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An Adventure a Day … Kayla Brady Johnson's History


An Adventure a Day … Kayla Brady Johnson’s History

Kayla Brady is one of the Caroline and Shawn Brady's children. She worked as a nurse at University Hospital and lived with her parents and brother Roman. For a while, she dated paramedic Mike Horton, whom she had known since childhood, until he left Salem to attend college.

Next, Kayla dated David Banning, but that relationship petered out thanks to the interference of Renee Dumonde. One night, while drowning her sorrows at Shenanigans, Kayla got extremely drunk. When she passed out, Chris Kositchek took her to his place. Kayla was thankful to Chris for having helped her out and the two of them clicked. Just as they were getting to know each other, Kayla nearly died after drinking some coffee delivered by the hospital's robot. Chris helped her through her recovery. Unfortunately, Kayla expected a commitment from Chris and he couldn't make it. After months of sporadic arguments, Kayla and Chris broke up and she left town.

Kayla was next seen living in Ohio. After her apartment was ransacked (by Steve Johnson), she returned to Salem out of fear for her safety. She was offered a job at the Riverfront Emergency Clinic. While working there, Kayla met Steve Johnson. She didn't know he was spying on the Brady family for Victor Kiriakis. Kayla and Steve grew closer as he pretended to work for a Kiriakis company on the riverfront.


Steve and Kayla in Sweden.

Soon, Kayla became involved in the search for the elusive Britta Englund. Roman was looking for Britta because she held the keys to some missing treasury bonds that he needed. Bo and Steve had known Britta in the past. Roman and Steve finally caught up with Britta, whose presence made Kayla unhappy; she could tell that Steve loved Britta and she felt jealous, though she would never admit it. In the end, Britta was found dead and Steve was charged with the crime. Kayla stood by him until his innocence was proven.

The search for the treasury bonds led to Stockholm, where Kayla and the rest dodged KGB spies. Upon returning to Salem, Kayla was kidnapped by a man named Orpheus but Roman and Steve rescued her. Kayla and Steve's Swedish adventures brought them together; just as they were finally beginning to make progress, Kayla received a mysterious file. In it, there were documents revealing that Steve had spied on her. She felt betrayed and ended their relationship.

Steve tried to make Kayla understand that things had changed since he had spied on her, but the fact that he'd worked for Emma really bothered Kayla, and with good reason. By this time, Shane had begun to suspect that Emma had kidnapped his son Andrew, and Kayla was afraid that Steve might've had something to do with it. When the truth of Andrew's kidnapping came to light, Kayla grew closer to Steve. Meanwhile, Kayla befriended Adrienne Johnson.


Jack, Steve and Kayla – a love triangle of sorts.

After Adrienne's place was broken into, she moved in with Kayla. As Steve got to know Adrienne, he began having odd memories from his childhood. He had been raised in an orphanage and had little recollection of his life before being orphaned. Finally, Kayla figured out that Steve was Adrienne's long-lost older brother! Their mother, Jo Johnson, had given Steve and his younger brother Billy up for adoption to keep them from their abusive father, Duke. Soon after the revelations, Steve convinced his mother to leave Duke, who was still physically abusing her. When Duke was shot dead, Steve confessed to the crime. Kayla knew that Steve was innocent, but he was determined to protect the real killer. Steve was freed when Adrienne finally remembered and confessed to the crime.

One day, Jack, a friend of Kayla's, showed up at her doorstep. When Jack fainted, Kayla learned that he was Senator Harper Deveraux's son and was suffering from Hodgkin's Disease. She began caring for him. Meanwhile, Steve took an undercover job to help fake the death of Senator Deveraux, but he ended up shooting him with real bullets! Steve was charged with attempted murder and was forced to go into hiding. Kayla devoted herself to helping clear his name. She pretended he'd kidnapped her and they went on a cross-country adventure to find out who was framing him. He was finally cleared when a man named Simon was caught trying to murder Harper himself.


Jack and Steve learned they were brothers, but they were still often at odds.

It would've been smooth sailing for Kayla and Steve, but Jack had fallen in love with her. Kayla cared for Jack, but she loved only Steve. Unfortunately, Steve suddenly broke off the relationship, claiming he didn't love her. Soon after this, Jack proposed. She didn't want to marry Jack but she felt sorry for him. He was once again in the hospital and was not expected to recover. Also, Anjelica and Harper Deveraux begged Kayla to give their son what would probably be his last wish. With all of this pressure, and her sudden rejection by Steve, Kayla finally accepted the proposal. Despite everyone's concern, Kayla went through with the wedding.

Right after getting married, Jack went back to the hospital and Kayla began to feel sick. Though she didn't know it, Kayla was slowly being poisoned by Harper, who mistakenly believed that she had Jack's adoption papers which affirmed that he was Duke and Jo Johnson's son! Meanwhile, Jack was discharged from the hospital and was intent on helping Kayla recover by taking her on their belated honeymoon in the Caribbean. Without her "medicine," Kayla began feeling better immediately. Jack tried to make love to her several times but she managed to ward him off by claiming to still feel a bit ill.

As soon as they returned home, Kayla fell ill once again. Steve figured out that someone in the Deveraux home was trying to kill Kayla and took her to an ISA safe house. When she finally woke up, Steve told her about his suspicions but she refused to believe that someone could be trying to deliberately poison her. Kayla left the house and went down by the pier to call Roman. Before she could make the call, however, she collapsed. Steve and Marcus rescued her and she finally believed that someone was poisoning her.


Jack Deveraux and his evil father Harper.

Kayla expressed her fears to Jack. Lab tests run by the police and ISA confirmed this. Meanwhile, Kayla saw Steve every chance she could. He had only pushed her away to help his brother, Jack. They agreed that they would tell Jack that she had only married him to help him fight his illness after the State Assembly election was over.

On New Year's Eve, Kayla sneaked out of the Deveraux's party to see Steve; they kissed in the stables and were photographed by a tabloid reporter. When Kayla returned to the house, she was shocked when Jack informed her that they'd discovered who had tried to poison her: Melissa! After several tips, the police had searched her apartment and found bottles of Atropine. They'd also caught Melissa trying to burn love letters she'd written to Jack. Kayla refused to believe all of this but she couldn't get the police to drop the charges against Melissa.

Jack won the seat on the state assembly. When he arrived home from his victory celebration, he brought out the photos taken of Kayla and Steve on New Year's Eve. Kayla tried to explain the entire situation but Jack wouldn't hear of it. He menacingly grabbed her and raped her.

Kayla sought Steve but couldn't bring herself to tell him what happened. She only told him that she needed to get away from Salem. They went to a cabin in the mountains, where he proposed to her. They had a symbolic wedding but Kayla was unable to make love to Steve. When he saw bruises on her body and asked her what had happened, she finally told him that Jack had raped her. Steve vowed to make Jack pay but before he could do so, some men arrived and beat him senseless. Then Jack appeared, and threatened to have Steve killed if Kayla ever left the loft again. Kayla returned to spare Steve's life and was kept a virtual hostage. One night she managed to meet with Steve on the rooftop. When Jack found them together, he grabbed Kayla and a fight between the two men erupted. Jack fell off the fire escape. He survived the incident but needed a kidney transplant. Kayla tried to talk Steve out of donating a kidney, but he went ahead with the surgery to save his brother.


Star-crossed lovers meant to be together.

Kayla pressed charges against Jack and filed for divorce. A rape hearing was held in which enough evidence was found to put Jack on trial but he made a plea bargain. He would plead guilty to assault in exchange for a suspended sentence. Kayla wanted to go to trial, but reluctantly agreed to this to forget about the whole thing.

The Riverfront Knifer, a serial killer who had been stalking the streets killing "unclean" women, attacked Kayla. During the attack there was an explosion that knocked her unconscious and started a fire. Steve arrived in time to get Kayla out and after she woke, she was deaf and mute. The explosion had severely damaged her hearing and vocal chords. Kayla -- and Steve -- learned sign language to communicate. Steve once again proposed but Kayla wanted to wait until she regained her hearing.

Meanwhile, Kayla worked with Kimberly to try to remember who the Riverfront Knifer was, as she'd blocked it from her mind. Kayla finally remembered and wrote the name on paper but before Kimberly could call Shane, the Knifer -- Harper Deveraux -- showed up. He took the women to the rooftop where he confessed to the murders. Steve and Shane arrived in time to save them and subdue Harper. Kayla decided to go through with the surgery that would restore her hearing. The surgery was a success, but Kayla still couldn't speak. Steve proposed marriage once again; this time, Kayla accepted.

Jack finally granted Kayla a divorce and Steve planned the wedding, which took place on a yacht in Salem harbor. While signing her wedding vows with Kimberly as her interpreter, Kayla suddenly stopped. To everyone's amazement and joy, her speech miraculously returned and she spoke her vows to Steve. After a reception on the yacht, Steve and Kayla took off for a honeymoon in Asia.


Steve and Kayla's pull-out-all-the-stops, wonderfully romantic first wedding.

While honeymooning in Bangkok, Steve and Kayla found a deaf little boy who seemed to be lost. Luckily, Kayla was able to speak to him via sign language. His name was Benjy. When his mother couldn't be located, they took him back to Salem. Soon, they were contacted by Ellen Hawk, Benjy's mother. Ellen confessed to Kayla and Steve that she needed to hide Benjy from his evil and powerful father. Steve and Kayla were ready to give the boy up, but Ellen never returned to get him. That night, Steve found her dead on the pier.

Kayla told Benjy about his mother's death and promised to let him stay with her and Steve. Kayla, Steve and Benjy returned to Bangkok to try to learn the identity of the boy's father. All they found was a photo of Benjy with his father. The man's face was cut off, but he had one distinctive feature: a silver ring.

Benjy's father turned out to be none other than Stefano DiMera! He kidnapped the boy and Steve and Kayla learned from Shane that they were in the Bahamas. They followed and after being captured themselves, managed to escape and brought Benjy back to Salem with them. Once home, Steve and Kayla began adoption proceedings. Unfortunately, Orion, Benjy's grandfather, returned and wanted his grandson. Kayla and Steve were heartbroken to lose the boy.


Steve after his surgery when he could no longer be called "Patch."

While she was working at the Emergency Center some men came in with a gunshot victim and threatened Kayla at gunpoint to save him. Kayla was livid when she saw that her patient was Harper Deveraux, who had escaped from prison. Kayla reluctantly saved his life, but then the men that were with him forced her to come with them because she knew too much. In the end, Kayla was saved when the police caught up with Harper and his goons.

More adventured came into Kayla and Steve's lives in the form of Nick Corelli. Steve found the former pimp, who had been presumed dead in a car accident. He was badly injured and Steve and Kayla agreed to take care of him and keep his existence a secret. Unfortunately, a man named Eddie Reed kidnapped Eve Donovan in the hopes of getting some money that Nick had hidden. Steve and Kayla helped save Eve, and they safely retrieved Nick's money from a safe deposit box. Although charges were brought against Steve and Kayla for helping Nick pretend he was still dead, they went free after paying a fine. Soon after, a land deed was sent to them. It was to a big old mansion on the outskirts of town. The deed was Nick's way of saying thanks.

Kayla fell in love with the house as soon as she saw it. It was definitely a fixer-upper, but she saw the house's true beauty. While looking around, Steve found a trunk full of Civil War era mementos that had belonged to the previous owners. Kayla was especially intrigued by a Union army coat that had a bullet hole through the heart. They also found and read a diary that belonged to a woman named Emily Mathews who wrote it in 1864. It told the story of Emily and Gideon White. Steve and Kayla found the diary terribly romantic and read a little bit of it every day.


Steve and Kayla's second wedding, shortly before she gave birth to baby Stephanie.

A traveling minister named Saul Taylor arrived in Salem. Kayla didn't trust him. His racist attitude toward Marcus didn't earn him any points. During this time, an attempt was made on Marcus' life. He'd been searching for his roots but someone was determined to stop him. Steve and Kayla traveled with Marcus to Charleston, South Carolina. Marcus' orphanage records indicated that he was from Cleaver, a nearby town. At the same time, the setting in Emily's diary switched to Charleston. Steve and Kayla took time out to visit some of the places from Emily and Gideon's story. Their good time was over very quickly, though. A man named Barney Gillespie tried to shoot Marcus. After he was arrested, he offered to answer questions about Marcus' past but he was killed in jail before he could say anything.

After returning to Salem, Steve told Kayla that he was going to go undercover for the ISA in order to stop the people who were after Marcus. To do so, he'd have to have surgery to reconstruct his eye. Kayla hated the idea of Steve changing his appearance, but eventually she accepted it. She even assisted in the top secret surgery that Marcus performed. When Steve left, it looked as if he had left the country to help a friend.

Kayla continued to help Faith, who was having problems with her father Saul because she liked Marcus. Kayla started attending Faith's revival meetings. At one of these, Kayla was moved by a drunken bum who wandered into the revival tent and claimed to have found the Lord again. Kayla realized that the bum, Daniel Lucas, was Steve! He was almost unrecognizable without his patch. Kayla didn't give him away. She just walked over to him and gave him an old Bible. Shortly after this, Reverend Saul set up a religious retreat in the mountains, and Steve had to go there as part of his mission. Kayla became worried about him and decided to go to the retreat with the excuse of wanting to see Faith. In no time at all, Kayla was caught up in a very dangerous situation.


Kayla gave birth to Stephanie while in jail for Marina Toscana's murder.

As it turned out, Saul's ministry was the cover for a large drug empire run by Alfred Jericho. When Marcus was a boy, he saw Jericho and Saul blow up a church in Cleaver. The explosion killed three black girls; Jericho was after Marcus because he was afraid he'd remember and turn him in. Saul's religious retreat was full of armed guards. In addition to Steve, Kayla was surprised to find Shane at the camp. Jericho had been keeping him prisoner there but he'd escaped with Steve's help. Jericho was suspicious of Kayla as soon as he saw her and kept a watchful eye on her. When he noticed that she knew Daniel Lucas, he had her detained. Jericho threatened Kayla to try to find "Daniel" and Shane, but she didn't say a word. Finally, Steve and Shane were able to rescue her and take Jericho prisoner. Unfortunately, they had to give him up when Jericho's men took Marcus and Faith hostage. In the mess that followed, Marcus and Faith were rescued, but Jericho and Shane apparently died in an explosion. Steve tried to look for Shane without much success. The ISA soon gave up as well and declared him dead. Kayla was the one who had to break the sad news to Kimberly.

Just when Steve and Kayla learned they were expecting, and just when they thought their life had returned to normal, Marina Toscano showed up. She claimed to be Steve's wife! Steve was indeed married to her, but he was stunned to see her as thought he had killed her when they got into an argument on a ship and she fell overboard. Marina didn't want Steve; she wanted his help in retrieving an old key they had thrown into the sea long ago. Kayla encouraged Steve to help her in hopes she would grant him a divorce, and they all traveled to Italy to retrieve the key. After it was found Steve got into a fight with some of Victor's men, and his glass eye and socket were damaged beyond repair, forcing him to wear his patch again. Back in Salem Kayla and Marina argued. Kayla pushed Marina down and left her -- very much alive. She was found dead sometime later.

Victor Kiriakis kidnapped Kayla as he wanted the real key Marina had hidden in Steve and Kayla's house. When Isabella handed over the real key to Victor, Kayla was safely returned to Steve. She was very pregnant at the time, and she and Steve wanted to remarry before the baby's birth. Unfortunately Kayla was arrested during the wedding for the murder of Marina Toscano! Victor Kiriakis had sent the police a tape on which Kayla threatened to kill Marina. The tape had been doctored, but the police were still forced to arrest Kayla.

Kayla stood trial and was found guilty of Marina's murder. She was sent to prison where she gave birth to her daughter Stephanie. She didn't want to keep Stephanie with her behind bars, so she allowed Steve to take her. He hired a woman named Kelly Parker as the baby's nanny. Unbeknownst to Steve, Kelly was actually a deranged woman named Sheila Salsbury who had lost her baby at childbirth. Sheila kidnapped Stephanie. Kayla escaped from prison and she and Steve followed Sheila to Australia, where they managed to recover their child. When they had learned that Kayla was exonerated of Marina's death, everyone returned to Salem.


Steve and Kayla -- let's hope they're together again.

Harper Devereaux escaped from prison (again) and vowed to have his revenge on Steve. At Steve and Kayla's second wedding, Harper planned to execute his nemesis from the church bell tower. Jack learned of Harper's plan and stopped him by pushing him to his death. The wedding went on as planned and Steve and Kayla were legally married on August 13, 1990.

Steve decided to change his life and become a police officer. While patrolling the harbor late one night, he spotted a suspicious looking boat. When he investigated he found a card addressed to Bo Brady, from Lawrence Alamain. While he was onboard, the boat exploded! Steve went into a coma, but eventually came around. Because he was a threat, Lawrence had Steve's IV poisoned and he died. Before he was buried, though, his coffin was switched with an empty one.

A grief stricken Kayla moved in with Shane Donovan and vowed to find her husband's killer. The two worked together and all the fingers pointed to one person, Lawrence Alamain. Eventually Shane and Kayla fell in love, but problems arose between her and her sister when Kimberly returned to Salem.

At a museum party, Shane's attempt to disarm a bomb planted failed and he was left paralyzed. He refused to have the surgery that could restore the use of his legs. Kayla helped him recover and the two realized that they had fallen in love. Shane eventually regained the use of his legs, but the tension between the two sisters put a strain on his relationship with Kayla. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to work in a clinic and Shane left Salem to return to England. ;-)