Jack Deveraux: Son of the Senator, running for State Assembly.

Kayla Brady Deveraux: Wife of Jack but in love with Steve Johnson and having a secret affair with him.

Steve Johnson: Works with Jack on movements in the riverfront. Is in love with Kayla.

Jo Johnson: Jack’s birth mother. Steve’s mother. Intent on keeping Jack’s true parentage from him.

Angelica Deveraux: Jack’s step mother. A rather snooty wench. (IMO)

Marcus Hunter: Steve’s best friend from the orphanage. A doctor in Salem.

Jack and Kayla were married in September of 1987 after Jack got very sick from cancer. Kayla thought that marrying Jack would help him live and after Steve kicked her to the curb without any explanation she agreed to marry him. It worked, Jack recovered. As soon as Jack got better Kayla got mysteriously sick. Due to both of these illnesses the marriage had yet to be consummated.

Kayla was on her deathbed when Jack announced he was running for State Assembly. During his announcement and press conference Steve broke into the house and took Kayla, having just discovered someone was poisoning her in the house. Steve nursed Kayla back to health and the two rekindled their old relationship after Steve told her the reason he’d broken up with her. Jack was his baby brother Billy. They agreed that it was best for Kayla to stay married to Jack until he won State Assembly so he wouldn’t relapse. Their thinking being if he won State Assembly but lost Kayla to Steve, at least he’d still have something to live for.

Kayla now had to come up with ways to stop Jack from wanting to sleep with her as she was now sleeping with Steve on the side and didn’t want any other man.

On New Years Eve 1987, Steve and Kayla met secretly behind the Deveraux house where a party was being held. They got romantic and were photographed by a reporter. This same reporter followed them around finding every change he could to catch the two of them together and get a picture.

Steve’s mother, Jo, had caught Steve and Kayla. She now knew that Steve was sleeping with his brother’s wife and tried to discourage it.

On the night of the election Steve was in a great mood, knowing that the next day they would tell Jack he and Kayla were in love and Kayla wanted a divorce. Steve would finally get to start a life with Kayla. Jack won the election. At his acceptance speech, as Kayla fantasized about being with Steve, the reporter gave Jack the pictures in a file. Jack didn’t get the chance to open them right away. He did open them soon after and met with the reporter, threatening him, telling him Kayla would never be unfaithful to him. The pictures had to be old pictures from when Steve and Kayla were together before she married Jack. The reporter pointed out that Kayla was wearing the dress Jack gave her on New Years Eve. These were recent pictures. Jack was furious, but played it cool.

He approached Steve, who had helped in his campaign, and asked him to a victory party at Blondies. Steve declined the invitation saying Blondies wasn’t really his scene. Kayla then mentioned she’d left her car at Shenanigans and had to get it, but she would meet Jack at Blondies shortly. Jack left and followed them to the pier where he saw with his own eyes Kayla and Steve kissing and declaring their love.

Still playing it cool after Kayla arrived at Blondies they celebrated for a while. Jack then said he was tired and wanted to go back to the loft. (They were living in Kayla’s loft after discovering someone at Jack’s house was poisoning her.) Jack tried making moves on Kayla and she told him to stop. That was when Jack pulled out the pictures of her and Steve kissing and confronted her. Kayla said that she and Steve were indeed in love and that they were planning on telling Jack. Here is a little of the scene.

Jack: Do you know what this could do to my father’s campaign? To my next campaign?

Kayla: That’s why we waited.

Jack: Waited? (Pulls out a picture) Is this waiting? Did you wait here? This is New Years Eve. Did you wait on New Years Eve? I waited. I waited all night. (Throws the pictures down.) I’m the only one who waited!

Jack then threw her down on the couch and told her he loved her, then raped her. Afterward Jack tried to explain that he wanted to make their marriage work and it was Kayla’s fault. Kayla replied that it wasn’t her fault that Jack raped her, Jack refused to accept it was rape. He called Kayla a cheap whore.

Steve woke the next morning in a great mood, knowing today was the day he and Kayla could finally be honest with Jack and move on with their lives. As he came home from Shenanigans two thugs beat him badly and left him outside his apartment. Kayla found him and took him inside to nurse him back to health. Steve was anxious to talk to Jack, but Kayla told him he had to heal.

Jack had told Kayla that morning that if she went back to Steve he would have Steve killed, he’d already had Steve beaten up. She had to play the part of a good wife or else Steve would pay. Kayla was terrified.

Kayla went back to Steve’s a couple of days later and Steve said it was time to tell Jack. They went to the loft and Steve told Jack he and Kayla were in love and that she wanted a divorce. Jack took it very well, Steve thought. After Steve left Jack told Kayla he still expected her to play the good wife and he would still have Steve killed if she left him. He wouldn’t give her a divorce.

Kayla went to Steve’s later that night and told him she wanted to leave Salem with him immediately. The next day they went to a cabin in the mountains and had a symbolic wedding and exchanged vows, just the two of them. They played the married couple. That night Steve wanted to make love to Kayla, but she told him she couldn’t. He knew something was wrong but Kayla told him just to hold her and she would tell him the next day.

Jack was in a frantic search to find Kayla, sending Private Investigators after her and calling everyone in Salem to see if they knew where she went. He was getting very frustrated that he couldn’t find her anywhere.

The next morning Steve woke before Kayla and saw the bruises on her shoulder. When Kayla woke she tried to cover them up. Steve said, "Don’t bother to cover them up, I already saw them." She tried to stall telling Steve but he wouldn’t give up, he wanted to know what was wrong. Kayla finally told him Jack raped her. Steve was heartbroken and furious at the same time, threatening to kill Jack. He walked to the door and started to put his jacket on. Here is some of that scene.

Kayla: Where are you going?

Steve: You know where I’m going.

Kayla: Your going to kill Jack and then come back here?

Steve: I don’t know what I’m going to do, Kayla! (He calms down a bit) Will you be all right here?

Kayla shakes her head. "Stay here with me."

Steve went back to Kayla’s side and held her and they both cried. After a while he decided they needed to build a fire where they would just sit in front of it together. As he was getting read to go outside Kayla stopped him and said, "I never felt how much you love me until now." Steve replied, "It’s true. I do love you more then anything in this life."

He went out to get firewood and was met by one of Jack’s goons who beat him up again and pushed him off a cliff, leaving him for dead.

Meanwhile Jack went into the cabin and got Kayla and took her back to Salem where he held her in the loft a virtual prisoner telling her if she tried to leave his people would stop her. He took the phone so she couldn’t call anyone. He asked her if she was coming to bed with him when she replied, "I’d rather die." Jack said, "I’ll take that as a no then." And went off to their bedroom.

Steve managed to recover and climbed up the cliff he’d fallen from. Badly hurt he stumbled to the cabin where he found Kayla was gone and Jack’s handkerchief on the floor. He had no more energy and fell on the bed and passed out.

Kayla was doing her part and playing the good Assemblyman’s wife for fear of Steve’s life. Even after Jack told her Steve wouldn’t be saving anyone again she still held out that Steve would come to her rescue.

Steve managed to wake up and called his friend Marcus Hunter, a doctor. He told Marcus where he was and that he was worried about Kayla. Marcus said he’d checked on Kayla and she was scared, they needed to get to her. Steve told Marcus his car had been tampered with but he would get to Kayla even if he had to walk. So he started walking. He saw a car coming and hitched a ride, realizing after the guy got out of the car that it was the same guy who’d beaten him up earlier and thrown him off the cliff. He started to beat Steve up again when Marcus showed up and pretended to be a cop, this scared the man off.

Kayla was at Jack’s induction fantasizing about Steve and their wedding in the snow. She hoped he’d save her, she was scared of Jack.

Marcus and Steve got to the loft just as Jack and Kayla were getting back from the ceremony. Steve snuck up to the roof where Kayla was sitting. They had a brief reunion before Jack showed up as they were kissing. The hate in both Jack and Steve’s eyes were evident. They wanted to kill the other. Steve never took his eyes off Jack as he said, "Go inside Kayla."

Kayla didn’t go anywhere and Jack and Steve stared each other down. Again Steve repeated, "Kayla, go inside." Again she didn’t move. Jack grabbed Kayla and told Steve she was his wife.

Steve: You raped her!

Jack: Rape? I made love to her. And it was wonderful.

Yeah, that did it. Kayla got away and Steve threw the first punch. It was a good fight, both holding their own. They fought down the fire escape, the whole time Steve telling Kayla to go inside, Kayla following behind them begging them to stop. They kept fighting and when they were three stories up a railing broke as Steve punched Jack. Jack fell to the ground below and wasn’t moving.

Kayla called the ambulance and Jack was taken to the hospital where it was revealed his one kidney had been completely destroyed in the fight and the other was failing. He’d need a transplant.

While at the hospital Jo Johnson came to see Jack. She tore into Steve, yelling at him for fighting with Jack. Kayla had heard enough of Jo defending Jack that she told her Jack had raped her. Jo didn’t believe that Jack could do something like that. She left the hospital, confused. Kayla told Angelica Deveraux to come to the loft and get Jack’s things. He’d be moving out. Steve told her he thought it was a bad idea for her to go back to the loft, but Kayla said she refused to let Jack ruin her life. She loved the loft. Steve agreed to move in with her. While packing up Jack’s things Kayla had flashbacks of the rape and almost couldn’t finish. But she wanted Jack out of her life.

Steve went by to see his mother that night, to tell her that what Kayla had said was true, Jack had raped her. Jo was still confused by the situation when there was a knock on her door. Senator Deveraux called through the door that he needed to talk to Jo. Steve hid in the bedroom, fearing what the Senator would do to him seeing it was Steve who’d put Jack in the hospital.

The Senator asked Jo a favor. Jack needed a kidney. He wished he could be a suitable donor, but he couldn’t. He asked Jo to try and convince Steve to donate his kidney. It would save Jack’s life. Jo said she would try and the Senator left. Jo pleaded with Steve to give his kidney to his brother, to once again save Jack’s life. After all it was Steve’s fault Jack lost his kidney in the first place. Steve said he’d think about it and went to talk to Kayla.

Kayla had told Abe Carver about everything that happened, why Steve attacked Jack and that Jack had raped her. Abe asked if Kayla wanted to press charges. Kayla responded "We’ve all hurt each other enough. It’s time we stop." She didn’t want to press charges. Abe left and Steve told Kayla that Jo wanted him to give Jack his kidney. Jack would die without it. Kayla told Steve to do what he felt he needed to do. But this would throw a major kink in their relationship. Steve was looking at this as saving his brother; Kayla was looking at it as Steve saving her rapist. Steve agreed to donate the kidney. Jack refused it at first, but after some convincing from Melissa Anderson, Jo and Angelica he decided to accept the transplant.
While in the operation Jack's transfer went remarkably well, but Steve's heart stopped. Marcus had come to observe the operation and was able to start Steve's heart again, but Steve was in a coma. During this time Steve had a "death" experience.
"Angel Steve" visited him and in a Days of Our Lives version of The Christmas Carol showed Steve how he'd helped people in his past, how Kayla was begging for him not to leave her in the present and scenes from his future; he and Kayla married, having children and growing old. This was enough to convince Steve and he woke from the coma.
There was still the rift between Steve and Kayla as Kayla was still trying to deal with the trauma of being raped and Steve invested so much time into his brother. Kayla felt (and so did I actually) that Steve was more concerned for Jack then he was for Kayla.
Steve was unsure how he could help Kayla and she kept telling him that he couldn't. He convinced her to get counseling and even went to Adrienne to have her talk to Kayla.
One night they had a huge fight where Steve said he just wanted to help and Kayla replied, "You can't help because you are part of the problem." Steve asked if she wanted him to move out of the loft. He didn't, but he did make a decision, Jack wasn't the baby Billy Steve remembered. And he would do what he had to do for Kayla, even testify against his own brother. Kayla was more important.
At the trial Kayla testified that Jack had raped her and relived every horrible detail. Jack was offered a plea bargain and agreed to plead guilty to assault charges, not rape. He was given a slap on the wrist. He still refused to give Kayla the divorce she wanted as well.

Kayla and Steve continued to live together in the loft. Kayla still couldn’t be intimate with Steve, the rape still haunting her. One day when Steve had to take a trip to Los Angeles (he wanted to get hold of Jack’s adoption papers and destroy them, so Jack wouldn’t find out he was Billy) a psychic told Kayla he thought Steve’s plane would crash. Kayla didn’t believe him until the plane Steve was supposed to be on did in fact crash. Steve however had car trouble and missed the flight. Kayla was so relieved that Steve was alive and regretted the time they’d missed together. They made love that night for the first time since the rape.

A couple of months later Kayla was attacked by the Riverfront Knifer and was left deaf from the attack. When it was revealed Harper Deveraux was the man who’d been murdering several women in the area and was responsible for Kayla losing her hearing, Jack felt guilty and granted Kayla the divorce. Steve and Kayla were married a month later.