He lay on his stomach and studied the wallpaper in her bedroom. While Stan was in prison she was living in the penthouse, unbeknownst to him. Rosario gave her the key to the new lock, and she was living out of her suitcases in her old bedroom. A groan escaped his lips as she added extra pressure to his aching muscles, placing small kisses along the back of his neck.

"Wow, honey, you're tight."

"I could say the same about you." She smiled and pushed on his mid-back, feeling a pop beneath her palms. His warm flesh moved with her hands as her fingers slowly danced down his spine. "I need to talk to you about something."

"That's never good." He rolled over a bit and she fell to the bed alongside him, on her back. He looked into her eyes and placed a small peck upon her lips.

"Did you tell Jack about us? I can tell that he knows." She rolled her eyes, her first instinct was to lie to him, but she just couldn't. That was always how it was with him; she couldn't lie to his kind eyes.

"I told him after we got back from the lake house, but when he started asking about it in front of Grace I told him we were over." She scoffed and rolled onto her side to fully face him. "Honey, do you know how many lies I've told to keep this a secret?"

"Probably as many as I have." She ran a hand through his hair to pull it back from his face. "Do you ever think about just telling everyone and getting on with our lives?"

"Yeah, but then I think about how much it will cost in the end, for both of us. I think Jack and Grace mean more to us than anything, so maybe a few lies are worth it." He nodded in agreement and leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her lips, moving so he was on top of her. His tongue teased her lips until she granted him access to the depths of her mouth, sighing.

"I'll make them worth it right now." He began trailing kisses down her neck.

----------

"Hello?" She sleepily answered her cell phone, which had been left to charge on the bedside table. Will's arms pulled her closer in his sleep as she listened to the woman on the phone. After she hung up, she shook Will until he awoke.

"What?" He looked into her eyes, which were filled with a strange emotion.

"Some men jumped Stan. He's in the hospital at the prison and he wants us there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She sat in a plastic chair outside Stan's hospital room. Will had been the first allowed entrance and she was awaiting her turn, impatiently. She learned that Stan's condition was bad; he had multiple stab wounds from a weapon that had been smuggled into the prison through a visitor. It was a story she had read about in books, or something she would imagine hearing on the news, the reason why she didn't watch television much, but it was a real situation. It was a real experience and she wasn't sure how exactly she was expected to handle it.

Will's voice broke her thoughts as he called her into the room, his head poking out the door. She entered and looked at the man whom she had married years ago, and it could have made her cry if it weren't for the pills she took in the limo. Will stood at the door and watched as she made her way over to her soon-to-be ex-husband.

"Kare, hold my hand." Stan's voice was quiet and full of pain. The future of his condition wasn't certain, by the doctor's words, and there was a most likely chance he would die. Even though it was the first time she had seen him since he kicked her out, she walked closer and took his hand in her own. He squeezed tightly, and it was then that she understood how much pain he was actually feeling. The doctor said that he was no longer responding to the amount of pain-killers they were pumping into his blood. "I love you."

"Okay." She nodded and patted the top of his hand with her other. He wasn't in his right mind, and they all knew that. He took a deep breath and clenched his teeth together until an odd rush of pain stopped. "You're going to be fine, Stanly."

"No." He didn't seem to notice the way her voice was detached from her body; she was still afraid of him. Even though she knew he couldn't hurt her, it was years of that memory that rushed through her brain. "I'm going to die, I'm just waiting."

"Stop talking like that or I'll kill you myself." His eyes met hers in a chilling motion and he nodded expectantly. Her eyes widened and she pulled her hands away from his.

"Just flip that switch."

"There is no way in hell I would do that. Stan, you're going to be fine, okay? You're acting exactly how your dad did before he…"

"Shut up." Her eyes narrowed as Will stepped forward and handed her a stack of papers, Stan's will. "I'll sign everything over to you if you do it."

"Are you kidding me with this?" She was appalled, they were crazy. It was insane that Stan wanted her to do it, but Will? What would he get from it? What reason would he ever have to go along with something so sinful?

"That's the only way you're getting your adulterous hands on my money. Do it."

"Sign the papers." Her words were harsh, and she couldn't believe herself. It wasn't at all something that any normal human being would even consider, but she was. Stan coughed and she could see him growing weaker, paler, by the minute. Will handed him the papers and, while he signed, met her eyes. Her features were cold, and it was a side of her that he couldn't believe he was seeing.

The papers were signed and handed back to Will, who put them in his briefcase immediately. Stan looked at Karen expectantly, but she didn't move. She couldn't move.

"Get over here and flip the switch." He was demanding her to do something that was not acceptable in her eyes, nor in anyone else's, except his perhaps. She shook her head.

"If I touch that machine it'll sound an alarm, and then Will and I are both in trouble. I'm not doing it."

"I signed, you're doing it." He coughed and sputtered, wheezing before her.

"No." If she had to be honest, she knew exactly how to do it without getting in trouble, getting caught. She and her mother used to pull cons all the time where she watched her mother murder many men in hospital beds. She would take the heart monitor from the patient and place it against Karen's chest, asking her to keep her breathing steady and her heart rate even. Then she would pull the oxygen away and pinch his nose with her fingers while holding his mouth closed. Or she would simply puncture a hole in the IV fluid bag and watch air flood into his veins.

"Karen, I kept my part of the bargain, keep yours." She took one last look at Stan before taking Will's hand in her own and pulling him out the door with her. The heavy metal of the door slammed closed behind them and she rushed him down the hallway.

"He's going to call me back and change the will."

"Do you suggest I do as he says?"

"Not at all."

"Don't answer your phone." He obeyed and Stan passed on his own later that night, never having the opportunity to tell anyone who mattered about his will.