Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, they belong to TIIC over at ABC - I would treat them much better than they have been treated recently!
Characters: Kendall and Zach and a smattering of others
A/N: As warned in the summary, based on current spoilers. Staying AMC spoiler free - don't read for a couple of weeks. If you are reading, please continue...
... I am basing this on the spoilers that Erica stabs Zach. I am taking this in a whole different direction. No drugging, no Michael - just my own version of what could happen when Kendall feels the ultimate betrayal from her family!

Kendall flew through the doors at Pine Valley Hospital. All she had made out was that Zach had been taken to the hospital. She's not even real sure who called, just that Zach had been brought in to the emergency room. She scanned the room, looking for anyone, when she saw Joe Martin coming out of the hallway, heading toward one of the rooms.

"JOE!" she screamed, running toward him. Joe turned around and grabbed Kendall before she could go any further.

"Joe, I got a call that Zach…"

"Yes, Kendall, I'm just heading in now to look at him."

"Joe, what the hell happened?"

"All I know is that he came in with a serious stab wound. Anita just called me down to consult. I haven't had a chance to even look at him yet. I'll come find you…"

He grabbed her arm as she tried to storm the room. He pulled her back and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Kendall, you know you can't go in there."

"But, Joe, you don't understand. I need to…"

"Kendall, you need to wait here and you need to calm down. I'll come find you as soon as I know anything, I swear." With that, Joe went through the doors. Kendall caught a glimpse of Zach, stretched out on the table, completely unconscious. Kendall collapsed into one of the chairs in the waiting room as the tears fell down her face.

She had been so mad at him the last few days. He had cornered her after he saw Ryan leaving her condo one night, demanding to know what they had talked about.

"Oh god Zach, you know Ryan – spewing the same old crap."

He had started to pace, running his hands through his hair. When she tried to stop him, he started to yell – not at her, just in general. He went on and on about Ryan and Ethan working together, trying to set him up for something and how scared he was that they were going to involve her.

"Zach, I told Ryan to butt the hell out and I haven't talked to Ethan in weeks."

He had tried to make her promise to call him immediately if Ethan started sniffing around, to which she responded that she could take care of herself.

"No, Kendall, you are failing to understand that… Ethan is becoming obsessed with… I knew this whole Cambias thing would come back to haunt me one day."

Kendall made the mistake of laughing at him, thinking that he had to be joking about actually being worried about what owning Cambias was doing to Ethan, of all people. Zach had glared at her and stormed out of her condo. She followed him, but he was so preoccupied and she was hopping mad at this point that all they did was yell at each other till she told him to shove it up his ass and walked back to her condo, locking the door and closing all the blinds in the process.

That had been two days ago. She had made plans to surprise him tonight when the phone at Fusion rang. That's how she found herself sitting her, knowing nothing except that someone had stabbed the love of her life.

"Kendall?" Kendall looked up at the voice and saw the last person she wanted anywhere near her.

"Oh god…" Kendall said, shooting out of her chair. Julia grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around. "Kendall, what's wrong? Are you alright? Is there something wrong with the baby?"

Kendall had had enough of Julia Santos and her over the top fake caring crap. "You can cut the crap, Julia. I don't see Ryan anywhere around."

Julia just stared at her. "Kendall, I just wanted to make sure that…"

"That what? That your way into Ryan's heart is alive and kicking. I'm fine, MY baby is fine and you can butt the hell out." With that, Kendall turned on her heel and walked down the hall away from Julia.

Julia stared at her retreating form and pulled her cell phone from her purse. She quickly dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey, it's Julia. Yeah, I'm at PVH and I just saw Kendall… what… when in the world did that happen… oh my god, no wonder she… I don't know, she told me to butt the hell out and then she stormed away from me. Yeah, I'll wait around. Bye."

Kendall threw open the doors to the chapel and collapsed into the last pew, staring at the plain alter at the end of the room. She had never been much of a religious person, feeling that her life was some kind of cosmic joke. Alice had always tried to get her involved with church as a kid, but she found it boring and lame.

She bowed her head as the tears started to stream down her face and fall on her jacket. "Please, if there is anyone listening, please let him live. I don't know how I would be able to go on without him. He's my life, my breath, the force that makes me get out of bed every day. How I managed to live before him, I will never know, but I know that I can't survive without him now."

"Kendall." Kendall looked over her shoulder to see Babe standing in the doorway. Kendall looked back down at her lap as the tears continued to fall. Babe sat down in front of Kendall and reached back, putting her hand on top of Kendall's in her lap. Babe sat there and let Kendall cry until she was finished. When Kendall looked up at Babe, she was holding a tissue out.

"Thanks" Kendall said, taking the tissue from Babe.

"No problem. I've got plenty – you learn that a tissue can be your most trusted friend when you've got a kid around." Kendall looked back down at her growing stomach and rubbed the baby.

"Kendall, what happened? All Danielle told me and Simone was that you got a call and you tore out of the office, screaming something about Zach and PVH, so we came right down here."

"I don't know. All Joe was able to tell me was that Zach had been stabbed and then Julia Santos got in my face and…" Kendall could feel the tears building back up again.

"OK, OK. Well, I'll be that Joe is done examining Zach by now and has some new information. You wanna go find out?"

Kendall nodded and pushed herself off of the seat. Babe smiled at her and walked behind her. They weren't two steps out of the door when Erica came tearing around the corner, with Jackson behind her. Erica grabbed Kendall and hugged her.

"Kendall, Kendall, Kendall. Are you alright?"

"Mother, I'm fine. What in the world are you doing here? Surely you didn't come to make sure Zach was alright. Or did you come to see if he keeled over?"

Jackson pulled Erica off of Kendall and forced himself between the two of them.

"Kendall, I need to tell you something." Kendall just stared at Jackson, imagining what he could possibly have to tell her, not knowing that the news he was about to share was worse than anything currently running through her head.

"Out with it, Jackson. I need to go see…"

"Kendall, you need to know what happened."

"What happened…"

"Look, it was only supposed to be for protection. That's why I got Erica the knife, in case she found herself alone with Madden and needed some extra protection or if she found herself in a warehouse alone again – it was only for protection, but I guess your mother and Zach got into some kind of altercation at the casino today when she was out there doing an interview for the show and…"

Kendall backed up away from Jackson and stared at her mother. "Oh my god" she said as Babe put her hands on Kendall's shoulders to keep her from falling down.

"Kendall, it was an accident" Erica said, trying to approach her daughter.

Kendall pointed at her mother, arm shaking. "You… you… you did this. You tried to…"

"No, I didn't try to do anything. Like I said, it was an accident and…"

Suddenly Kendall was in Erica's face. "Right… an accident involving the one man you would love to be rid of more than anything. Kind of like you shooting Adam was an accident when you were out of your mind thinking he was Michael, huh, mother? You really expect me to buy the whole 'accident' thing from you, mother. DO YOU REALLY?" Kendall was shaking with anger.

"Kendall, your mother…"

"Oh, stuff it Jackson! I can't… she tried to kill… I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS MOTHER!" Kendall spit out as she stormed down the hall, Babe running behind to catch up.

TBC…