"I can't believe we're doing this again," Maria Grey said as she stood looking into the eyes of the man she loved. "I know I've said this before… but if I could be two people…"

Zach Slater took her hand in his, instantly transported in his mind to the casita they had shared in the Nevada desert, "I know… but your kids… they need you now. You have to do what is best for your children… and I… and I have to do what is best for mine."

The late afternoon sun streamed into the window of Zach's office at his east coast casino, and Zach couldn't help but smile when he thought about how many times he and Maria had said goodbye to each other in the last year. This time, though, it was final. After being falsely imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, they had both said and done things that would make a future relationship impossible. And to be fair… he had finally realized that the woman he had loved so completely was more real to him in his memories than the flesh and bone woman standing in his office.

Maria lifted her hand and gently stroked his cheek, fresh tears falling from her eyes, "If there was any way that we could be together… I realize what a colossal waste I have made of my life. I lost both of the men I loved because I couldn't commit to either of you… and I almost destroyed your life in the process. I'm sorry doesn't begin to cover everything that happened…"

Zach tugged at her hand and hugged her against him, allowing her to cry on his shoulder as he comforted her, "Shh… shh… shh… it's alright… it's over now… it's time to pick up the pieces and start over… just like Erica says, 'New Beginnings'."

Maria pulled back with a look of anger, which dissolved into laughter when she saw the smile on Zach's face, "You said that on purpose, didn't you? Trying to make me laugh?"

"Of course, I did… I knew you couldn't stand here feeling sorry for yourself when her name was mentioned," Zach said with a grin. He looked into her laughing eyes for a moment before he lowered his head and kissed her passionately. In spite of everything they had been through, the physical attraction he felt for this woman had not diminished.

Maria answered his kiss with one of her own and they found themselves swept away, just as they had been every time they were together since he arrived in Pine Valley. In Zach's mind, bells clanged while he waited for Maria to put a stop to it… to deny herself the loving release that they had both so long deserved—but it never came.

She pushed his suit jacket off and pulled his shirt from his pants, while he worked at the fastenings on her clothing, neither of them breaking the kiss. Soon they found themselves in a state of undress, but neither one had any intention of stopping the other. In this moment, they were back at their casita, making love for the sheer joy of living. Zach pulled away, groaning softly, and crossed the room in a few long strides to lock the door.

Half expecting her to use that moment to pull away, he was surprised to turn around and find her standing naked holding her arms out to him. He welcomed her back into the shelter of his arms and they made love in the floor of his office—as they should have done many months earlier.

Afterwards, they sat on his sofa holding each other, wrapped in the blanket he had brought from their casita. "Where did you… I though this was in the storage…" Maria said in confusion.

"After you threw it at my head, I realized that I couldn't let those things be destroyed after all. I brought this back to my office… I don't know why… maybe I just thought it would make me feel closer to you… I guess it's a lucky thing that I did," Zach said with a grin.

Maria smiled and laid her head against his shoulder, "You know this doesn't change anything…"

"Yes, I know… but I'm glad we were able to have this time together… now we can both move on, and know for sure that we have made the right decision," Zach whispered against her hair.

"You mean… you're not going to… you're not even… ?" Maria said in surprise, pulling away from Zach and sitting up.

"Remember when I told you about Edmund's death… how I said we were finished?" Zach asked her as Maria nodded mutely. "I knew it then… what we had in the desert was gone, and we would never get it back. You are the most passionate and desirable woman that I have ever known… and I did love you deeply… but it was Maureen…"

Maria looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I've really messed things up, haven't I?"

Zach shook his head before pulling her to him and kissing her gently. He withdrew and walked over to his desk. Standing before the credenza, he paused for a moment before picking up the small painting of their casita, and returning to hand it to her, "Here… this is yours now. I had it for a while, but I think that you need it more. Anyway… I've still got the real thing…"

"You… you'll keep it?" she asked him almost timidly.

"For now… who knows what the future holds… I'm in no hurry to dispose of it," Zach answered. "But it's time for you to get dressed and go to your kids… you have a long journey ahead of you."

Zach helped Maria stand and solicitously helped her to dress. She mused aloud, "Who would have ever thought that I would be the one leaving Pine Valley and you would be staying? I know this is the right decision for us… moving close to Mateo and his family will give us all a chance to start fresh. I'll never regain my children's trust or their love unless we find a way to start over… and that can't happen here… too many people would make sure that I pay for Edmund's death."

"You're not still blaming yourself for that, are you? You know that you did nothing to deserve the way he treated you. It was his own obsession that drove him down that path… and put him right in the way of Lavery… if he had spent more of his energy loving you and less of it on revenge, he'd probably be alive today," Zach said in irritation.

Maria smiled wanly, "I know… in my head I know… but my heart… I've lost you both… I've alienated my children… now I'm uprooting us all to start over again… I have a lot to do…"

"Anita will be there to help you… she loves you and Sam and Maddie… and your brother…"

"Mateo and Haley will make sure that we're fine… it's the right thing to do…" Maria said as she walked into his private bathroom to fix her hair and make-up. Her voice drifted from behind the door, "And what about Ethan? Will you find a way to make peace with him?"

"My son has his own crimes to pay for… and he will have to pay for them. I will do him no favors if I pull strings or use my influence to get the charges dropped or reduced. He may hate me for the rest of his life, but at least he'll have a life. The path that he was on would have lead to same place that your husband's did… and I would rather my son live to hate me than die like Michael or Edmund," Zach said sadly. "In the meantime, I've petitioned the court for my rightful inheritance, and I'll soon be the head of Cambias Industries… just as my father always planned."

Maria returned to the office, "Oh, Zach… I was hoping that you wouldn't have to do that…"

"I don't want anything to do with Cambias, but I won't let it consume my soul the way it did the old man, and Michael and Ethan. I'm paying a visit to Bianca in Paris, to explain what I'm doing and why… hopefully she'll work with me to dismantle the evil empire and find a way to make it into something good. After what happened to Ethan, I know she wouldn't want to risk that happening to Miranda… and I could use a visit with my niece… the one true thing in my life." Zach said as he handed Maria her purse and the casita painting.

She accepted both items and kissed him softly before crossing the room and opening the door, "I will always love you, Zach."

Zach stood quietly, not answering, as she left the room and closed the door behind her. He sat behind his desk and looked absently at the papers on his desk before picking up the telephone, "Edie… get me on a flight to Paris… tonight if possible."

Edited to remove song lyrics

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