Disclaimer: see chapter 1
A/N: OK, so Ryan's reappearance has people fired up, so I can only imagine what this chapter will do. I do want to apologize to anyone who may be a Maria fan - but I'm not. I found her annoying when she came back and utterly detestable by the time she left. Hence, her use here.

Zach looked down at Ryan's hand on his arm and then back up at Ryan. "You really think that's the wisest idea, Lavery?"

Ryan just glared at Zach. "Yeah, I do." Zach ripped his arm out of Ryan's grip and pushed him back.

"Zach, are you…" Julia popped her head out of the door and stopped when she saw Ryan and Zach staring at each other. "Is everything alright?"

Zach looked over his shoulder and nodded at Julia. "Everything's fine, Julia. I've got to take care of this and then I'll be in. If you don't mind, will you make sure that the baby is…"

"Yeah" she said, quickly closing the door.

Zach turned back to Ryan and shoved his hands in his pocket. "Good of you to finally show, Lavery. Thought maybe you had fallen off a cliff for real this time."

"Oh, that would just be your dream, right Slater. Me gone for good."

"Well, it has crossed my mind a couple of hundred times, but I'll deal. Now, if you don't mind…" Zach turned on his heel to head into the nursery, but Ryan grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around, pushing him into the wall.

"Lavery, I'm warning you… one more time and you'll really regret it."

"And I'm warning you, Slater, stay the hell away from my son."

Zach sighed. "Look, Lavery, Kendall wants to talk to you about this whole situation we have ourselves in. She wants to work something out, visitation or whatever, so that we all can live…"

"Oh, Kendall deciding on visitation isn't going to happen."

Confusion clouded Zach's face. "What did you do?"

"What's best for my son."

"And that would be?"

"Me having full custody. He's going to live with me full time, I'll raise him and I'll be the one deciding on whether or not Kendall gets to see him."

"Ryan, don't do this. She's not going to fight you anymore, but you can't do this to her."

"Just like her remarrying you so that you could get your hooks into my son."

"Ryan, I will love the boy and protect him, but he's yours, I know this."

"Yet, it didn't stop you from marrying the mother of my son, did it!"

"Lavery, the two aren't mutually exclusive! Me marrying Kendall has nothing to do with your ability to help raise your son."

"So, what, Slater? I'm just supposed to sit back and play weekend Daddy while you get to spend every day with my son, tucking him in, teaching him to read, to walk, to talk. No, I don't think so. You don't get to fix your Ethan mistakes and regrets on my son. No way."

"Ryan, this has nothing to do with Ethan!"

"Sure it doesn't" Ryan said, laughing slightly. Seeing Ryan joking about this set Zach off.

"You know, fine Lavery. You want a fight, you've got yourself a fight. But, I don't know how you think you could possibly pull this off. No judge in their right mind would grant custody to a single dad versus a married couple. You've got to realize that you are fighting an uphill battle."

"Who said anything about being a single dad?" Ryan raised his left hand and wiggled his fingers. The light bounced off the gold band on his ring finger.

"Oh God, Lavery. Please tell me you didn't drag some poor innocent woman into this delusion of yours?"

Ryan just smiled. "Oh no, she was more than willing to help me out. In fact, she volunteered after I told her what you were trying to do to me."

"Right, Lavery, whatever. You really think this is the way, entering into a sham marriage?"

"But, Zach, we did learn from the master of sham marriages. Hell, maybe we'll even end up living happily ever after like you and the little missus." Zach froze as the voice sounded from behind him. He looked at Ryan, who was smirking at him. "You didn't?"

Ryan just shrugged. "Meet the new Mrs. Lavery, Slater."

Zach slowly turned on his heel and stared at Maria, who was smirking at him and holding her left hand in the hair, showing him a wedding band that matched the one Ryan was wearing.

TBC…