A/N:I don't own All My Children or the characters used in this fic.

Chapter One

The day dawned bright with sunshine and if one looked toward a window, they might assume the day was warm. But, although it was March, Pine Valley might has well have been in the midst of December. Kendall Hart-Slater pressed her palm against one of the windows in her condo, hoping for warmth instead of cold, but did not receive her wish. The cold temperature spread from her palm all the way to her fingertips and she pulled away disappointedly. It was a stupid hope, as a snowstorm had blown through the town only the night before. But she had tried to pretend, just for a second, that the warmth of spring had finally arrived.

Winter had done nothing but depress Kendall and she could not wait for it to be gone. With a childish perspective she honestly believed that when winter was over everything might feel better. Once the coldness and the darkness of winter was gone and the sunlight and warmness of spring prevailed, the pain of winter would flee.

As Kendall moved away from the window, she felt the 7th month old baby she was carrying kick. Rubbing a hand softly over her protruding belly, she sighed softly. Greenlee and Ryan's baby had impacted her life in a huge way. Kendall had been confirmed pregnant in the beginning of September and Greenlee couldn't have been more thrilled with the idea of her baby finally being born. They hadn't told anyone for a while and David, Simone and Dr. Madden had kept true to their word. No one in Pine Valley knew what was going on unless one counted those three. But, all good things cannot last forever and in the beginning of October (also Kendall's second month being pregnant), Ryan Lavery returned to town with two of his siblings in tow.

Nothing other than shit hit the fan and the entire town of Pine Valley was devastated with the news of Ryan faking his death. No one other than Greenlee was more distraught over the turn of events. Promptly moving out and away from Ryan and into Kendall's condo seemed like the only right thing to do, for the only thing keeping Greenlee in town was the child Kendall now carried. More than ever, Greenlee wanted the pregnancy to remain a secret and more importantly, she wanted her baby away from Ryan and his siblings. So, another person had to be let in on Greenlee and Kendall's little secret: Zach Slater. While Kendall and Zach weren't on the best of terms at that moment because of his helping of Ryan's 'death' and her aversion to him helping Julia, Kendall and Greenlee agreed he was their last hope.

TThe plan, according to Zach's willingness to partake, was to pretend that Zach and Kendall had conceived the child Kendall carried. Most shocking was not Zach's willingness to go along with the little plan, but was the fact that Zach already knew she was pregnant with Ryan and Greenlee's child. So, everything was fixed and set into motion. Of course, the town of Pine Valley was hit with several small earthquakes when Erica Kane heard the news, but for the most part, everything was smooth sailing. (Well, except for that pesky morning sickness and countless hours of nausea.)

Except, nothing was smooth after one oddly warm day in December. Greenlee and Kendall had decided to go Christmas shopping and since it was warm and sunny, the day had been perfect. Snow was melting everywhere, but Kendall and Greenlee had grabbed some snow boots and waved cheerfully goodbye to Zach as they set off. After shopping for hours, picking out hundreds of gifts in the process, the girls finally decided to call it a day. Their arms were loaded with packages, but Greenlee carried most because of Kendall's excuse of pregnancy. They set out for the car, with only a short squabble as to where the keys for Greenlee's car were. Kendall was at the car's passenger side with Greenlee lagging a bit behind due to the weight of the shopping bags and various packages, when a screeching of tires could be heard.

In what seemed like slow motion, Greenlee lost her footing on a patch of leftover snow and fell to the ground. Just as Kendall was about to rush over to her, the screeching of tires came closer. She had screamed Greenlee's name, telling her to forget the bags and just get up, but it had been too late. A car came around the bend of the parking lot and had hit Greenlee directly.

Kendall didn't remember all too much from that day, but there was one image that would never escape from her mind: the blood that seeped all around the two of them while Greenlee died in Kendall's arms.

Months following, Kendall blamed herself one hundred percent for that day. Because, that's what had happened, Greenlee had died that day and all because of Kendall. If she had only taken one more package to hurry Greenlee along, if only she had been the one in the middle of the parking garage, if only she had yelled sooner. Although, in reality it was not Kendall's fault, she still felt everything that had happened that day was her fault. Later, when she was at the hospital, she had felt the baby move for the first time and it was then that she was finally able to break down.

So there she sat, in her condo on another wintry day wishing for a nice, warm spring day. Or well, she really wished Greenlee would come back and be the spring day she was looking for, but Kendall knew that would never happen again. After Greenlee's death, Zach and Kendall had agreed to keep up the act Greenlee had wanted all along. As long as he lived, Ryan would never know of his child.

Kendall sighed again and got up from her couch. Every last bit of her felt full of energy, but at the same time, she was content with just sitting around doing nothing. She wondered briefly where Zach was before remembering that Zach was gone doing some more stuff for the casinos. Or, maybe he was just doing more 'Saint Julia' crap. Since Kendall had no other friends left in town besides him, she was feeling rather bored. She rubbed her back, trying to iron out the constant pain that had resided there, but it was no use. Sighing again, she walked the short distance to her bedroom and flung herself onto her unmade bed. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard a knock at her front door.

With a groan, Kendall hoisted herself off the bed with great effort. Another knock sounded and she irritably yelled, "I'm coming! Hold your horses, would you?" She waddled through her living room and flung open the front door without looking. Yes, it was a stupid move, but who looks before answering a door in the town of Pine Valley?

"Hello Kendall."

Jonathan Lavery was in Kendall's doorway and he was not looking much better than he had his first round in Pine Valley. A beard was in the process of growing, due to lack of a shave while his hair was just as unkempt. His dark eyes glared into her light ones and without words, Kendall could tell he wasn't as changed as Ryan had often preached. If what Ryan said had been true, Jonathan Lavery had been through several medical treatments. He had supposedly also seen many psychiatrists, but now that he was standing before Kendall with the same look he had used on his first round through town, she was sure he hadn't seen anyone professional. If he had seen anyone professional, they hadn't worked.

Before she could stop him, he forced his way into her living room and stood in front of the couch she had recently been lying on. She kept the door open, even though the outside air was frigid and had already seeped into her living quarters. Trying to remain calm, Kendall said, "Please leave."

"Oh, but Kendall… I've brought a gift. You see, I've come to wish you congratulations on your dear child." He inched closer with his words and because Kendall was backed against the wall nearest to her still opened door, he was able to place a hand on her pregnant belly. Chills shot up and down Kendall's spine. Even though she knew it was a mistake, she went to push Jonathan away from her but he grabbed her wrists before she could inflict any sort of blow upon him. "Not so fast! You were such a feisty one in bed. I'm glad it's carried over even in your delicate position." Without a moment of hesitation, Kendall kneed Jonathan so quickly and with such force, he promptly released his strong hold on her.

In a blink of an eye, Kendall raced for the open door and succeeded in escaping, but only just for that moment. Jonathan tore after her, all the while calling her several profanities that were not unknown to Kendall. She might have had the chance to get away from the maniac, but Kendall was seven months pregnant and running was no easy feat when her stomach seemed to stretch beyond oblivion. Of course, the freshly piled snow didn't make her escape any easier. In fact, the snow made her escape absolutely futile; for the second her bare feet hit the snow, she slipped. If it hadn't been for the columns inside the tiny courtyard separating herself and Zach's condo, she might have fallen to the cobble- stoned ground.

Jonathan reached her and cursed her yet again. He grabbed her around her once perfectly fit waist, but Kendall gripped the column with all her strength and would not let Jonathan rip her away from the pillar. "Let go, you whore!"

Kendall screamed then. She screamed so loudly, she hoped anyone might hear her. As she had anticipated, Jonathan clapped a hand over her mouth and unsuccessfully tried to pull her away from the column once again. This time, instead of sending a swift kick his way, Kendall bit hard into his hand and continued her screaming. "You bitch!" This time he clapped his hand across her face and her head snapped back from the force of it. Dejectedly, she let go of the pillar and slumped to the wet snow. Just as Jonathan was about to grab her again, sounds of gunfire rang through the courtyard.

Kendall didn't know what was going on, but she was smart enough to assume that those gunshots were not in anyway protecting her from any kind of danger. Why, if anyone had wanted to rescue her from the madman that was now gripping her arms almost painfully, they would have walked closer and made sure she wasn't in the line of fire! If Jonathan Lavery hadn't been standing where he had, Kendall Hart-Slater's life and the child she was carrying would have been finished for eternity.

Jonathan slumped over Kendall's body and for a moment, she thought he was protecting her. But as she felt his lifeless weight hold her down and the warm flow of a liquid gush onto her, she knew he was not protecting her. For the second time in Kendall's life, she held onto a person as they died. In this case, she wasn't overly sad that he was dead, but the situation was traumatizing all the same. Jonathan's blood was seeping onto her and all around her. More than anything, Kendall wanted to move and get away from the gore and the constant gunfire around her, but Jonathan was too heavy and she could not move an inch. After he drew his final breath and then shuddered, Kendall knew he was dead. Jonathan Lavery was dead; and he was lying on top of her. She struggled again, doing anything to get the dead body off of her, but nothing worked. Being in the position that she was, curled in a ball on her side, nothing she could've done would have worked to her advantage. Tears soaked her cheeks and fear flooded throughout her body as gunshots continued to go off. When Jonathan's lifeless, bloody hand flung into her face, she did something that she had never done before in her entire life: she fainted.

The gunshots were unrelenting, but Kendall was oblivious. She didn't know how long the gunfire continued nor did she know that various windows throughout the courtyard shattered due to the bullets. The freezing snow spread wetness through her clothing and if it weren't for the body and the warm blood from the now deceased Jonathan, she might have frozen. When the gunfire ceased, a slight snow began to fall and if anyone had passed the two fallen bodies, they might only see the one bleeding, dead body and not notice the pregnant woman lying beneath him.

TBC….