Chapter Ten

Bianca paused outside the closed door and wondered for the thousandth time whether or not she was doing the right thing – her mother certainly wouldn't think so and Kendall probably wouldn't thank her for it either, but she didn't see any other choices at this point. This was for Kendall she reminded herself firmly as she knocked on the office door.

"Go away."

Not the most welcoming greeting but Bianca was a Kane and it was going to take more than a gruff dismissal to stop her from doing something she thought was necessary. She pushed opened the door and stepped into the office.

Zach heard the door open but didn't bother to look up. "I said 'go away,'" he repeated with a growl. "What part of that did you not understand?"

"The part where you actually expected me to leave," Bianca answered him. She had to force a smile instead of gasping when he finally looked at her – he looked like hell. He clearly hadn't shaved in days and Bianca was certain that it had been just as long since he had bathed. His eyes were bloodshot Bianca wasn't sure whether that was the result of lack of sleep or the nearly empty liquor bottle at the edge of his desk – probably some combination of both.

"I'm not going to let you avoid me Zach. We have to talk," Bianca said shutting the door firmly behind her.

We have to talk, Zach shook his head in mute denial, he hated those words – talking never fixed anything.

"Tell Kendall I won't fight her on the divorce," he said roughly. "I'm sure that Jackson has had the papers ready since the day he found out Kendall and I were married. Just – just have them sent to my office and I'll – I'll sign whatever she wants."

"I'm not here to convince you to divorce my sister," Bianca told him smiling slightly as she considered the irony – that was really not why she was here.

"I've stayed away from the hospital – I haven't been by to see Kendall since she woke up. What more does Erica want?" Had Erica found out that he was getting reports from Kendall's doctors? Did she expect him to give up even that small comfort?

"I'm not here on my mother's behalf, either." Bianca said solemnly, holding back a nervous laugh. "In fact, when she finds out what I'm doing mother is probably going to kill me."

"What are you doing?" Zach's face was deliberately expressionless as he regarded his sister-in-law but his dark eyes gave away the depth of his pain. "Are you here to tell me that this is my fault? Believe me, that's not necessary; I know what I've done and I don't expect anyone to forgive me." He picked up his glass, but with Bianca standing there watching he was unable to drink – he didn't deserve to forget, and if Bianca was here to remind him of that he had no right to refuse her. He set the glass back down and waited for her condemnation.

Bianca took a deep breath, "I'm not here to throw stones at you, Zach. I'm here because I want to know how you're going to help my sister."

"She's safe now, Bianca," Zach promised. "I've already taken care of it – no one is going after her again."

Bianca winced, deciding that she didn't want to know how Zach had 'taken care of it.' "That's good to know," she said, "but it's not what I meant. I'm asking what you're willing to do to help her get better."

"I'm going to stay as far away from her as I can get so that she doesn't get hurt again," Zach answered.

"That's very generous of you. But what are you willing to do that will actually help Kendall?"

"Do you think I don't want to help her, Bianca? Do you think there's anything I wouldn't do to make this right? I can't fix this – all I can do is keep my distance so that I don't hurt her anymore."

"Are you really that much of a coward?" Bianca challenged him. "You can tell yourself that you're keeping your distance for her sake but the truth is you don't want to face Kendall. You don't want to look at her and see her hurt so you're just going to hide here in your casino and tell yourself that you're doing it for her. Well you're not doing it for her – it's not what she needs."

"I got her shot, Bianca. Don't you understand, it's my fault! It's my fault Kendall's in that bed and she knows it. She doesn't need me; she doesn't want me any where near her. And I don't blame her."

"She does need you," Bianca's voice was quiet but firm. "I think you may be the only one who can help her."

"What could she possibly need with me, Bianca? She has you; she has Jackson and Greenlee and Reggie and Lily. She has Erica," Zach laughed bitterly at the last. "What would she need me for?"

"That's what she needs you for," Bianca told him. "Mother means well, but she's out of control Zach. She's . . . she's just taken Kendall over. She's already started arranging her recovery – she plans to move Kendall into the penthouse with her and Jack so that she can 'take care of her.'"

Zach's lips quirked as he suppressed a smirk at the thought of Kendall moving in with her mother – Kendall and Erica under one roof, poor Jack, he thought

Bianca caught the slight change in Zach's expression but she wasn't nearly as amused. "You think that's funny?" she asked bitterly, "Well listen to this. She wants to make Kendall's rehab a part of her show. Zach, she expects Kendall to get up on camera day after day and learn to walk again. Can you imagine? I mean this is going to be hard enough for Kendall without the stress of having to 'perform for the public.' She can't do it, Zach. She's going to need to be able to do this in her own time, at her own pace – not according to Mom's schedule."

Bianca's rant brought a cynical smile to Zach's lips – Erica would never change. "What's Kendall saying about all this?"

"That's the part that worries me most," Bianca answered. "Kendall's not saying anything. The more Mom talks the quieter Kendall gets – it's like she's retreating inside of herself. She's not fighting Zach and it scares me."

Kendall always fights, especially with Erica – the thought was unspoken between them, but both Zach and Bianca knew that Kendall not fighting with Erica was a bad sign, especially now. Zach had been in nearly constant contact with Kendall's doctors, he knew that her recovery was going to be a long and difficult process but he had never doubted she would manage it – Kendall was a fighter, she was strong and she never gave up, he had been certain she would get through this.

"What do you want from me Bianca?" Zach asked at last. "Kendall has made herself very clear – she wants me to stay as far away from her as possible. I'm trying to respect that."

"Well stop," Bianca exclaimed. "I don't care what Kendall wants, I care what Kendall needs, and right now that is someone to push her to get better, someone to make her fight, someone to protect her from mother."

Bianca's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the vacant defeated look that had been in Kendall's eyes that afternoon. "From where I'm standing it looks like you have the best shot. So do it. Help my sister Zach. Because someone has to and God knows she's not doing anything to help herself.

"Why me?" Zach looked across the desk at Bianca. "You know what Kendall needs, why don't you help her?"

"There are a lot of reasons why I can't be the one to do this, Zach. I have a child to take care of – I can't give Kendall the attention that she's going to need without neglecting Miranda. And, Kendall won't accept that kind of help from me – you know her, she feels like she has to protect me, so she won't let me see how much help she needs and she won't fight with me, she won't let me push her the way she's going to need to be pushed. And finally, there's Mother, she won't let me be the one to take care of Kendall. I can talk until I'm blue in the face but she won't listen to me and before I can even turn around she'll have those video cameras out. No," she concluded, "it has to be you, Zach."

"You think Erica's going to listen to me?" Zach countered.

"I didn't think you'd ask her at all," Bianca smiled at that. "You're Kendall's husband, you won't need anyone's permission to check her out of the hospital."

"You want me to kidnap your sister?" he asked, amused at the notion.

"Think of it as a rescue mission."

Zach sobered shaking his head as he heard Bianca's characterization. "Don't cast me as your hero, Bianca," he reminded her bitterly, "it must not be denied but I am a plain dealing villain. The very fact that Kendall needs rescuing should be your proof of that."

"Don't do this because you want to be a hero, do it because it's the only way to help Kendall."

"I don't know." Zach's eyes came to rest on the half-full glass of whiskey in front of him. "You didn't see the way Kendall looked at me when she woke up, Bianca. My 'help' my do more harm than good."

"It can't possibly do more harm than Mother's brand of help," Bianca said. "It's the only way, Zach. Mother is planning on checking Kendall out of the hospital tomorrow afternoon. If you want to help, Kendall needs to be gone by the time she gets there."

Bianca met and held Zach's gaze as she delivered her parting shot. "I know you'll do the right thing Zach," she said forcing a confident smile on her face before she turned to go.

Zach was left looking at the closed door. "I only wish I knew what the right thing was," he muttered draining his glass and picking up the whiskey bottle again.