Yes, Sam!”  Now suddenly, that silence was very different.  “I’m sorry!  Sam, I’m – sorry, I didn’t mean – my tone was –”  Kayla took a breath and tried to start again.

“It’s ok. Hey, it’s alright.”

“No, you’re my boss, and you’re just trying to be nice, and I’m forgetting my … place.”

“Kayla, hey, hey, it’s ok.  This boss stuff is not necessary, we’re off the clock, you’re entitled to be a little flustered.  It’s weird dating a colleague, I understand.”

“Not a colleague, Sam. Your subordinate.  And … we’re not exactly dating,” she said with just a bare hint of a raised voice for no one’s benefit but Steve’s.

“Oh, that’s right, have you talked to your sister yet?  Wait, nevermind, ya know what, let’s just make sure you and the kiddo are right as rain first, we’ve got a few weeks to get you that sitter.”

“Right,” she replied.  Because she had no idea what else to say. 

“Wrong,” Steve whispered.  Because she was not going on any goddamned date.

Kayla walked Sam to the door, said she was feeling kind of ill again, and would get herself right to bed and call him in the morning before finally closing that door behind him.  She turned out the lights in the livingroom, which now bathed the house in nothing but darkness at this very late afternoon hour in early December, and watched as the doctor that wanted to be far more than just her colleague backed out of her driveway and left.  The moment he did Kayla called out for Steve and turned away from the front window.

“Hey, baby.”

Kayla startled at her husband standing directly behind her.  Normally she hated being snuck up on; not this time.  This time she smiled from ear to ear and wasted no time before throwing herself into Steve’s arms.  “You’re still here!”

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” she grinned into his soft t-shirt. 

“You did real good, Sweetness.”

“How much did you hear?” 

Steve rubbed his cheek on the top of his wife’s bright, blonde head as Stephanie poked her head out of her door.  “We’ll talk about it later,” he said, then held his arm out to his daughter.  She ran to them, and the three of them embraced, enjoying their second family hug of the night.

“I promise both of you.  I’m not going anywhere.”  Steve knew it was true, because he refused to entertain the idea that he might jump before his Kayla arrived.  It had already happened on one of the jumps that were nothing more than blips on the way to this one, but he pushed it away, emotionally incapable of considering it.  So, he was here to stay as far as this Kayla was concerned, because her existence was temporary.  He would, however, eventually leave this Stephanie, and both of those thoughts saddened him. 

Steve held both of his girls tightly, they both held him back, and he fought off the amplification effect, wreaking havoc on his emotions while he wondered when his Kayla would be getting here.

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