Ch 1-

Kendall smiled in triumph as she walked down the hall after a trauma, her final at Pennsylvania Hospital. It had been a long road the last nine years.

After Aidan had come out of his coma, he'd seen Kendall off at the Pine Valley Airport with a hug and a farewell gift. The gift had been a cross that Kendall always wore around her neck and a book of baby names.

Kendall had ended up in Grenada, which is where she went to medical school. She'd just recently completed her residency and was now on her way to being an attending in St. Paul's Hospital Emergency Room, which was in, of all places, Pine Valley.

She felt a little nervous about going back to Pine Valley even though St. Paul's was on the quote bad side of town. But Kendall was used to dealing with gang bangers, drug addicts and dealers, hookers, and the like.

She felt a little nostalgic as she signed her final chart. "There you go Margie. That is my final patient."

Margie took the chart from the woman. "This place won't be the same without you Dr. Hart."

Kendall capped her pen and stuck it into the pocket of her lab coat. "That's sweet of you to say."

"You doing anything special for your last night in Philly?"

"Uh, we're gonna go and get some cheese steak sandwiches and eat them in front of the Liberty Bell."

"How touristy," Margie said.

"Yeah, but it was their choice." Kendall said over her shoulder as she went into the lounge to get her things. She took a box, her coat, and the nameplate from her locker before she closed it one last time. Just as she walked back into the hall a gurney was pushed past her. Paramedics were giving the bullet.

"Kendall?"

She turned. "Hey Bobby. What's up?"

"Sneaking out without saying goodbye?"

"I already said goodbye to everyone," Kendall continued out the doors. Bobby followed.

"Yes, but you didn't say goodbye to me."

Kendall stopped walking and sighed. "You're right. Goodbye Bobby." Then she started to walk away again.

Bobby called after her, "Why'd we stop seeing each other?"

Kendall turned around without stopping and said, "You had sex with your old girlfriend in Exam Two. Have a nice life." She turned back around and disappeared around the corner.

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Aidan Devane looked at the papers lying on the table in front of him. He sighed and poured himself another shot of scotch. Before he downed it, he raised it in a mock toast, "To you Mrs. Devane, wherever you are."

"Talking to yourself Aidan? Not the healthiest thing to be doing," Maria Santos Grey said as she sat down across from him.

"Dr. Grey. Come to join me as I drown my sorrows?"

"Actually, I came to make sure you don't drive in your condition."

"Ah, a healer to the end."

"She's not worth this," Maria said.

"And what would you do if Edmund divorced you?"

"First off, I wouldn't be sitting in a bar drinking for hours with my divorce papers staring up at me."

"Wrong answer. The right one is that you would never lie to Edmund the way I did to Mia. He wouldn't discover a secret deed you'd done for a friend."

"Aidan-"

"And you know what the really ironic part is? When we first got married, Mia said she wasn't sure she wanted children because of William."

Maria nodded. "But she changed her mind?"

"Yep and two weeks later she found the pictures Kendall had sent me a few years ago."

"Aidan, that was almost a year ago. You had to know this was coming," Maria said gently.

"Knowing something isn't the same as actually seeing it Maria," Aidan slurred his words.

"Okay, you're going home. I'm going to get you a cab and have it take you home."

"I'm not done drinking yet."

"Yes, you are," Maria said firmly as she managed to get Aidan out of his chair and then to the lobby where she asked the concierge to phone for a cab. "Go home and go to sleep," were Maria's parting words before closing the cab door and leaving her friend to his misery.

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"Hello? Guys, I'm home," Kendall called as she let herself into her condo. A few minutes later, her son, Tyler John Hart, wandered into the hall from the kitchen.

"Hi Mom," his mouth full. "I finished the fruit that was in the kitchen."

"Thank you sweetie. I just hope you didn't spoil your appetite."

"Nah," he shook his head.

"Where's your sister?"

"Which one?"

"Erin. I just saw Hannah from the McKendrick's balcony. She'll be down in a bit."

"Upstairs on the phone. I think she's talking to Phoebe again."

"Okay. Get your shoes on. As soon as I change, we're leaving," Kendall said as she went up the stairs to her room. She quickly changed out of her work clothes into something more comfortable and then she knocked on the door to the second bedroom. "Erin? It's Mom. Can I come in?"

"Sure Mom," Erin said.

Kendall opened the door and smiled at the sight of her daughter sitting on the floor by the window of the room she'd shared with Hannah and Tyler since the three of them were five. They were nine now and the new house in Pine Valley would allow each of them their own rooms.

As Kendall walked towards her daughter, she noticed the sad expression on her face. While Tyler and Hannah had adjusted to the news they were moving without any major catastrophes, Erin was still having trouble adjusting and had had quite a few dramatic moments. It was easy to tell sometimes who her grandmother was. Kendall sat down across from Erin and reached out to put a hand on her knee. "Sweetie?"

"I'm okay Mom. Really. I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Well, this is the second time we've moved but it's the first time I'll remember it."

"Yeah, that's true," Kendall nodded.

"What was Grenada like?"

"It was great. I wish sometimes that I'd matched down there. I would have loved to raise you guys down there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was just so peaceful and quiet and beautiful."

"I wish I remembered it," Erin said wistfully.

"Me too. Hey, maybe if I can get the time off, we'll go for Christmas."

Erin smiled. "I'd like that."

"So would I," Kendall agreed. "C'mon, I heard your sister come in a few minutes ago. She and Tyler are probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Okay," Erin agreed and she and Kendall got up and went to join their family.

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Ryan stared out the window at the softly falling rain. He could hear suitcases being set by the door but he didn't turn around to look at them.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm done. I'm all packed."

Ryan nodded. "Okay."

"Are you even going to say goodbye?"

Ryan turned his head. "Goodbye Greenlee."

"I didn't want it to end like this but-"

"It's ended. Let's not make it a big deal. I wish you well."

"You too," she said. "I'll send you a postcard from Italy."

"You do that," he nodded.

He heard the sound of keys being placed on the counter and then the door opened and shut. That was when he turned around to look at his apartment.

It suddenly felt very empty. The last time he remembered a place feeling this empty was when he went to Kendall's condo looking for her after Aidan had been released from the hospital. The whole place had been devoid of anything to do with Kendall Hart. He remembered the shock of realizing that she was gone and decided that it hurt worse then to know that Kendall was gone than it did now to know that Greenlee was gone.